Windows Vista is the 6th version of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Microsoft. It is the successor to Windows XP. While it was being made, it was called Longhorn, however, it was known by the name "Whistler+1" from January 2001 to May 2001. On July 22, 2005, Microsoft gave out its official name, which was Windows Vista. The original release of Windows Vista was supported until April 13, 2010; every user of Windows Vista needs to install a Service Pack 1 in order to receive security patches and support after that date, and Service Pack 2 after July 12, 2011. With Service Pack 2 installed on Windows Vista, Microsoft ended mainstream support on April 10, 2012 and then stopped supporting Windows Vista as a whole on April 11, 2017.

Microsoft had worked on Vista for more than five years, so it came with many new features, such as improved graphics, new built-in programs, and stronger defenses against malware. Windows Vista received mixed reviews. However, Windows Vista introduced many changes to the way the operating system worked, which caused some older programs to stop working.

Development

Microsoft started work on Windows Vista, known at the time by its codename Longhorn, in May 2001, five months before the release of Windows XP. It was originally expected to ship in 2003 as a minor step between Windows XP and Blackcomb, which was planned to be the company's next major operating system release.^[7] By the middle of 2003, Longhorn had gotten some of the features meant for Blackcomb. After three major viruses exploited flaws in Windows operating systems within a short time in 2003, Microsoft changed its development priorities, putting some of Longhorn's major development work on hold while they made new service packs for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Development of Longhorn was reset in September 2004, and it was renamed to Windows Vista in July 2005. A number of features were cut from Windows Vista as it was being remade.^[8]

Editions

Windows Vista
Version of the Windows NT operating system
Developer	Microsoft
Source model	Closed-source; Source-available (through Shared Source Initiative);
Released to; manufacturing	November 8, 2006; 19 years ago
General; availability	January 30, 2007; 19 years ago
Final release	Service Pack 2 with April 2025 security update (6.0.6003.23220) / April 8, 2025; 15 months ago
Marketing target	Consumer and Business
Update method	Windows Update; System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM);
Platforms	IA-32 and x86-64
Kernel type	Hybrid (NT)
Userland	Windows API, NTVDM, SUA
License	Proprietary commercial software
Preceded by	Windows XP (2001)
Succeeded by	Windows 7 (2009)
Official website	Windows Vista (archived at the Wayback Machine)
Support status
	Mainstream support ended on April 10, 2012; Extended support ended on April 11, 2017

There are six editions of Windows Vista, which contain different features that are meant to be suited for the costumer:

Starter (released only in developing conuntries)
Home Basic (the most bare-bones edition)
Home Premium (for home users)
Business (for small businesses)
Ultimate (all features)
Enterprise (same as Ultimate, but for businesses)

Cancelled editions

Windows Vista Media Center Edition (all features)

Service Packs

Microsoft releases service packs to update software and fix problems to the operating system.

Service Pack 1

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) was released on February 4, 2008 alongside Windows Server 2008 to OEM partners, after a five-month beta test period. The first use of the service pack caused a number of machines to continually reboot, making them unusable.^[9] This caused Microsoft to temporarily stop release of the service pack until the problem was resolved. The same release date of the two operating systems showed the merging of the workstation and server kernels back into a single code base for the first time since Windows 2000. MSDN subscribers were able to download SP1 on February 15, 2008. SP1 became available to current Windows Vista users on Windows Update and the Download Center on March 18, 2008.^[10]^[11]^[12] Initially, the service pack only supported 5 languages - English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese. Support for the remaining 31 languages was released on April 14, 2008.^[13]

Service Pack 2

Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista was released to manufacturing on April 28, 2009,^[14] Windows Vista SP2 RTM + Windows Vista SP1 Blocker Tool Removed and released to Microsoft Download Center and Windows Update on May 26, 2009.^[15] In addition to security and other fixes, a number of new features were added. However, it did not include Internet Explorer 8.^[16]^[17]

References

↑ "Windows Licensing Programs". Microsoft. Archived from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
↑ White, Nick (November 8, 2006). "Windows Vista releases to manufacturing". Windows Vista Team Blog. Microsoft. Archived from the original on November 10, 2006. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
↑ "Microsoft Launches Windows Vista and the 2007 Office System to Consumers". News Center. Microsoft. January 29, 2007. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
↑ Oiaga, Marius (May 26, 2009). "Download Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) RTM". Softpedia. SoftNews NET SRL. Archived from the original on May 29, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
↑ "Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB4036162)". catalog.update.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
1 2 "Microsoft Lifecycle — Windows Vista". Microsoft. Archived from the original on September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
↑ Lettice, John (October 24, 2001). "Gates confirms Windows Longhorn for 2003, Blackcomb MIA?". The Register. Retrieved March 5, 2008.
↑ "Microsoft cuts key Longhorn feature". Todd Bishop. Hearst Seattle Media, LLC. August 28, 2004. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
↑ "No update from Microsoft on Vista SP1, Media Center problems". ZDNET. 2008-02-18. Archived from the original on 2008-12-16. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
↑ "Announcing the RTM of Windows Vista SP1". Microsoft. 2008-02-04. Archived from the original on 2008-02-05. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
↑ "Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Beta White Paper". Microsoft. 2007-08-29. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2007-09-02. Retrieved 2007-08-29.
↑ "Feb. Launch Now Set for Windows Vista SP1". PC World Magazine. 2008-01-31. Archived from the original on 6 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
↑ "Windows Vista Service Pack 1 All Language Standalone (KB936330)". Microsoft Download Center.
↑ "Windows Vista SP2 RTM + Windows Vista SP1 Blocker Tool Removed - Windows Vista Team Blog - The Windows Blog". 2009-04-30. Archived from the original on 2009-04-30. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
↑ Oiaga, Marius (26 May 2009). "Download Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) RTM". softpedia.
↑ Mike Nash (2008-10-24). "Windows Vista Team Blog : Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta". Archived from the original on 2008-10-26. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
↑ "Information about Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2". Microsoft. 2008-10-02. Retrieved 2008-10-17.

Other websites

Find more about Windows Vista at Wikipedia's sister projects
	Definitions from Wiktionary
	Media from Commons
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks
	Learning resources from Wikiversity

Microsoft

Microsoft Windows Vista — Microsoft Windows Vista homepage
Microsoft Windows Vista Upgrade Info — Windows Vista Upgrade planning
Microsoft Windows Vista Hardware Design — Hardware Design for Windows Vista — News for Driver Developers and Hardware Engineers
Microsoft Technet — Windows Vista: Resources for IT Professionals
MSDN — Windows Vista Developer Center on MSDN
The Windows Vista Blog — Official blog of the Windows Vista Team

Reviews and screenshots

Windows Vista Screenshots Gallery Archived 2008-05-05 at the Wayback Machine — Collection of Vista Screenshots from Different Builds
Features of Windows Vista
Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit Performance Compared Archived 2007-02-02 at the Wayback Machine
Windows Vista Ultimate Archived 2007-01-29 at the Wayback Machine — CNET review
Windows XP vs. Vista: The Benchmark Rundown^{[permanent dead link]} — Tom's Hardware Guide review

Preceded by Windows XP	Windows versions 2007-2009	Succeeded by Windows 7

[SharedSource-1] "Windows Licensing Programs". Microsoft. Archived from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved September 9, 2022.

[WindowsVistaRTM-2] White, Nick (November 8, 2006). "Windows Vista releases to manufacturing". Windows Vista Team Blog. Microsoft. Archived from the original on November 10, 2006. Retrieved January 2, 2017.

[WindowsVistaGA-3] "Microsoft Launches Windows Vista and the 2007 Office System to Consumers". News Center. Microsoft. January 29, 2007. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017.

[SP2RTM-4] Oiaga, Marius (May 26, 2009). "Download Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) RTM". Softpedia. SoftNews NET SRL. Archived from the original on May 29, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2022.

[5] "Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB4036162)". catalog.update.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2024-06-20.

[Support-6] 1 2 "Microsoft Lifecycle — Windows Vista". Microsoft. Archived from the original on September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2022.

[7] Lettice, John (October 24, 2001). "Gates confirms Windows Longhorn for 2003, Blackcomb MIA?". The Register. Retrieved March 5, 2008.

[8] "Microsoft cuts key Longhorn feature". Todd Bishop. Hearst Seattle Media, LLC. August 28, 2004. Retrieved March 25, 2009.

[9] "No update from Microsoft on Vista SP1, Media Center problems". ZDNET. 2008-02-18. Archived from the original on 2008-12-16. Retrieved 2008-10-08.

[10] "Announcing the RTM of Windows Vista SP1". Microsoft. 2008-02-04. Archived from the original on 2008-02-05. Retrieved 2008-02-04.

[sp1whitepaper-11] "Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Beta White Paper". Microsoft. 2007-08-29. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2007-09-02. Retrieved 2007-08-29.

[Fried-12] "Feb. Launch Now Set for Windows Vista SP1". PC World Magazine. 2008-01-31. Archived from the original on 6 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

[13] "Windows Vista Service Pack 1 All Language Standalone (KB936330)". Microsoft Download Center.

[14] "Windows Vista SP2 RTM + Windows Vista SP1 Blocker Tool Removed - Windows Vista Team Blog - The Windows Blog". 2009-04-30. Archived from the original on 2009-04-30. Retrieved 2021-03-26.

[15] Oiaga, Marius (26 May 2009). "Download Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) RTM". softpedia.

[Nash-16] Mike Nash (2008-10-24). "Windows Vista Team Blog : Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta". Archived from the original on 2008-10-26. Retrieved 2008-10-24.

[17] "Information about Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2". Microsoft. 2008-10-02. Retrieved 2008-10-17.

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