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Windows Vista Review: Installing Windows Vista
Sunday, November 12th, 2006
While you will install Windows Vista in ways that are similar to previous Windows versions, under 
the covers, everything has changed. The DOS mode portion of Windows Setup, present even in the NT-based Windows variants such as Windows XP, is finally gone, exorcised from our lives for good. But the changes go much deeper than simple changes to Setup methodology. Microsoft has completely recast its approach for moving bits from an install medium (typically a Vista Setup DVD, but it could also be a network share or other location) to the PC’s hard drive.
This has several ramifications. First, Windows Vista can be installed much more quickly than Windows XP on the same PC. In my testing, Windows Vista typically installs in about 25 minutes, less than half the time it takes to install XP.
Second, Windows Vista Setup, like Vista itself, is more modular, though you will paradoxically see fewer choices–and thus be able to make fewer customizations–if you run interactive Setup to install Vista (as most end-users will do). The modular nature of the Vista Setup routine allows enterprises to more elegantly customize their Windows Vista installs. And that means that true power users will be able to do so as well. (I should note, however, that the amazingly short time required for interactive Setup almost completely offsets any gains made by taking the time to create a custom Vista install DVD.)
Third, Windows Vista Setup no longer bulk copies a slew of files from the install medium, expands them on the fly, and then copies them to the hard drive, one at time. Instead, Microsoft has created an image-based Setup format that contains a compressed archive of a basic bootable Windows Vista system that will work on any hardware. This single file install image is copied to the hard drive in a single whack and expanded. Then, the system reboots and the particular hardware devices on your PC are detected and, if you’re lucky, configured with drivers. Paul Thurrott’s SuperSite for Windows: Windows Vista Review, Part 3: Installing Windows Vista
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