Product Description

Windows Vista Business is the primary edition of Windows Vista for business desktop and mobile PCs. Windows Vista Business helps keep PCs running smoothly and securely, with less reliance on dedicated IT support. For larger organizations, Windows Vista Business provides dramatic new infrastructure improvements, enabling IT staff to spend more time adding strategic value to the business. Windows Vista Business also offers powerful new ways to organize, find, and share information, while helping people stay better connected in the office and on the road.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2475 in Software
• Color: 1-user
• Brand: Microsoft
• Model: 66J-00003
• Released on: 2007-01-30
• Platforms: Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium
• Format: DVD-ROM
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 8.00" h x 2.00" w x 6.00" l, 3.00 pounds

Features

• User-friendly software offers powerful new ways to organize, find, and share information
• Keeps your network running smoothly and securely without excessive reliance on dedicated IT support; ideal for organizations of all sizes
• Sophisticated data protection and auditing capabilities help simplify IT management and can help lower costs for regulatory compliance
• Warns you of impending hardware failures early on, so you don't have to worry about the devastating loss of any important business data
• Upgrade from your current edition of Microsoft Windows XP or Windows 2000 (including Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home, Windows XP Media Center, Windows XP Tablet PC, Windows XP Professional x64, Windows 2000)

Amazon.com
The Microsoft Windows Vista Business Upgrade (DVD-ROM) helps your business run more efficiently than ever before. Designed to keep your network running smoothly and securely without excessive reliance on dedicated IT support, Windows Vista Business is the primary edition of Windows Vista for business desktop and mobile PCs.

Windows Sidebar gives you quick access to gadgets like picture slide shows, Windows Media Player controls, or news headlines. You pick the gadgets you want to see in Windows Sidebar. View larger.

Use Instant Search to quickly find the information you need. View larger.

Use Flip 3D to navigate through open windows using the scroll wheel on your mouse. View larger.

Windows Vista Aero provides spectacular visual effects such as glass-like interface elements that you can see through.

Compare Windows Vista editions.

Security alerts enable you to quickly resolve potentially damaging issues that can harm your Windows Vista PC. View larger.

Use the new Sync Center to manage the synchronization of your data with other PCs or the devices you connect to your PC. View larger.

Starting and managing file sharing and application collaboration is easy and intuitive. View larger.

Windows Vista Provides a single destination where you can access all of the related Backup and Restore features. View larger.

Windows Fax and Scan simplifies your document handling and communication needs. View larger.

Ideal for organizations of all sizes, this software provides dramatic new infrastructure improvements, enabling IT staff to spend more time adding strategic value to the business and less time troubleshooting glitches. Windows Vista Business also offers powerful new ways to organize, find, and share information, while helping people stay better connected in the office and on the road.

Update Eligibility
You can upgrade from your current edition of Microsoft Windows XP or Windows 2000 (including Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home, Windows XP Media Center, Windows XP Tablet PC, Windows XP Professional x64, Windows 2000) to a corresponding or better edition of Windows Vista by purchasing and installing this upgrade copy of Windows Vista. Depending on which edition of Windows you are running and the edition of Windows Vista you would like to install, you have two options for the installation process: You can upgrade in-place, which means you can install Windows Vista and retain your applications, files, and settings as they were in your previous edition of Windows or you can do a clean install. If you are currently using Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional x64, you are eligible for an upgrade copy to a corresponding or better edition of Windows Vista, but a clean install is required. For versions of Windows earlier than Windows 2000, upgrade copies are not available. These earlier versions of Windows require you to install a full copy of Windows Vista.

Easier, Faster Access to Information
Windows Vista Business features Windows Aero, a new interface that delivers higher levels of efficiency for any business user. This easy-to-use interface makes it a snap to navigate through the operating system and from application to application. Most importantly, Windows Aero helps you juggle multiple tasks at once by providing a three-dimensional, real-time, animated view of all your open applications and documents.

In addition to these navigation improvements, Windows Vista Business makes it easier than ever to manage huge volumes of business documents. By integrating search throughout the operating system and providing new ways to organize files, this software helps you quickly find exactly what you are looking for.

Collaborate and Communicate More Effectively
Windows Vista Business helps your work teams collaborate and communicate more effectively, regardless of their location. By helping users find and use information quickly and easily, this software can dramatically improve how people in your organization access and apply essential knowledge and resources on PCs, in e-mail, from corporate servers, and on the Internet.

Improved Security and Compliance
Protecting your business information and complying with regulations places increased demands on your IT staff. Windows Vista Business' more sophisticated data protection and auditing capabilities help simplify IT management and can help lower costs for regulatory compliance. In addition, with features like the Encryption File system, Windows Vista helps organizations manage security risks by protecting information and services in a more controllable and secure environment.

Safe Operation
For businesses of any size, Windows Vista Business makes it possible for your IT department to configure users' systems so that they can log onto their PCs as standard users instead of as administrators. This helps minimize compatibility and usability issues that might have occurred in previous versions of Windows, while also making those issues easier to resolve. Moreover, this new capability significantly reduces the likelihood of a malicious attack causing damage to your organization's PCs.

Keep Your Network Running Smoothly
For small businesses, Windows Vista Business includes new technology and tools to ensure your PCs are always up-to-date, more secure, and running smoothly. For instance, this software helps make your PCs safer with built-in protection against malicious software, or malware. And because Windows Vista Business warns you of impending hardware failures early on, you don't have to worry about the devastating loss of any important business data. No matter what potential problems arise, an array of sophisticated new backup technologies helps protect your information even in the event of a catastrophic hardware failure. When it comes to management, features like Domain Join and Group Policy support improve the efficiency of your workgroups.

Small Business Resources
And for those who are not full-time IT professionals but have roles that require them to support their organizations' PCs, Windows Vista Business includes Small Business Resources. This built-in how-to guide leads you through everyday tasks and troubleshooting in easy-to-follow, non-technical language. By giving you the ability to solve problems as they arise, you can help keep your business efficient. Windows Vista Business also provides business specific features like fax and scan that increase productivity.

Image-Based Installation
For larger organizations, Windows Vista Business has been designed from the ground up to improve the deployment and management of the central operating system. For instance, image-based installation is now the default method for installing the Windows Vista operating system, and the images are no longer hardware-dependent. These two key design principles enable your organization to dramatically reduce the number of images you are required to manage and streamline the process of deploying new PCs and updating existing PCs. The end result is faster, easier operation than ever before, which helps improve the overall productivity of your business.

More Mobile and Better Connected
Today, more businesses rely on an ever-expanding mobile workforce as a way to enhance their scope of service and reduce enterprise costs associated with supporting a large on-site staff. Windows Vista Business gives mobile professionals easier and more secure access to corporate resources so they can readily collaborate with colleagues-- both on and off the network. Employees and colleagues will also find it easier to make wireless connections and synchronize mobile devices. The success of any business depends on communication, and Windows Vista Business helps you easily and quickly connect with your organization, your customers, and your partners, whether you are in the office or on the road. This software package includes all of the essential infrastructure required to more securely connect you to your business information whether you are sitting at your desk, working at home, connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot, or even if you are using your cell phone to connect to the Internet.

To help you be more productive when you're away from your desk, Windows Vista Business includes Windows Tablet and Touch Technology, so you can interact with your Tablet PC by using a digital pen, your fingertip, or a keyboard. Improved handwriting recognition and easier ways to browse documents and programs without using a keyboard give you added flexibility and convenience.

Easy Accessibility
Computers that include Windows Vista Business and an auxiliary Windows SideShow display will also allow you to access critical business information even when your computer is turned off. You can also share documents and collaborate with colleagues, partners, and customers--even if a network is not available. Additionally, Windows Vista Business helps you get the most out of your portable PC by making it quick and easy to manage key mobility settings.

Cost Effective
Meeting the increasingly complex demands that are placed on your IT systems doesn't have to be expensive. Designed to be less expensive to deploy and support, Windows Vista Business offers you a better return on your IT investments. By empowering people to work more efficiently, this system helps keep both productivity and morale high.

From the Manufacturer
Windows Vista Business is the definitive choice for your business--today and tomorrow. A stunning and simple new user interface, easy-to-use search, powerful safety features, and mobile computing enhancements make it easier to stay connected with your business, in and out of the office.

Note: This is a Windows Vista Business Upgrade DVD-Rom.

Ready to Grow When You Are.
As your business grows, Windows Vista Business can grow with you, offering simple ways to connect to servers, trusted networks, and multiple PCs. And, when you add new PCs, Microsoft Windows Easy Transfer simplifies transferring information and settings from old PCs to new ones.

Manage Your Technology Yourself.
Windows Vista Business removes the intimidation factor from managing your company's hardware and networks with easy-to-use tools for configuring, controlling, and administering everything from users' browser settings to connecting network projectors.

Protect Your Business--and Your Peace of Mind.
Built-in security features automatically help protect your PCs from unwanted software, spyware, and other threats. Plus you have the ability to add password protection to files, which helps protect your PCs and data from unauthorized access.

Have the Most Current Information at Your Fingertips.
Whether your data is on a PDA, portable PC, or mobile phone, you can use the one-stop Windows Sync Center to synchronize key information efficiently.

Stop Searching. Find.
Instant Search helps you find information and resources on your PC--and even in e-mail--almost instantly. The Windows Aero interface helps you quickly navigate open files and programs. Plus you can fax and scan directly from your PC.

Features in Windows Vista Business

Getting it Done Just Got Easier

• Windows Vista Aero--Innovative navigational tools in Microsoft Windows Aero make it easier to find and access recently used documents and programs.
• Instant Search--The name says it all. Instantly search everything on your PC and your network, regardless of location or format, including applications, internet files, documents, media, contacts, calendar events and email messages.
• Windows Fax and Scan--Designed specifically for the small business, one-click faxing capabilities in Windows Vista Business makes it easy to send and receive faxes, scan documents and images and share those resources with others.
• Small Business Resources--Get a guided tour with practical, easy-to-use advice and instructions to help you spend less time learning how to manage your computers, and more time focusing on your business.

• Windows Easy Transfer--Get going on your new PC--and never miss a beat. Windows Easy Transfer helps you set up new computers by automatically transferring important information from the old computer to the new one, such as files and folders, e-mail messages, Windows and program settings, contacts, photos, music, and Internet Favorites.
• Compatibility--Windows Vista Business is compatible with thousands of software applications, hardware devices, and services.
• Windows Meeting Space--Helps make face-to-face meetings more productive by enabling collaboration among small groups of Windows Vista users even over an ad-hoc wireless network.

• Windows Backup and Restore--Better protect your information with scheduled backups and recovery tools that can backup entire hard drives and easily retrieve previous versions of a document.
• Windows Shadow Copy Back-up--Shadow Copy automatically creates point-in-time copies of files as you work, so you can quickly and easily retrieve versions of a document that you may have accidentally deleted or overwritten.
• Windows Defender--On guard at all times--Windows Defender helps protect your company's PCs by regularly scanning your computers, and offering to remove any spyware or other unwanted software that it finds.
• Group Policy--Lower your reliance on IT support. With Group Policy, administrators can save time and money--and reduce security risks--by configuring wireless network settings, removable storage devices, printers, Internet Explorer, and even power management settings.

• Domain Join--Easily join your trusted networks with enhanced security technologies, including simple ways to connect to Microsoft Windows Small Business Server or Microsoft Windows Server domains.
• Windows Mobility Center--In addition to giving you a convenient place for all of your mobile settings, Windows Mobility Center includes preset power plans to help maximize the battery life of your laptop or Tablet PC--giving you the most freedom and flexibility possible.
• Windows Meeting Space--Share files with other Windows Vista users with enhanced security using Windows Meeting Space to create one-time wireless networks.
• Remote Desktop--Manage your business from where and when it's convenient for you, by accessing your business computer remotely with enhanced security.

Customer Reviews

A WARNING ABOUT THIS PRODUCT
I've just finished upgrading to Vista Business using the Upgrade DVD. During the upgrade from Windows XP pro, the upgrade failed. Because of the timing of the upgrade process, I was left with a non working machine. Every attempt I made to fix the broken upgrade failed as well. As I saw it, the only way to fix this was to install an clean version of the OS to get back to my data. Unfortunately I was wrong (I'll get to that later.) During the clean install, when I entered my product key I was informed that the key was only for upgrades, not clean installs. But, at this point, what could I do, the upgrade failed and my machine was dead. There was an option to not enter the product key at this point, and re-enter it after the OS was running. SO... I continued with the install. After that the install went quite smooth, Vista is up and running on my machine right now as I right this warning message. It looks cool, there are a few issues such as my bluetooth wireless drivers aren't available yet, but I knew about that in advance when I ran the upgrade adviser. BUT now for the BIG issue. When I attempted to use my valid product key to activate Windows Vista, I was informed that my KEY wasn't valid because I did a clean install. After spending 2 hours arguing with MS tech support, they basically told me this... I had to do a clean install of XP and then attempt to do the UPGRADE again!!! WTF!!! They expect me to spend another 8 hours (after I've already spend 5 hours to this point) putting XP back on just to ATTEMPT the upgrade again (which might fail again!??!!?) OR my other option is to spend $299 for the Full install version to avoid the 8 hours of wasted time. This is complete bull! I've been working with MS products for a very long time and every "upgrade" product in the past allowed you to do a clean install if you provided a valid key of a previous product during the clean install process. This product isn't ready for you! Please save yourself time and energy fixing issues that MS should have had worked out. DO NOT buy the UPGRADE DVD, because you are risking $200 on a possible upgrade failure, then will have to spend a lot more time OR another $300 to get another product key.

My experience with Vista Business Upgrade
It's late at night and this will be a quick review based on my experience with VISTA business. I've only used the product for a week.

First, i'm at experienced PC user and like to always keep up to date with the latest hardware. I was reluctant to upgrade to VISTA at first because it didn't support my online postage provider's software (so I thought) as well as a game I play (that's now supported, but wasn't at first).

The one big thing that held me back from the upgrade is that Microsoft sure loves to confuse the customer. Until I ran the Upgrade Advisor I had no clue that the Vista Home Premium Upgrade couldn't be used to upgrade XP Pro without a clean install. In the end I had to go with this version. I normally refuse to upgrade an OS without doing a clean install first. That's for a very good reason! One last thing I don't like about Vista is that you can't do a VISTA clean install with the upgrade without first installing XP. Why is this?

So, I opened the box and put the disc in after removing several programs from startup such as my anti-virus program. The upgrade went perfectly fine and I ran into no problems at all. I was never once asked for a driver disc. Really.

At first I was surprised at how much background hard drive activity there was at first even when the system was not doing anything. I fixed that by disabling some things in Vista that run in the background. That seemed to help and I don't experience this as much anymore. Overall, programs seem to run just as fast as they did in XP. Maybe a little slower, but I haven't noticed much at all.

All my old programs ran fine. My online postage software, Internet Security software and even my Video Capture program. So far I haven't found anything that hasn't run properly, but that'll probably change soon.

I did however have one graphical glitch. There was a weird halo effect around my mouse pointer. It seemed to clear up a little bit when I installed some new Nvidia Beta drivers for my 7800GT. It still occurs, but rarely.

I also had some problems with the Windows Switcher randomly going to non-3d mode. I didn't realize at first it will not work in 3d mode without the Aero theme enabled. I don't understand why this is.

To be truly honest, i'm generally not a fan of Microsoft products. I'll use them and that's about it. I really thought i'd hate Vista, but I actually like it.. a lot actually. Sorry to sound like a commercial, but I really enjoy using it. I really have no clue why it's so expensive though! The price is way too high. The basic edition is priced ok, but I don't get why the other versions cost so much more.

I'm sure i'll come up with some bad things to say eventually. A few things have been annoying, but I can fix them with a little work. I'm quite annoyed that at default you can't delete or save to the root directory of C: without special permission. No big deal.

The backup feature is nice. I currently have my entire drive backed up every morning at 8am through the Windows Task Scheduler. There was no "easy" way to do this. I had to do some checking online for the settings to add this to the task scheduler.

I also found it strange that the other got I received an error message saying I couldn't edit video from an external drive without copying it to my main drive first! Hopefully I can figure out why this occured. Something I can fix quickly I hope.

Overall, I like it a lot. I definitely wouldn't bother installing it on a computer that's over a year old though. I imagine it would be pretty slow.

4-302-2007 UPDATE:

I've had way too many problems with VISTA. I've wiped my drive and reinstalled XP. Several programs would not run at all or crash for no reason. Even with the latest versions. I also found that several of my old programs ran incredibly slow. I have a fairly high end PC too with 2gb of ram. I kept everything updated and was never able to fix all my graphical glitches in VISTA at all. At first some of the "annoyances" didn't bother me, but after weeks of using this version of Windows i've just gotten sick and tired of them. I felt like I had no control over my system at all. I also did not feel safe using Vista. There's always something going on and using up CPU power without it showing up in the task manager. I understand this is how VISTA works, but it's annoying and I never tried turning off these features.

Just a note that if you want to reinstall Windows XP you'll most likely need to wipe the hard drive. I tried four times and couldn't reinstall XP with Vista still on the drive. It was pretty much hell and I gave up and wiped the drive. Back to XP. I now feel terrible for giving this OS a 4/4. I'd now give it a 3/5.

Pretty but SLOW to boot and shutdown
Slow from power on pc to desktop and shutdown slower than XP as well. As other reviewer mentioned you cant use upgrade DVD to ever do a clean install if needed, in the past XP allowed that. The speed of the Vista once loaded feels the same to me as xp but it just seems like they could had trimmed some time off the boot up or shut down.