Technical features new to Windows Vista: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 18:27, 2 April 2021

Revision as of 12:11, 5 April 2021

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* Native support and generic driver for [[Advanced Host Controller Interface]] (AHCI) specification for [[Serial ATA]] drives, SATA [[Native Command Queuing]], [[Hot swapping|Hot plugging]], and AHCI Link Power Management.

* Full support for the [[Advanced Configuration and Power Interface|ACPI]] 2.0 specification, and parts of ACPI 3.0.<ref name="kernelfeatures">[http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/c/5/9c5b2167-8017-4bae-9fde-d599bac8184a/kernel-en.doc Windows NT 6.x Kernel Changes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070303223841/http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/c/5/9c5b2167-8017-4bae-9fde-d599bac8184a/kernel-en.doc |date=2007-03-03 }}. (Word document)</ref> Support for throttling power usage of individual devices has been improved.

* [[Windows Vista SP1]] supports [[Windows Hardware Error Architecture]] (WHEA).

* Kernel-mode [[Plug-And-Play]] enhancements include support for PCI multilevel rebalance, partial arbitration of resources to support PCI subtractive bridges, asynchronous device start and enumeration operations to speed system startup, support for setting and retrieving custom properties on a device, an enhanced ejection API to allow the caller to determine if and when a device has been successfully ejected, and diagnostic tracing to facilitate improved reliability.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/pnppwr/pnp/default.mspx |title=Plug and Play: Architecture and Driver Support |access-date=2007-05-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040616023120/http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/pnppwr/pnp/default.mspx |archive-date=2004-06-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

* The [[Windows Vista Startup Process|startup process for Windows Vista]] has changed completely in comparison to earlier versions of Windows. The [[NTLDR]] boot loader has been replaced by a more flexible system, with NTLDR's functionality split between two new components: [[winload.exe]] and [[Windows Boot Manager]].<ref name="bcd-faq">See [http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/library/85cd5efe-c349-427c-b035-c2719d4af778.mspx Boot Configuration Data Editor Frequently Asked Questions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061208002701/http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/library/85cd5efe-c349-427c-b035-c2719d4af778.mspx |date=2006-12-08 }} for details on BCD.</ref> A notable change is that the Windows Boot Manager is invoked by pressing the [[space bar]] instead of the F8 [[function key]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsvistanow/archive/2008/12/05/the-space-bar-is-the-new-f8-when-it-comes-to-vista-and-server-2008-boot-options.aspx |title=The space bar is the new F8 when it comes to Vista and Server 2008 boot options |access-date=2010-05-18 |archive-date=2009-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090524094408/http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsvistanow/archive/2008/12/05/the-space-bar-is-the-new-f8-when-it-comes-to-vista-and-server-2008-boot-options.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> The F8 key still remains assigned for advanced boot options once the Windows Boot Manager menu appears.