Microsoft has officially released Windows Vista Build 5381.1 today on Microsoft Connect.<\/p>\n
Internal sources have confirmed that this is "what will be" Beta 2 – in a couple more days at WinHEC 2006. What we are seeing right now with this build is a feature complete Beta without the performance guarantee. If you want to put it in terms of practical use, etc. this is Beta 2; it will be compiled and recompiled several more times, mini-glitches taken care of, size and speed optimized, and maybe a couple of minor things changed, but for all intents and purposes, those of us that have been dying for another beta ever since the first; it's here. However, Microsoft Connect classifies this as being the<\/strong> Beta 2; so we're not entirely sure what's going on, but when we find out we'll be sure to let you know.<\/p>\n As always, NeoSmart Technologies has the details for this latest build as they come out; and screenshots will be up in our gallery<\/a> soon. For now, here is the inside peek at 5381.1<\/p>\n Vista 5381.1 x64 Edition: Vista 5381.1 x86 Edition: Microsoft Connect users can grab these builds here<\/a>.<\/p>\n It is interesting to note that the x86 build is *not* available in as a staged build and is a CHK edition; Microsoft couldn't have made it more obvious that x64 is the way to go; unstaged chk builds generally mean trouble:<\/p>\n Q<\/strong>: What are the differences between staged and unstaged installations? Q<\/strong>: What's the difference between the Chk and Fre builds? What's interesting to note however, is that though the x86 build is both a CHK and Unstaged build, it is still a good 600 megabytes less than 5365; while the x64 edition is a whopping 4834 MB: 1.2 GB bigger than its predecessor and too big to fit on a DVD!<\/p>\n We can reveal that this build ships with the regional and IME fixes promised; and is much more compatible on older systems; and comes with complete upgrade path support for Windows XP. So while we expect several great things from this build, it seems to have a down-side for both the x86 and x64 builds; one of them will take twice as long to download, and the other will take twice as long to use and run! Tough choice – but for many the choice has already been made.<\/p>\n Please remember: as always support requests go in our <\/em>forums<\/em><\/a> where our staff, members, and volunteers can be sure to help you with whatever issue it is you're having with Vista or anything else; but please don't post support requests below!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Microsoft has officially released Windows Vista Build 5381.1 today on Microsoft Connect. Internal sources have confirmed that this is "what will be" Beta 2 – in a couple more days at WinHEC 2006. What we are seeing right now with … Continue reading \n
VISTA_5381.1_64bit_Main_Client_Staged_DVD_EN.iso; at 4,834.25 MB<\/p>\n
VISTA_5381.1_32bit_Client_Unstaged_CHK_DVD_EN.iso; at 2,296.55 MB<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
A<\/strong>: Unstaged is the way that we have installed the OS in the past. Files get copied to the HD, then the registry\/machine gets configured. A stage build is a sysprepped image. In layman's terms, a stage build is where we install the OS onto a machine with very basic and common hardware, copy that installation to CD\/DVD, and then use that CD\/DVD to copy the image directly to another machine. In comparison, Staged builds are a lot faster, because it's easier to add\/delete components to a pre-configured OS than it is to build the OS from scratch (as we did with the older Unstaged installations).<\/p>\n
A<\/strong>: The Chk version has debug symbols built into the executables, which allows debuggers create a more detailed output of any errors that occur. These debug symbols add extra weight to the OS, so unless you're a developer or plan on regularly running a debugger, than you're better off choosing to install the faster Fre build, which doesn't include the debugging symbols and other debugging information.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n