Vista Vs Server 2003



Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista: On Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista you can use the wdreg utility with the install command to automatically install the INF file: wdreg -inf install (for more information, refer to section 13.2.2 of the manual). Windows Server 2003 SP2 Windows Vista SP2 Microsoft is researching this problem and will post more information in this article when the information becomes available. My company use bespoke software for network administration, in Windows XP we install the Server 2003 AdminPak.MSI and the Exchange 2003 Deployment Tools. I am running Vista on a virtual network with Server 2003 AD, Server 2003 Exchange and 2 XP workstations. Having tried to install the AdminPak and the deployment tools to Vista with no success. I have built adistribution using NI softwareand selected Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003 as the minimum operating system version. However I receive errors when I try to install this built installer on a Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003 machine. Vista Problems with 2003 Office and Server We are running PC's with Vista Business with 2003 Office on a 2003 Server. We are experiencing extreme slowness, freezing, denied access to files,etc.

  1. Vista Vs Server 2003
  2. Vista Vs Server 2003 Server
Next:15.2 Renaming the WinDriver Up:15. Driver Installation - Previous:15. Driver Installation -Contents
Subsections

Device information (INF) files are text files that provide information used bythe Plug-and-Play mechanism in Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista to install software thatsupports a given hardware device. INF files are required for hardware thatidentifies itself, such as USB and PCI. An INF file includes all necessaryinformation about a device and the files to be installed. When hardwaremanufacturers introduce new products, they must create INF files to explicitlydefine the resources and files required for each class of device.

In some cases, the INF file for your specific device is supplied by theoperating system. In other cases, you will need to create an INF file for yourdevice. WinDriver's DriverWizard can generate a specific INF file for yourdevice. The INF file is used to notify the operating system that WinDriver nowhandles the selected device.

You can use the DriverWizard to generate the INF file on the developmentmachine - as explained in section 4.2 of themanual - and then install the INF file on any machine to which you distributethe driver, as explained in the following sections.


15.1.1 Why Should I Create an INF File?

2003
  • To stop the Windows Found New Hardware Wizard frompopping up after each boot.
  • To ensure that the operating system can initialize the PCIconfiguration registers on Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista.
  • To load the new driver created for the device.
    An INF file must be created whenever developing a new driver for Plugand Play hardware that will be installed on a Plug-and-Play system.
  • To replace the existing driver with a new one.


15.1.2 How Do I Install an INF File When No Driver Exists?

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NOTE
You must have administrative privileges in order to install an INF file onWindows 98/Me/2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista.
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  • Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista:

    On Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista you can use the wdreg utilitywith the install command to automatically install the INFfile:
    wdreg -inf <path to the INF file> install
    (for more information, refer to section 13.2.2 of themanual).

    On the development PC, you can have the INF file automatically installedwhen selecting to generate the INF file with the DriverWizard, bychecking the Automatically Install the INF file option inthe DriverWizard's INF generation window (seesection 4.2).

    It is also possible to install the INF file manually onWindows 2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista, using either of the following methods:

    • Windows Found New Hardware Wizard: This wizard isactivated when the device is plugged in or, if the device wasalready connected, when scanning for hardware changes from theDevice Manager.
    • Windows Add/Remove Hardware Wizard: Right-click themouse on My Computer, select Properties,choose the Hardware tab and click onHardware Wizard....
    • Windows Upgrade Device Driver Wizard: Select thedevice from the Device Manager devices list, selectProperties, choose the Driver tab andclick the Update Driver... button. On Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003/Vistayou can choose to upgrade the driver directly from theProperties list.

    In all the manual installation methods above you will need to pointWindows to the location of the relevant INF file during theinstallation.
    We recommend using the wdreg utility to install the INFfile automatically, instead of installing it manually.

  • Windows 98/Me:

    On Windows 98/Me you need to install the INF file for yourPCI/PCMCIA device manually, either via WindowsAdd New Hardware Wizard or Upgrade Device DriverWizard, as explained below:

    • Windows Add New Hardware Wizard:

      ****************************************************************************************

      NOTE
      This method can be used if no other driver is currently installedfor the device or if the user first uninstalls (removes) thecurrent driver for the device. Otherwise, Windows NewHardware Found Wizard, which activates the Add NewHardware Wizard, will not appear for this device.
      ****************************************************************************************

      (1)
      Open Windows Device Manager: From theSystem Properties window (right-click onMy Computer and select Properties)select the Device Manager tab.
      (2)
      Select your device from the Device Managerdevices list, choose the Driver tab and clickthe Update Driver button.
      To locate your device in the Device Manager, selectView devices by connection. For PCI devices, navigate to Standard PC | PCIbus | <your device>.
      (3)
      Follow the instructions of the Upgrade DeviceDriver Wizard that opens. When asked, point to the locationof the INF file in your distribution package.


15.1.3 How Do I Replace an Existing Driver Using the INF File?

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Vista Vs Server 2003

NOTE
You must have administrative privileges in order to replace a driver onWindows 98/Me/2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista.
****************************************************************************************Vista vs server 2003 r2
  1. On Windows 2000, if you wish to upgrade the driver forPCI/PCMCIA devices that have been registered to work withearlier versions of WinDriver, we recommend that you first delete fromWindows INF directory (%windir%inf) any previous INFfiles for the device, to prevent Windows from installing an old INF filein place of the new file that you created. Look for files containingyour device's vendor and device IDs and delete them.
  2. Install your INF file:
    • On Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista you can automatically install theINF file:

      You can use the wdreg utility with theinstall command to automatically install the INF file onWindows 2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista:
      wdreg -inf <path to INF file> install
      (for more information, refer to section 13.2.2 ofthe manual).

      On the development PC, you can have the INF file automaticallyinstalled when selecting to generate the INF file with theDriverWizard, by checking the Automatically Install theINF file option in the DriverWizard's INF generation window (seesection 4.2).

      It is also possible to install the INF file manually onWindows 2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista, using either of the following methods:

      • Windows Found New Hardware Wizard: Thiswizard is activated when the device is plugged in or, if thedevice was already connected, when scanning for hardwarechanges from the Device Manager.
      • Windows Add/Remove Hardware Wizard:Right-click on My Computer, selectProperties, choose the Hardware taband click on Hardware Wizard....
      • Windows Upgrade Device Driver Wizard: Selectthe device from the Device Manager devices list,select Properties, choose the Drivertab and click the Update Driver... button. OnWindows 2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista you can choose to upgrade the driverdirectly from the Properties list.

      In the manual installation methods above you will need to pointWindows to the location of the relevant INF file during theinstallation. If the installation wizard offers to install an INFfile other than the one you have generated, selectInstall one of the other drivers and choose yourspecific INF file from the list.

      We recommend using the wdreg utility to installthe INF file automatically, instead of installing it manually.

    • On Windows 98/Me you need to install the INF filemanually via Windows Add New Hardware Wizard orUpgrade Device Driver Wizard, as explained below:
      • Windows Add New Hardware Wizard:

        ****************************************************************************************

        NOTE
        This method can be used if no other driver is currentlyinstalled for the device or if the user first uninstalls(removes) the current driver for the device. Otherwise, theWindows Found New Hardware Wizard, whichactivates the Add New Hardware Wizard, will notappear for this device.
        ****************************************************************************************

        (1)
        Open Windows Device Manager: From theSystem Properties window (right click onMy Computer and selectProperties) select the DeviceManager tab.
        (2)
        Select your device from theDevice Manager devices list, open it,choose the Driver tab and click theUpdate Driver button. To locate yourdevice in the Device Manager, select Viewdevices by connection. For PCI devices, navigate to Standard PC| PCI bus | <your device>.
        (3)
        Follow the instructions of theUpgrade Device Driver Wizard that opens.Locate the INF in your distribution package whenasked.

Vista Vs Server 2003 Server


Next:15.2 Renaming the WinDriver Up:15. Driver Installation - Previous:15. Driver Installation -VistaContents
2008

Last week, I decided that the time has come to replace my current desktop PC. I’ve been skimming through a couple of articles and reviews in order to put together a new home developer rig. Now I’ve come to the point that I know what I want, except for the operating system that I want to install.

I’ve recently upgraded my current desktop from Windows XP to Windows Vista and I must say that I’m not particularly happy about it. Its slow, slow, slow and did I already mention that it is slow? Sure you say, an older desktop that is up for replacement is always slow. Not really actually. I’ve never had any performance problems when running XP, even while running a VM.

With Vista, its a whole different ball-game. I was completely baffled by looking at the amount of processes/services that were running after I performed a clean install. I tried some tweaking, but nothing really helped. Besides being slow, the whole operating system hangs sometimes with for no apparent reason (no processor or disk activity whatsoever).

There are also a couple of applications I couldn’t get to work correctly:

  • Windows Live Messenger (not that I’m using this much, but I figured this should at least work).
  • RapidSvn (can’t even get it to start).
  • AVG anti-virus (doesn’t want to automatically download virus updates).
  • A Haupauge Win-TV card I bought not that long ago.

Well, if you don’t like it, go back to XP then. Vista has its improvements as well. As you may or may not know, I’m a big fan of LUA (Least User Access). This was a real PITA in XP, but Vista SP1 comes with a lot of improvements on this. Besides, I wanted to play around with IIS 7, so an upgrade to Vista looked like the right thing to do.

Last week, I found this link on Twitter accompanied by this article that really got me interested in using Windows Server 2008 as a workstation. I downloaded a trial version last weekend and I must say that I’m very impressed by its performance (although I was running it as a VM on Vista :-)). According to some other articles and benchmarks I’ve read, Windows Server 2008 outperforms Vista with 11% to 17%. This article mentions that Visual Studio 2008 really flies and that VM’s also run better. Windows 2008 also ships with IIS 7.0 and MSMQ 4.0, some technologies I want to learn in the near future. Hyper-V, also a feature of Windows Server 2008, got me interested as well.

There is one major downside to Windows Server 2008: the price tag of the standard edition is well beyond my range. Unfortunately, there is no 'workstation edition'. I would love to use 2008 on my new desktop PC, but its price really puts me off. I don’t mind paying for software, but there are limits to my budget as well.

If you, my dear reader, want to share your advice then I would be happy to hear from you. If you know how to get a cheap Windows Server 2008 license, then please contact me as well ;-).

Vista vs server 2003 4.0Vista vs server 2003 r2

Maybe I should just get over it …