Consider the following scenario:

• You try to use an unattended answer file (Unattend.xml) to install Windows Vista.
• To do this, you specify the value of the InstallToAvailablePartition XML element as “true” in the Unattend.xml file.
• The computer does not have an existing system volume. For example, there is no valid active partition on the boot disk.

In this scenario, you may receive the following error message during the installation of Windows Vista:

Windows could not prepare the computer to boot into the next phase of installation.

Note: The InstallToAvailablePartition XML element is in the following section of the Unattend.xml file:
[ImageInstall]\[OSImage]\[InstallToAvailablePartition]

The Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification for August 2007 was just released, and Vista didn’t escape the need for security updates this month. In addition to one important update for Vista itself, you can expect two for IE7 (one important, the other critical), one for XML Core Services (critical), and another for Media Player (important).

Consider the following scenario. You install Adobe Dreamweaver on a Windows Vista-based computer. Additionally, you accept the option to make Dreamweaver the default editor for XML files. In this scenario, Windows Vista Help and Support stops working. When you try to run Windows Vista Help and Support, you receive the following error message:

Internet Explorer cannot download / from windows. Internet Explorer was not able to open this Internet site. The requested site is either unavailable or cannot be found. Please try again later.

You may also receive an error message that states that Windows Vista cannot find the file when you try to open XML files in the Windows Vista file browser.

When you open a smart document solution on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows Vista, you receive the following error message:

The XML expansion pack or the Smart Document program is missing or invalid. Contact your system administrator or the person who provided this document.

You try to use Microsoft Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) 2.0 together with an unattended XML file to install Windows Vista from a network share. However, Setup does not finish. Additionally, you receive the following error message:

Windows cannot access the installation sources. Verify that the installation sources are accessible and restart the installation

Microsoft has released a product guide for Windows Vista. Strangely enough, they either want you to buy Vista, buy Office 2007, or build a test computer to be able to read the guide. Keep reading →