On June the 7th, 2006, Microsoft has released the first public Beta of Windows Vista, build 5384.4 labelled as Beta 2. Anyone with a decent computer (and enough bandwidth) can grab it at the following URL:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/preview.mspx
I just finished installing the 32 bits version and it’s a lot better than what I had experienced with build 5308 (the february post-Beta 1 CTP). For the first minutes after installing, my hard disk was constantly busy, but now everything seems to be very smooth.
Daemon Tools
Getting Daemon Tools to run proved to be a bit of a nightmare, thought. I couldn’t manage to install the current 4.0.3 release as this SCSI pass-through layer thingy will not properly install. The older 3.33 version will work, but will be blocked by Windows Vista because it is not digitally signed by Microsoft. To get it to install anyway, you need to follow these steps:
- Disable user account protection (UAP). To do this run %SystemRoot%\system32\msconfig.exe (just press Win+R and enter the exact line), go to the Tools tab, select “Disable UAP” and click on Launch.
- Disable integrity checks by running “Bcdedit.exe -set nointegritychecks ON” by entering the line in the box that pops up when you press Win+R as before.
- Reboot
- Install Daemon Tools 3.33
- You can now reactivate UAP of you wish to, however, that might cause the Daemon Tools tray icon to give trouble at system boot. If that happens, wait until Vista is fully loaded and then right-click on the daemon tools icon on your desktop, choosing “Run as administrator”.
Soundblaster Audigy
Creative does what this company does best: Being unable to deliver up-to-date drivers. Somehow, call it divine intervention, the old beta drivers from november 2005 (which stopped working since 5231) are working again. You still have to cope with clicks and scratches ocassionally, but at least you get decent sound.
Even a clicking and scratching Audigy is much better than what my onboard AC’97 output could provide if you ask me. If you’ve got an audigy card, go here:
Creative Labs Audigy 2/4 Drivers for Windows Vista x86 and x64
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