Print - Exclusive: Here Comes Windows Vista RC2 [Updated]

Microsoft will ship the final prerelease version of Windows Vista on Friday and, unexpectedly, will name the new version Release Candidate 2 (RC2). (Microsoft had stated earlier that it wouldn't ship an RC2 milestone release of Vista.) But don't let the name fool you. RC2 is really just a standard interim build of Vista, but unlike RC1, it won't be distributed to millions of users.

The RC2 build is 5743, and Microsoft is currently testing it internally. As with the previous interim build, 5728, RC2 will go to beta testers, Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) and TechNet subscribers, and a random, limited number of Consumer Preview Program (CPP) members.

Although Microsoft wouldn't confirm the specifics of the release, the company did corroborate that it's planning an upcoming interim Vista build. "As we have previously discussed, Microsoft does plan to deliver more interim builds of Windows Vista before releasing the final product," a Microsoft spokesperson told me. "The exact name of the build and the date of its release have not been announced."

This is the last build Microsoft will be making available to the public prior to release to manufacturing (RTM). The RTM--which had been expected to be "on or before October 25"--has been adjusted slightly. Now, the Vista launch window begins October 18, when Microsoft will begin testing the final planned build for RTM. But Microsoft doesn't expect to finalize the product until sometime between October 25 and November 8.

Internal documentation notes that each daily delay after October 25 comes at a price, however: For each day past October 25, Microsoft will ship one less localized, language-specific version of Vista for the January launch. However, the company is prepared to do that to ensure that Vista's quality is high.

The internal documentation also notes that Vista still has more than 1400 bugs. Microsoft's internal processes require this bug count to drop to 500 or fewer before the product can go into escrow for RTM. By comparison, Vista had more than 2470 bugs on September 22.

In related news, Microsoft will be changing the product keys it uses for Vista after the product hits the RTM escrow phase. Consequently, users won't be able to use prerelease Vista product keys to install the RTM version. My understanding is that this change won't affect the RC2 release.

Update: Since this article was first written, Microsoft has had to advance the RC2 build to 5744.16384.061003-1945. The company still plans to ship RC2 to testers on Friday.

"each daily delay after October 25 comes at a price, however: For each day past October 25, Microsoft will start to lose languages for the January launch." What does that mean? Lose languages? Does it mean that Vista will not include as many non-English languages if it is delayed past 25 October?

Build 5600 was slow but worked, while build 5728 randomly blue-screens on start up. I wonder if the fact they're going against their word (again) calling this RC2 means that Vista needs more testing.

Cool that good that tere will be one more RC2 sound good to me. as for build 5728 it good to here that it not just me that it randomly blue-screens but i have had it do it on start up yet. let hope that they fix it fast. as for Lose languages it be my guest that the non-English languages would be what goes, but MS will be able to put then back when SP1 comes out. as of the kennel update that it will do. so I don't think thats a big thing for the to lose then. as for RC1 it was that slow was it seem ok to me most off the time. as for Product Keys that would be a good idear. I still think it will be October 27th not the 25th buta that just me.

"What does that mean? Lose languages? Does it mean that Vista will not include as many non-English languages if it is delayed past 25 October?" It probably means they won't be able to produce as many localized copies. Localization is completed in the last stages of development after all changes in text have been finalized.

looking forward to it. but i'm very please with RC1. Having said that...vista is a memory hog. 1GB is now the most "acceptable" minimum with 2GB being the optimal for serious users. 512 is simply not enough. You can tell they are using a lot of .net code under the hood since that framework is infamous for it's high memory usage.

I don't know, I've installed Vista on my lappy, and its only got 512MB. Performance was fine, but I didn't have aero on because of the video card. (hey, when i bought the thing XP was the new OS lol) Vista seems to goldfish-it alot. If you have 1GB of mem, it'll suck up around 400MB. IF you have 512MB like on my lappy, it'll suck up around 200MB. I'm upgrading this month, so I'll see how it likes a 2GB footprint (albiet if it eats up 800MB I might get miffed heh) I did notice that searches on the laptop were not realtime like on the desktop. Vista really has that desktop search thing sorted out, it doesn't feel like *searching* anymore. But on the laptop it took maybe a split second, wasn't instantaneous. So maybe the extra memory is just a bigger index cache.

"I'm upgrading this month, so I'll see how it likes a 2GB footprint (albiet if it eats up 800MB I might get miffed heh)" An OS should eat up as much memory is it needs while not interfering with other software. If you have this non-consumable resource, why wouldn't you use it to maximum efficiency. What is should do is drop it's own memory usage when the resource becomes scarce.

Something tells me Microsoft will ship Vista with more than 500 open bugs. Besides, they got to have bugs in order to allow for exploits so that people get the most out of their OneCare subscriptions. As for localization, I'm guessing Microsoft will have more coders working on the Plus! Pack for Vista at this point than the Swahili version of Vista.

"Something tells me Microsoft will ship Vista with more than 500 open bugs. Besides, they got to have bugs in order to allow for exploits so that people get the most out of their OneCare subscriptions." vandil, uhm Preseton, uhm bonch --since you are in the know about Apple's OS X development, can you tell us how many open bugs OS X Tiger shipped with? Oh, and I just installed the lates OS X patches, and now my boot time is about 4 minutes. What is that all about??? --tayme

"I just installed the lates OS X patches, and now my boot time is about 4 minutes. What is that all about???" Let me explain this for you: After a point release update, your Mac has to reboot into Single User mode so it can apply certain changes. This happens during that first extended load screen (the apple logo+swirly gear screen). Once the updates are set, your Mac then reboots into standard mode in its usual fast form. If *your* Mac fails to boot fast after the point release's initial reboot, then you should flash the P-RAM (hold Apple+Option+P+R at startup for 2-3 chimes, then release) and see if that fixes things.

"An OS should eat up as much memory is it needs while not interfering with other software. If you have this non-consumable resource, why wouldn't you use it to maximum efficiency." True, but there is an upper limit to usage. I wouldn't expect Win98 would eat up 400MB in any scenario. But yes, using what you have is always best. "If *your* Mac fails ..." Oh, so he can't speak for the Mac community if something bad happens? This seems to be a trend on these postings, all good occurances/instances related to macs are global for all macs, all negative occurances/instances are singular/user related. And reverse when Mac is replaced with windows. If there is a mac performance issue, homeboy has to go through hardware triage before he can denounce mac? How does that align with "macs just work, macs let you get real work done without all this bs"?

"If *your* Mac fails ..." And, yes...it is my Mac!!! So, will I get the same answer from you other 2 personas? It seems that each has its own level of arrogance!!! But, seriously...thanks for the info...I was not aware of the single user mode thing. --tayme

"...Mac fails to boot fast after the point release's initial reboot, then you should flash the P-RAM (hold Apple+Option+P+R at startup for 2-3 chimes, then release) and see if that fixes things." Sweet mother of.... You have to go through all that? Sheesh. So much for simplistic. With Windows, the updates install, your computer reboots, you're done. "Something tells me Microsoft will ship Vista with more than 500 open bugs. Besides, they got to have bugs in order to allow for exploits so that people get the most out of their OneCare subscriptions." You obviously don't work in software. If companies were to hold back products in order to fix ALL bug, nothing, no matter the platform, would ever be released. EVER. As for the exploits - yah. OK. They build the security flaws in there themselves. /rolls eyes

Just a quick question where in the post buy Paul does it have anything to to with Apple Macs? I was hope just this onces this would not happen. But yet again it going to be all about something that has not a dam thing to do with VISTA now that I said that let me ask you do any of you thing that vista it will get door on time ? As I said my geust will be around 27th Oct but I starting to think it be longer then that.

Nov. 1 Everything MS has released in November succeeds, point of fact. Doing it for good mojo. lol.

@will84: No one person can speak for the Mac community. Same goes for the Windows community. Thinking otherwise is insane and arrogant. I have never claimed to speak for the Mac community. If you somehow gleaned that from my comments here, that's too bad. @sticknick Flashing the P-RAM is a troubleshooting item only. Most people never have to do it. As for complexity, it's far easier to hold down four keys for ~15 seconds of your life than, say, boot from the XP CD-ROM, open up the recovery console command line, navigate to the prefetch folder and nuke prefetch items and disabling problematic services and drivers to fix XP. Pwnd!

"No one person can speak for the Mac community. Same goes for the Windows community. Thinking otherwise is insane and arrogant." Glad you mentioned that, it means we're safe in knowing that you are the only person on earth that " boot from the XP CD-ROM, open up the recovery console command line, navigate to the prefetch folder and nuke prefetch items and disabling problematic services and drivers to fix XP." Does that lol. Bear in mind that if you say anything to the contrary, you undermine your own argument. Cheers fuzzy cat man.

Restart, press F8, choose "Last Known Good Configuration." Presto, your Windows machine is fixed.

@sticknick: "Sweet mother of....You have to go through all that?" No, you don't. "Sheesh. So much for simplistic. With Windows, the updates install, your computer reboots, you're done." Except when Microsoft issues a patch, then issues a patch to fix the patch, then issues a patch to fix the patch to the patch. I still laugh at the bizarre usage of "Express" to mean critical updates and "Custom" to mean all updates. Why not label the buttons "Critical" and "All?" I guess that would be too logical and commonsense for Microsoft. I'm off to use my 15-second booting Mac... (hey, since you guys are trolling for Windows, I'll troll for Macs)

Microsoft fans are like young Republicans. They're weird, they're outcasts, they're aggressive and militant about their beliefs, and they never get laid. It's just an operating system, for God's sake.

"Microsoft fans are like young Republicans. They're weird, they're outcasts, they're aggressive and militant about their beliefs, and they never get laid. It's just an operating system, for God's sake." AAAAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAA You're so funny, Preseton/bonch AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA Seriously, that was funny, even though it made no sense. Wait, aren't you the guy who calls his computer "honey"??? BTW, Express means critical updates and Custom means you can choose which updates to install. Now what don't you understand about that?

Young republicans get laid... the only problem is that it's by being pages for republican congressmen seeking same-sex relationships with youths. Preseton is right about the button labelling on Windows Update. If "Express" simply downloads Critical updates, then label it "Install Critical Updates". Then again, considering the vast majority of Windows users are Joe Sixpacks, perhaps they shuld label it "Make me safe now"

@shark47: "Seriously, that was funny, even though it made no sense. Wait, aren't you the guy who calls his computer "honey"???" Uh, no. "BTW, Express means critical updates and Custom means you can choose which updates to install. Now what don't you understand about that?" Maybe you didn't read my post thoroughly, but that's exactly what I wrote. Express means critical and Custom means critical+non-critical. My point was that the labels make absolutely no sense. Express should be called Critical and Custom should be called All. It's more illogical interface design from Microsoft.

Ugh, so many incompatibilities, performance still sucks compared to XP, especially when using the explorer and running games. MS better do more work on performance or no one would upgrade; XP is just as secure as Vista and no self-respecting IT pro will use UAC.

unMatChedProWess Vista performance is great, better than XP, runs all of my games just fine (along with everything else I've thrown at it). Sadly you gave the game away, as you are no self respecting IT pro. Vista is 10 times as secure as XP because of the way it has been written. Silly boy. UAC isn't designed for IT Pro's, its designed for the man in the street. As such it very good idea. Considering most IT pro's work in a corporate environment where Admin access will be turned off by default UAC isn't required. Get off the Vista bashing bandwagon and do some research before coming on here and boring thr rest of us.

unMatChedProWess: Just in case Alan made you feel like you don't belong in the club, here's a good way to win over the hearts of everyone on this forum except Losta, Preston and me: Just say something bad about Apple, Macs, iPods, or OS X. Seriously, you don't even have to look something up. Just say that every time someone boots up OS X, a puppy dies. No need for proof or facts. It's like insta-popularity on the WinSuperSite forums.

I've installed RC2 and noticed that Microsoft STILL didn't fix the bug on multi-monitor setups, where maximizing a window on the second display makes the taskbar on the first display go opaque. At the Shell Blog, they just revealed that this is one of many bugs that won't get fixed in time for RTM. Ugh. Vista is rushed.

@sticknick: "Funny - that sounds more like Apple fans to me." Nah, Apple fans are the hip libertarians who go to parties and clubs on the weekends and do photography and write novels during the work week. :-D @alanm999: "Vista is 10 times as secure as XP because of the way it has been written. Silly boy." 10 times, eh? The way it was written? Can you be any more vague? Vista is more secure than XP, but it's still the same old Windows code with an extremely annoying dialog prompt. What's worse, it's still based on Win32 which dates back to the single-user DOS days of the 1980s. "UAC isn't designed for IT Pro's, its designed for the man in the street. As such it very good idea." It's nice that it's there, but I doubt that it will stop the security issues that plague the legacy Win32 code. Besides, other systems like Linux and OS X are able to implement secure desktop systems without constant, annoying user prompts--why was Microsoft unable to do this? "Considering most IT pro's work in a corporate environment where Admin access will be turned off by default UAC isn't required." Most IT pros won't be installing Vista for at least a year or two. Vista will be a very slow seller. It might even be slower than XP was, which took years to overtake 98. It's just not a compelling update. Hell, Vista still has the same Windows 3.1 "Install Font" dialog from 15 years ago. I don't need to tell you that a certain other OS used by desktop publishers has a more modern font book interface for managing installed fonts.

Bonch(preseton) whatever So you have inside knowledge of all of the code used in Vista do you? Thought not. You talk about install font. Is that the best you can do for a criticism. Please. Where did I say that IT pros would be immediately installing Vista. Don't put words into my mouth. Vista has a completely different security model to XP. How many times has 2K3 server been broken? Considering Vista is derived from that codebase, I'm betting that it going to be a damn sight more robust than XP. Vista is a compelling update, it may not be you in Mac World, but it is to me and I suspect much to your annoyance, that it will have a larger installed userbase within a month than Apple has on this planet. Do I feel smug. YES.

There were Win32 Days in the 1980's? i remember 8-bit and 16-bit, but i never knew that there were 32-bit days in the 1980s. And to think, i could have therefore run my copy of windows 3.1 in 32-bit mode...hmm anyways...to quote ignorance... "Maybe you didn't read my post thoroughly, but that's exactly what I wrote. Express means critical and Custom means critical+non-critical. My point was that the labels make absolutely no sense. Express should be called Critical and Custom should be called All. It's more illogical interface design from Microsoft." Maybe on the online windows update site, express and custom could be thought of as that, but the what they actually do is, Express gets it over with right away by just downloading the critical updates, whereas, Custom lets you select exactly which updates you want from critical, and non critical updates. They call it custom because its custom, maybe you dont want a specific update because you have some oddball software package that has an issue with a particular update or something. I think i speak for everyone when i say that Windows vs Apple is a matter of opinion only, in that they have far different idealogies, far different marketshare and customer base to try to appeal to, and far different issues in almost every aspect. For example, Apple is a hardware and software company, whereas microsoft OS'es use the standard PC Architecture, and have alot more hardware and drivers to deal with. configuration in a large corporation, whereas Apple systems are 99.999% of the time used at home. Mac OS 9 has irritated me before when a missing font screwed the whole system, and microsoft irritates me in that everyone develops viruses for it and nobody makes a lightweight and reliable program to stop viruses. Yes, we all have our opinions, but unless theyre about windows, they dont really belong on this site. This article is about WINDOW S VISTA.