File System, Drivers, Memory and Hardware
- The driver-signing policy post installation is always set to Warn, eliminating the Ignore and Block options that were available in Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000.
- For Plug-and-play hardware which is plugged in after Windows Vista is installed, it is not possible to choose from a list of available staged or on-disk device drivers in the Found new hardware wizard which starts automatically. The Found new hardware wizard automatically searches for the driver and fails if it does not find a driver in the driver store or Windows Update. Only the Update Driver wizard which can be invoked from Device Manager then allows manually choosing a driver from a list.
- Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extensions to WDM are no longer supported.
- Unsigned 64-bit kernel-mode device drivers can no longer be installed.
- Advanced settings for PS/2 mice such as sample rate, input buffer length and fast initialization are not available in Mouse properties in Device Manager.
- Offline Files (Client Side Caching) has been rewritten for Vista, dropping API support for various support tools such as CscCmd.exe and CacheMov.exe in the process. Furthermore, if the cache is encrypted (per the default setting), then multiple users of a machine can no longer make the same file available offline, as the cache is now encrypted by user-specific EFS.
- Offline Files cannot be set to automatically synchronize at logoff. This was removed for performance reasons.
- Administrator-level access and a reboot are now required to point files pinned in the Offline Files cache to a new location following any change in the UNC path to a network share.
- USB devices no longer turn off their indicator light after being safely removed with the icon from the notification area. The USB port to which a device is attached but safely removed still remains powered.
Read more about this topic: List Of Features Removed In Windows Vista
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“I have been a soreheaded occupant of a file drawer labeled “Science Fiction” ... and I would like out, particularly since so many serious critics regularly mistake the drawer for a urinal.”
—Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (b. 1922)
“A man’s memory is bound to be a distortion of his past in accordance with his present interests, and the most faithful autobiography is likely to mirror less what a man was than what he has become.”
—Fawn M. Brodie (1915–1981)
“A friend of mine spoke of books that are dedicated like this: “To my wife, by whose helpful criticism ...” and so on. He said the dedication should really read: “To my wife. If it had not been for her continual criticism and persistent nagging doubt as to my ability, this book would have appeared in Harper’s instead of The Hardware Age.””
—Brenda Ueland (1891–1985)