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Not related to this, but about the Win7 pre-order:

There is a strange footnote on the Microsoft pre-order page:

www.microsoft.com/.../pre-order.aspx

"The offer begins on June 26, 2009 and will continue while supplies last"

Have you ever heard of limited supplies for pre-order ??

And the funny thing is that that same page on the French MS website clearly states:

"Cette offre commence le 15 juillet 2009 et se terminera le 14 août 2009 ou lorsque 76 000 exemplaires auront été précommandés" meaning that offer is limited to 76000 units only...

www.microsoft.com/.../pre-commande-windows-7.aspx

Stange no ? So does MS want to create a buzz and then limit the number of pre-sale unit available ??

I believe that Paul or someone else mention this on this site. It is base on the country Japan for example has allready "sold out"

Pingback from  Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 now available in all languages | The Software Nook

Is this the Vista DVD with SP2 integrated, so a format can be performed which will have SP2 on it from the outset?

@wattsvilleblues

Yes the Iso is vista with sp2 burn it and you can do a clean install.

Nothing secret about it..there's an announcement on the Windows team blog.

DarkSages, thanks.  I take it the standalone ISO contains x86 and x64 flavours?

Turns out the ISO is only SP2 with all languages and 32-bit and 64-bit builds.  It's not the full operating system and it's not a bootable DVD.  Oh well, back to the drawing board.

@wattsvilleblues:

Quick and dirty method to install an SP2-integrated copy of Vista  (These instructions ARE NOT complete - browse around if you don't know how to do this stuff)

You need:

1x 4-8GB+ USB Flash Drive (for Windows setup files)

1x USB flash drive (temporary - for ImageX tools and Vista SP2 download)

1x Windows PE boot CD in the version of Windows you're using (x86 or x64)

1x Vista SP2 full download install in whichever version you need (x86 or x64)

Windows AIK or OPK for Vista SP1+

Additional instructions found elsewhere on the web (check Microsoft's site)

The process involves this:

On a temporary install or another computer do this with the big USB flash drive:

Format it, make it "Active" (makes it bootable), and copy the contents of a Vista install DVD onto it.  Microsoft recommends using an admin prompt (if using Vista) and using the command:

xcopy /cherkyi <sourcedrive> <targetdrive>

That contains all of the params needed for copying the Vista bits to the flash drive.

Using WAIK, copy ImageX onto the secondary USB flash drive as well as the Vista SP2 download.

Then, install Vista from DVD (or flash drive) onto a clean system.  The first post-install prompt in the OOBE (out of box experience) will be the language selection screen or some kind of welcome message.  Hit Ctrl-Shift-F3 to reboot the system in Audit mode.  You will know if it works because it'll close the first window immediately and reboot shortly after.

When it boots up, ignore the SysPrep tool.  Don't click anything on it.

Run the Vista SP2 update off the second flash disk.  Reboot as normal.

Once the update is done, run the compcln.exe program (SP2 installs it) to remove the temporary files from the SP2 install.  This clears up some disk space.

Once that's done, go to SysPrep, and choose the option "Run OOBE", Generalize, and Reboot.  Make sure the system boots from the bootable Windows PE disk now.  You should get a command prompt with a Vista-esque wallpaper.

Run ImageX and capture the image of the hard drive but make sure maximum compression is turned on.  Overwrite the Install.WIM file on the primary install flash drive (the one with the Vista setup files on it), et voila, a Vista SP2 install disc.

If you entered a product key, the Install.WIM will only have whatever version you installed.  If you didn't specify a product key, it will still only contain whatever OS you chose from the list.

If you feel peckish and want multiple editions of the OS (Home Prem, Biz, Ult, or x86, x64), you can add multiple volumes to the WIM using ImageX, and it will compress the bits down using single-instance-storage.  It takes a while to do that though, since you need to individually install, and then capture each OS edition separately.  I suggest that you NOT specify a product key AT ALL if you want to do this.

Of course, if you want a custom installation, you could install your drivers, and "vital" apps (Office, Adobe Flash, Reader, Java, WL Essentials, whatever) before SysPrepping and capturing.  That's up to you though.

Be aware that extra software will cause the image file to get big, so if you have a need for that, you might also need a larger USB stick.

@daveinla

Microsoft have gone about this half-arsed, instead of making it more widely available all they have done is cause confusion with the mixed messages they are sending out.

Waethorn

Thanks for some useful info in your post re installing Windows Vista inc SP2.

backup

Actually the "mixed message" that say Microsoft sent out and that you call "half-arsed" comes from you not reading what Microsoft themselves actually sent out but from thinking Paul's blog is the actual Microsoft site. Perhaps you should actually look at Microsoft's actual content before passing a "half-arsed" judgement on the wrong content.

----------------------------------

Press Release:

windowsteamblog.com/.../remaining-windows-vista-sp2-languages-released-to-windows-update.aspx

----------------------------------

Information and explanations of specific download contents:

technet.microsoft.com/.../dd767623.aspx

Oh, and Paul's "No announcement" is flat out wrong. The announcement was made at: windowsteamblog.com/.../remaining-windows-vista-sp2-languages-released-to-windows-update.aspx yesterday evening.

mikegalos

Fair comment. My comments were not related to Paul's post which is my fault. It was more my annoyance at Microsoft not making Windows 7 Pre-Ordering available in Australia.

Backup77

Fair enough. Although from my experience when a program like that isn't offered in a major market like Australia it's often due to things like local regulations that make it near impossible.

On the other hand, this is a pretty good year, apparently, to go to TechEd Australia...

I should probably have been a little less cryptic about why TechEd Australia is such a good event to attend.

Attendees who pay for their tickets (not those who get comped admission) get an HP Mini 2140 Notebook PC with Windows 7 preloaded as their attendee gift. (A lot better than the usual backpacks we got when I was doing the TechEd circuit)

www.msteched.com/.../windows-7-experience.aspx

mike

Its great that TechEd Australia 2009 is being held on the Gold Coast where I live so I am keen to attend especially with a nice HP netbook as a pre-sweetner. I found out through Long's blog here

www.istartedsomething.com/.../teched-australia-attendees-free-hp-mini-windows-7

There is a nice $300 saving on tickets if purchased before end of July.

mike

This from ZDNET Australia regarding Windows 7 pricing for Australia got me miffed also.

www.zdnet.com.au/.../0,130061733,339297112,00.htm

@Backup77:

I forgot to note that you need a Vista SP1 disc for those intructions to work because SysPrep was changed in SP1.  The RTM version won't work.