• VistaBase
  A Vista specific site (though it also has a section for Windows Server 2008) that has over 300 articles that span different Vista related topics.
  (tags: Resources )
• Cozi Central now works with Vista!
  Cozi Central helps busy families manage schedules, appointments, shopping and communications from wherever you are. The PC client is now Vista compatible.
  (tags: Software Compatibility )

Keep reading →

A commentary on a post by a Linux user that couldn’t read a CD burned in Vista. Keep reading →

• Get a Mac? Maybe, but Windows Vista offers a more complete package than you might think
  A nice writeup about Vista, with some Mac comparisons.
  (tags: Review )
• Hackers hijack Windows Update’s downloader
  Hackers are using Vista’s built in BITS service to sneak downloads past the firewall.
  (tags: Hack Service Firewall )
• Windows Vista: ISO Recorder v3
  A free ISO recorder for Vista. Supports CDs or DVDs, 32-bit or 64-bit.
  (tags: Software DVD CD ISO )

A free ISO recorder for Vista. Supports CDs or DVDs, 32-bit or 64-bit. Keep reading →

Vista’s built in CD/DVD burning software works for creating data disks, but doesn’t offer the ability to use a disc image file to burn a disc. If you need to burn an image file, you’ll need a third-party application to do it, and thankfully, their are many to choose from. I use ImgBurn, which is not only free, but supports a ton of image types, and works great in Vista. ImgBurn not only handles CD’s and DVD’s, but is already capable of doing HD DVD and Blue-ray discs as well. The download is only 1.5MB, and once install, isn’t much larger than that, so it’s very resource friendly. It even supports command line switches, so it could be run from a batch file. Keep reading →

You resume a Windows Vista-based computer from sleep or hibernation. Then, you try to load or play an audio CD in a connected DVD changer in Windows Media Center. After you do this, Windows Media Center stops responding (hangs).

After you install Windows Vista on a computer that uses an SiI Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA) chip from Silicon Image, the computer does not recognize an attached optical drive as a drive that supports recording. Therefore, you cannot use the computer to burn CDs or DVDs.

When you try to use a Windows Vista CD or DVD to install Windows Vista, one or more of the following issues may occur:

• The disc is not recognized by the computer.
• When you view the contents of the disc in Windows Explorer, the disc appears to be empty.
• The disc is in the CD or DVD drive when you start the computer. However, you are not prompted with the following message as expected:
  

  Press any key to boot from CD

In Windows XP I always used Nero to burn CDs and DVDs. I can’t count the number of times a user asked for help with their CD they brought from home. They dragged the file to the disk, which added it to the index, but they never did the final Burn process to create the CD, so of course the files don’t end up on the disk. With Vista I figured I’d give it another try and see how the built in burning facilities work. Here’s an area that Vista hasn’t improved. It’s virtually identical to how it works in XP. Yes you can burn discs with this feature, but there are better alternatives. Keep reading →