More Vista Fixes! – When Should I Upgrade?

Bink is reporting that 4 more fixes are available for both Vista 32bit and Vista 64bit.
 
  • KB929685: A high definition audio device may no longer work after you resume Windows Vista from sleep or from hibernation and then restart the computer.
  • KB930163: In Windows Vista, you cannot access any resources on a remote VPN server after you switch a network connection from one network adapter to another network adapter and then dial a VPN connection.
  • KB929762: You receive a Stop 0x9F error when you wake a Windows Vista-based computer that is connected to an IEEE 1394-based device.
  • KB929761: When you run Wusa.exe together with the /quiet option to try to install certain software packages on a Windows Vista-based computer, the installation fails.
  • KB929615: You may not receive audio in the desired language when you use Windows Media Center to view television in Windows Vista
It certainly is proving to be a busy period for Vista updates.  That begs the question: Should I upgrade all of my PC’s now?  I’m normally one to to quite aggressive with upgrades but for a desktop OS, I think I’d be a little conservative.  I’m certainly not recommending that you hold off on Vista until 2010.  I’d say give it 6 months fom now (general availablity) before you start an upgrade.  Common applications and devices still don’t have device drivers to it’d be hard to justify an upgrade.  It also looks like we’re going to go through a bump ride for a while with these bug fixes.  My thought process is, let things settle down and then build all these updates into your teplate build/image.  Fianlly, there’s the hardware thing to consider.  Vista is a beast for CPU and RAM.  I’m wondering if a business PC will require a dual core CPU and 2 GB RAM.  Only testing and time will tell.
 
In the meantime, it doen’t mean you should forget about Vista.  On the contrary.  If possible, anyone with administrative privileges should upgrade now.  UAC will protect their PC’s against threats.  I know, UAC was a pain, but it’s gotten better throughout the beta and RC process.  Application vendors are currently fixing their products so they don’t trigger it.  I’ve left UAC turned on at home.  I like the sense of security it gives me that goes way beyond firewall or anti malware functionality.
 
Next, I’d consider those users with security concerns.  Vista includes functionality such as device locking (group policy), full disk encryption (BitLocker) and DEP that will protect the data on PC’s that you consider at risk. 
 
Application comaptibility is going to be an issue for people.  Admins may not find UAC acceptable.  I highly encourage you to look at the options available rather than lowering your security.
 
  • Admins shouldn’t really log into their "desktop" PC as administrator.  If they use a Virtual Machine (Microsoft Virtual PC is free) then they’ll be able to log into their desktop as a normal user to access email and web and log into their VM as administrator/domain admin to do their work.
  • Some applications might not work now (or ever) on Vista.  Again a VM running Windows XP or Windows 2000 might help those affected users.
  • Check out the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0.

Some might just be scared of deploying a new OS and all the software on it.  That’s just not excusable these days.  There ahve never been more options.  The following will all deploy images of a disk with the OS and applications all installed and configured:

  • Ghost
  • WAIK (free)
  • WDS (part of WAIK and Windows 2003 SP2)
  • SMS 2003
  • CM 2007 (March 2007, approx)

The following can be used to install and manage software:

  • Group Policy (part of AD)
  • SMS 2003
  • CM 2007 (March 2007, approx)

Is Vista a big leap?  Yes.  Is it big and scary enough that you should run and hide under your duvert cover?  No.  Take my advice: Do a limited deployment so your IT staff can become familiar with the product, deployment and management of it.  Then target those staff who can benefit from the product.  During this time, test and develop your applications and procedures.  When you are ready, pull the trigger and deploy it.  With some planning and preparation, you;ll avoid the situation that many companies are in now, panicking over NT upgrades and meeting system requirements for new business solutions.

Credit: Bink for the update news.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.