I have Windows Vista in a clean SP1 install running on 3 machines (2 laptops and 1 desktop).

This is so I can simulate real world issues. All the equipment is Vista Compatible.

Windows Vista has a nice feature that lets you easily see the serious errors encountered (see pic above).

My main work machine is a Dell XPS M1210 laptop I reformatted it on the 27th of April with Windows Vista Business SP1 and applied all the patches. I use this laptop 8 to 10 hours a day.

The good news

The install was a breeze, the performance has improved and overall a much better experience than Windows Vista RTM.

What about stability?

OK I have 20 days usage data, So lets look at each one

Converter.exe: (this is the open source PDF ghostwriter, this installed successfully but Windows Vista came up with a prompt saying it wasn’t sure if it did) It had, so this is not a real problem.

Driver Software Installation: This is to be expected on a new build and does not indicate any real problem that isn’t solved by installing some drivers.

Internet Explorer: IE7 has crashed on me 3 times in everyday use. Now he have multiple tabs in IE this is even more of an annoyance.

Windows: Blue screened once, coming out of sleep mode.

Windows Explorer: Stop responding.

Summary for the Dell XPS M1210 used over 20 days

So basically Windows Vista SP1 has caused a problem that effected the user 5 times in 20 days. (3 x IE, 1 x Windows and 1 x Windows Explorer). The most serious of these being the blue screen.

Next machine: Dell Latitude D630

This machine shipped with Windows Vista Business, I then downgraded to XP and reasons too complicated to explain decided to re-install Windows Vista SP1 in a clean install for testing.

This machine has only blue screened once (one is too many), A couple of days after the build I turned it on, it blue screened and rebooted. The problem hasn’t reoccurred but the machine is out on loan  at the moment so I don’t have access to the Problems and Solutions Log.

Next Machine: Dell Optiplex GX 755 

This machine gets used about an hour a day and has been running Windows Vista Business for about 40 days (so the usability is 40 hours). Firefox is its main Internet browser. To date this machine hasn’t encountered  a single problem.

Overall Summary - Are we there yet?

No.

Windows Vista SP1 is way, way better but based on my own usage testing Vista is still not ready for prime time. 

Obviously my results might be skewed by the choice of hardware (all Dell) and the limited number of machines and time I have to test.

The truth is I am testing for myself as I am the one providing Director level support. I just don’t want the phone call “Hey I just plugged into a projector and it blue screened on me” or “I just lost an afternoons work due to a crash”.

What next?

Try this experiment again in 3 months there should be a bunch of post SP1 drivers around and SP1 factory installed hardware.