Table of Contents
Introduction
What Is a Beta?
Who Should Read This Book
Conventions Used in This Book
Beta Disclaimer
1 An Overview of Windows Vista
The Development of Longhorn
"Vista" Unveiled
What's Not in Windows Vista
New Interface Features
What's New Under the Hood
Support for Document Metadata
Performance Improvements
Stability Improvements
Security Enhancements
Windows Presentation Foundation
Desktop Window Manager
Improved Graphics
Transactional NTFS
XML Paper Specification
New and Improved Programs and Tools
Welcome Center
Control Panel
Internet Explorer 7
Windows Mail
Windows Calendar
Media Player
Media Center
Windows Photo Gallery
DVD Burning and Authoring
Per-Application Volume Control
Sound Recorder
Windows Easy Transfer
Windows Backup
The Game Explorer
Mobility Center
Network Center
Network Map
Windows Collaboration
How Windows Vista Affects You
IT Professionals
Developers
Power Users
Digital Media Users
Business Users
16
oad Warriors
Small Business Owners
Gamers
Parents
From Here
2 Moving to Windows Vista
Windows Vista System Requirements
Processor Requirements
Memory Requirements
The System Rating
Storage Requirements
Graphics Requirements
Hardware Requirements for Various Vista Features
Vista Versions
Windows Anytime Upgrade
Preparing for Windows Vista
Check Your System Requirements
Upgrade Your Hardware
Back Up Your Files
Clean Up Your Hard Disk
Check and Defragment Your Hard Disk
The Windows Vista Installation Process
The Windows Easy Transfer Tool
Logging On Under the Administrator Account
Windows Vista Deployment
Modularization
Windows Imaging Format
Maintaining WIM Files with XImage
Automating Installations with System Image Manager
Deploying Windows Vista
From Here
3 The Windows Vista Interface
The Windows Presentation Foundation
General Interface Changes
The Vista Desktop
The Vista Taskbar
The Start Menu
The Aero Glass Theme
Better Cool Switches: Flip and Flip 3D
Taskbar Thumbnails
New Folder Windows
Navigating Folders
Instant Search
The Task Pane
The Preview Pane
The Reading Pane
The Navigation Pane
Live Folder Icons
Gadgets and the Windows Sidebar
From Here
4 File System Improvements
Metadata and the Windows Explorer Property System
Desktop Searching with Windows Search
As-You-Type Searches with Instant Search
Advanced Searches
Saving Searches
Windows Mail Searches
Grouping, Stacking, and Filtering with Metadata
Grouping Files
Stacking Files
Filtering Files
Search Folders
Selecting Files with Check Boxes
Dragging and Dropping Files
Shadow Copies and Transactional NTFS
Reverting to a Previous Version of a Volume, Folder, or File
XML Paper Specification (XPS)
From Here
5 Vista Performance and Maintenance
Vista's Performance Improvements
Faster Startup
Sleep Mode: The Best of Both Worlds
SuperFetch with ReadyBoost: The Faster Fetcher
Restart Manager
Windows System Assessment Tool (WinSAT)
Windows System Performance Rating
Handling Performance Problems
Vista's Stability Improvements
I/O Cancellation
Reliability Monitor
Service Recovery
Startup Repair Tool
New Diagnostics Tools
Disk Diagnostics
Memory Diagnostics
Resource Exhaustion Detection
Network Diagnostics
Windows Performance Diagnostic Console
Event Viewer
Introduction
What Is a Beta?
Who Should Read This Book
Conventions Used in This Book
Beta Disclaimer
1 An Overview of Windows Vista
The Development of Longhorn
"Vista" Unveiled
What's Not in Windows Vista
New Interface Features
What's New Under the Hood
Support for Document Metadata
Performance Improvements
Stability Improvements
Security Enhancements
Windows Presentation Foundation
Desktop Window Manager
Improved Graphics
Transactional NTFS
XML Paper Specification
New and Improved Programs and Tools
Welcome Center
Control Panel
Internet Explorer 7
Windows Mail
Windows Calendar
Media Player
Media Center
Windows Photo Gallery
DVD Burning and Authoring
Per-Application Volume Control
Sound Recorder
Windows Easy Transfer
Windows Backup
The Game Explorer
Mobility Center
Network Center
Network Map
Windows Collaboration
How Windows Vista Affects You
IT Professionals
Developers
Power Users
Digital Media Users
Business Users
16
oad Warriors
Small Business Owners
Gamers
Parents
From Here
2 Moving to Windows Vista
Windows Vista System Requirements
Processor Requirements
Memory Requirements
The System Rating
Storage Requirements
Graphics Requirements
Hardware Requirements for Various Vista Features
Vista Versions
Windows Anytime Upgrade
Preparing for Windows Vista
Check Your System Requirements
Upgrade Your Hardware
Back Up Your Files
Clean Up Your Hard Disk
Check and Defragment Your Hard Disk
The Windows Vista Installation Process
The Windows Easy Transfer Tool
Logging On Under the Administrator Account
Windows Vista Deployment
Modularization
Windows Imaging Format
Maintaining WIM Files with XImage
Automating Installations with System Image Manager
Deploying Windows Vista
From Here
3 The Windows Vista Interface
The Windows Presentation Foundation
General Interface Changes
The Vista Desktop
The Vista Taskbar
The Start Menu
The Aero Glass Theme
Better Cool Switches: Flip and Flip 3D
Taskbar Thumbnails
New Folder Windows
Navigating Folders
Instant Search
The Task Pane
The Preview Pane
The Reading Pane
The Navigation Pane
Live Folder Icons
Gadgets and the Windows Sidebar
From Here
4 File System Improvements
Metadata and the Windows Explorer Property System
Desktop Searching with Windows Search
As-You-Type Searches with Instant Search
Advanced Searches
Saving Searches
Windows Mail Searches
Grouping, Stacking, and Filtering with Metadata
Grouping Files
Stacking Files
Filtering Files
Search Folders
Selecting Files with Check Boxes
Dragging and Dropping Files
Shadow Copies and Transactional NTFS
Reverting to a Previous Version of a Volume, Folder, or File
XML Paper Specification (XPS)
From Here
5 Vista Performance and Maintenance
Vista's Performance Improvements
Faster Startup
Sleep Mode: The Best of Both Worlds
SuperFetch with ReadyBoost: The Faster Fetcher
Restart Manager
Windows System Assessment Tool (WinSAT)
Windows System Performance Rating
Handling Performance Problems
Vista's Stability Improvements
I/O Cancellation
Reliability Monitor
Service Recovery
Startup Repair Tool
New Diagnostics Tools
Disk Diagnostics
Memory Diagnostics
Resource Exhaustion Detection
Network Diagnostics
Windows Performance Diagnostic Console
Event Viewer