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Microsoft Vista Home Basic

Manufacturer: Microsoft Corp. Part number: 66G-00002

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CNET Editor rating:
3.5 stars Very good
Average user rating: 1.5 stars out of 74 reviews

More product information:: Editors' review; User reviews; Specifications; Manufacturer info

Bottom Line:: Windows Vista Home Basic is essentially warmed-over Windows XP, Windows XP SP3. If you're currently happy with Windows XP SP2, we see no compelling reason to upgrade. On the other hand, if you need a new computer right now, Windows Vista is stable enough for everyday use.
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CNET editors' review

Microsoft Vista Home Basic

price range: $89.29 - $199.99

Reviewed by: Robert Vamosi
Reviewed on: 01/24/2007
Released on: 01/30/2007

The good: Windows Vista Home Basic does improve some features within Windows XP; fewer system crashes than Windows XP; and Windows Vista offers better built-in support options.

The bad: Windows Vista Home Basic does not put Search on the desktop (it's buried within applications, within the Start Menu); no Aero graphics system in Home Basic; no new software yet written exclusively for Windows Vista; optimized only for the Microsoft Windows ecosystem (for example, RSS feeds from IE7 get preferential treatment); and little reason to leave Windows XP.

The bottom line: Windows Vista Home Basic is essentially warmed-over Windows XP, Windows XP SP3. If you're currently happy with Windows XP SP2, we see no compelling reason to upgrade. On the other hand, if you need a new computer right now, Windows Vista is stable enough for everyday use.

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Compare editions

For a side-by-side comparison chart of Windows Vista editions, click below.

Windows Vista is Microsoft's first new operating system in more than five years and the successor to Windows XP. However, it is not worth rushing out to purchase. If you desperately need to buy a new PC (if your old one died or you've been waiting and waiting for Vista to be released), then by all means do so; there's nothing wrong with Windows Vista. But there's no one compelling feature within Windows Vista that cries out to switch over, neither the enhanced graphic capabilities (Aero) nor the improved system performance features (truthfully, our Windows XP doesn't crash). As for security, Microsoft's biggest improvements in Windows Vista are within the Enterprise or 64-bit editions, editions most home users will not be running. Windows Vista is not the Apple Mac OS X 10.4 killer one hoped for (or feared). Nor are there specific big-name software packages written exclusively for Windows Vista--most software available today is compatible with both Windows XP and Windows Vista. But the extensive tie-ins to Microsoft.com and Live.com, and the many, many interdependences upon Internet Explorer 7 left us desperately wanting more (and often best-of-breed) alternatives. Hard core Microsofties who live and breathe within the MSN, Live.com, and Microsoft desktop software ecosystem will rejoice with the release of Windows Vista, but for the rest of us who are product agnostic, who use Firefox, Google Desktop, ZoneAlarm, GMail, and Corel WordPerfect, Windows XP SP2 will suffice nicely until some killer program necessitates that we all upgrade to Windows Vista.

There are six major editions of Windows Vista; we're reviewing four. We chose not to review Windows Vista Enterprise (available only to volume license customers) and Windows Vista Starter (available only outside the United States). Windows Vista Ultimate includes everything, and this is the edition getting the most promotion from Microsoft. It is not the edition most people will find packaged on their shiny new PCs or will end up with after an upgrade of existing hardware. See our feature comparison chart to know which edition is right for your specific needs, and check the following individual reviews for more details:

Windows Vista Ultimate
Windows Vista Business
Windows Vista Home Premium

Setup and installation
The Windows Vista DVD disc includes a Windows Imaging (WIM) format of the code, so whether you buy the Home Basic edition or the Ultimate edition, the code remains the same; only the product key unlocks your specific set of features. This means users who opt for the lesser editions can always upgrade (assuming they have the proper hardware) by downloading some additional code and securing a new product key online. However, all features--even if you paid for them--are dependent on specific hardware configurations being present; if you don't have the proper graphics hardware, for example, you'll simply never see the Aero graphic effects on that old Dell computer in your basement.

Hardware requirements for Windows Vista should not be taken lightly. In a controversial move to garner positive reviews, Microsoft sent hundreds of bloggers (not including CNET) free copies of Windows Vista Ultimate; Microsoft did not send boxed copies, rather the software giant sent top-of-the-line Acer Ferrari laptops with the operating system preinstalled. So even Microsoft seems to admit that the best performance is only available on top-of-the-line machines manufactured within the last year or so.

That said, many people will still want to upgrade their current Windows XP SP2. This will keep all your current data and applications, importing them directly into the new operating system. Most people will find either Windows Vista Home Basic or Windows Vista Home Premium to be their best choice. While Windows Vista does make a backup of your previous operating system before installing, it is always recommended that you backup your current Windows XP system yourself, just in case.

Rather than upgrade, we recommend you perform a clean installation. With a clean installation, you keep all your current on the Windows XP drive and install only the data and applications you want to run on Windows Vista. A clean install can be accomplished by buying a new PC with Windows Vista already installed, partitioning an existing Windows XP machine to dual-boot into Windows Vista, or adding a new hard drive to an existing Windows XP machine.

Our clean installations took anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on the hardware in the system. It's pretty much an automated process, with the installer first copying the WIM image onto the new hard drive or partition then expanding that image. Once again, we experienced an uncomfortably long plateau at "Expanding: 27 percent"; as with previous builds, we waited between two and five minutes before the expansion continued. About halfway through, the installer reboots and continues the installation in Windows Vista.

During the installation, Windows Vista will load the drivers included within the installation image, but it will also download additional drivers from a much larger database at Microsoft. This assumes, however, that one has an always-on Internet connection; dial-up users may find that upon completion of the installation process some drivers are missing.

Once fully installed, Windows Vista first asks for your country or region, then time and currency, and, finally, the desired keyboard layout. Next, you'll choose a username, a user icon, and a password. Then select your desktop wallpaper and security settings: Automatic, Install Important Updates Only, or Ask Me Later. After reviewing the computer's time and date settings, there's one more message: "Please wait while Windows checks your computer's performance." Here, Microsoft grades your computer on a five-point scale, with the overall rating based on your system's lowest score (in our case, that was for the video card).

Windows Vista includes new musical tones written by veteran musician Robert Fripp. Compared to the familiar start-up tones of Windows XP, Windows Vista's are lighter, almost spritely. The sounds for User Account Control and Log Off are also perkier than those found in similar security warnings within Windows XP.

New on the Windows Vista desktop is a Welcome Center which contains links to frequently asked questions such as, "How do you configure your printer?" and "How do you connect to your Internet service?" There is also room for some sales opportunities, either with manufacturer specials or online offers from Microsoft, such as the Windows Live OneCare service. Frankly, we think it is better for you to look beyond the Windows ecosystem for e-mail, Internet browsers, and security applications.

After closing the Welcome Center, you'll notice to the far right there is a shaded sidebar populated with three example Gadgets ("widgets" to everyone else), tiny desktop applets that display content, such as RSS feeds. In one Gadget, a slide show of images from the sample photo library display; in the next, the current time; finally, there's a Gadget for subscribed RSS feeds. We downloaded and installed Firefox 2, made Firefox our default browser, and quickly set up a few RSS feed subscriptions. Guess what? The Windows Vista Gadget was unresponsive to our efforts, displaying only the default MSN feeds from Microsoft. Microsoft says the default RSS Gadget feeds off a common store of RSS feeds within Windows Vista, and Firefox hasn't yet adopted the API for that store. You have to use Internet Explorer 7 or choose a Firefox-friendly Gadget instead. By clicking the + symbol atop the sidebar, you'll see a panel of available Gadgets, with a link out to the Web to find even more. The Gadgets are not fixed to the sidebar; they can be dragged across the desktop. And even the sidebar itself can be disabled to allow for a full desktop view. An icon located within the taskbar will restore the sidebar at any time.

The familiar Start menu features some cosmetic changes for Windows Vista. Aside from the distinctive rounded icon, the Start menu now includes a built-in Search function. We would have preferred to have access to Search directly from the desktop rather than digging down a level or two. The All Programs list now displays as an expandable/collapsible directory tree, something Windows should have offered years ago. The new Start menu is divided in half, with access to documents, pictures, music, games, recent items, My Computer, network, Control Panel, default programs, and Help along the right-hand side.

Also new within Start is an Instant Off button. This button caches all your open files and processes, allowing you to turn off your laptop or desktop quickly without all the "cleaning up files" messages you see in previous versions. We like the feature, but on our Acer Travelmate 8200, Instant Off and closing the lid to hibernate sometimes produced limbo states where the laptop simply wouldn't wake up again, forcing us to reboot.

In Windows Vista, files become unmoored from the traditional directory tree structure--kind of. The more ambitious plan of including a whole new file system was scrapped early on; instead, Windows Vista relies on metatags, which are keywords linked to files to make them searchable. With metatags, you can create virtual file folders based on a variety of search terms. Say you're doing a report on mountains, any file that is keyword-enabled to include "mountains" will be grouped into a virtual folder without physically dragging that file to a new location. The downside is that older files (say you upgraded your system from Windows XP or imported data from an earlier version of Windows) will have to be retroactively metataged in order to be searched. Also different is the file path displayed within Windows Explorer. Gone are the backslashes, replaced with arrows that offer drop-down menus of alternative folders. We liked this efficient feature.

Finally, there's a compatibility wizard buried deep within Windows Vista. Most Windows XP applications we loaded performed just fine. Operating under the hood, Windows Vista convinces native Windows XP applications that they're running on Windows XP. Should you need to run an older application, say from Windows 95, the compatibility wizard allows you to tweak the display resolution and emulate Windows 95 for that program. For example, we were able to run a Windows 95-optimized game demo on our Windows Vista test system.

Features
Our gut feeling is that most of the significant bells and whistles are designed for the Enterprise-level customers, not the home user. But Windows Vista Home Basic is rock-bottom, offering the fewest features of any of the editions. Windows Vista Home Basic is designed for older systems and low-end new PCs, stripping out the Aero graphics systems and offering limited use of the other features. In our opinion, this edition is more like Windows XP SP3 than something revolutionary.

Common to all editions of Windows Vista are ad hoc backup and recovery, instant Search, Internet Explorer 7 browser, Windows Media Player 11, Windows Mail e-mail client, Windows Calendar, Windows Photo Gallery, performance tuning and self-diagnostics, Internet protocol IPv6 and IPv4 support, Windows ReadyDrive, a maximum of 4GB RAM support on 32-bit editions (up to 128GB RAM on some 64-bit editions), Windows Sync Center for mobile devices, Windows Mobility Center for presentations on the road, User Account Control security protection, Windows Security Center, Windows Defender antispyware, Windows Firewall, Windows Meeting Space for ad hoc wireless meetings, Remote Desktop for working from home, XPS document support for PDF-like files, improved peer-to-peer networking, improved VPN support, and improved power management.

Aero is part of the Windows Presentation Foundation, a subgroup of the .Net Foundation Framework, an underlying foundation for developers to build new applications. One applet is the New York Times Times Reader, the first of many products written exclusively for Windows Vista but hardly a compelling reason by itself to upgrade. Unless you watch YouTube videos all day, you won't really need Aero, nor will you miss the tiny preview windows enabled on your desktop display of the "flip-3D" effect on the desktop. Windows Vista Home Basic does support Microsoft's new, Adobe PDF-like file format called XPS (Extensible Page System).

As for the controversial User Account Control (UAC), you shouldn't encounter UAC except when changing system configurations or installing new software, and even then, wouldn't you--in this age of downloadable spyware--prefer to know when an executable file is about to run? While UAC notifies you of pending system changes, it doesn't always require a password. Microsoft's more controversial method to lock down the system kernel, PatchGuard, is only available in the 64-bit editions of Windows Vista; most home users will not run these editions. Another celebrated security feature works only within Windows Mail, which most people are unlikely to use. And finally, the jury is still out on whether Internet Explorer 7 is more secure than, say, Firefox 2. Windows Vista also includes a built-in but limited two-way firewall and free Windows Defender antispyware, which ranked poor in competitive testing done by Download.com.

Support
Along with the diagnostic and performance monitors, Microsoft has improved the Help section considerably. There is a static FAQ, but it also links to Microsoft online and allows outreach to other users for help, either via a forum or direct PC-to-PC help. Of these, we really like a feature available on some, not all, FAQs that allows you to automate the solution by executing a script. This method doesn't teach you how to do it in the future, but it will accomplish the task at hand. For example, if you choose to update a device driver, Windows Vista will darken the desktop; highlight and open the Start menu, the Control Panel, and the Device Manager; then pause to ask you what device you want to update. It's like having a technician at your desktop, walking you though the process. There's an increasing reliance on user-generated support forums, which leads us to believe that Microsoft is shying away from its own live technical support. At press time, Microsoft's final support policy was unavailable.

Conclusion
Perhaps we're spoiled, but after more than five years of development, there's a definite "Is that all?" feeling about Windows Vista. Like cramming an info-dump into a book report the night before it's due, there certainly are a lot of individual features within the operating system, but the real value lies in their execution--how the user experiences (or doesn't experience) these--and like the info-dump, we came away shaking our heads, disappointed. Compared with Mac OS X 10.4, Windows Vista feels clunky and not very intuitive, almost as though it's still based on DOS (or at least the internal logic that made up DOS). Despite the addition of a system-wide, built-in Search, and various efforts to break away from staidly old directory trees, you still need to drill down one level to even access Search. And there are far too many dependencies on Microsoft products; this is not a very objective operating system, as preference is always given to Microsoft products (of which there are many), from MSN search to RSS feeds only from Internet Explorer. But is Windows Vista a bad operating system? No. It's just a disappointment for PC users who hoped that Microsoft would deliver something truly exciting to finally leapfrog ahead of Apple. They failed. But stick around; this is just Windows Vista 1.0. Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is due out sometime before the end of the year. Windows Vista SP1 promises to fix what's known to be wrong within Windows Vista and should offer a few concrete reasons to switch.

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User reviews

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Average user rating: 1.5 stars out of 74 reviews
My rating: 0 stars

Showing opinion 1 to 10 out of 74

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4 stars

Not worth it. Wait until the SP for vista comes out and make sure you have a powerhouse of a machine

by database.object on January 26, 2007

Pros: Not many. Eye candy if your hardware can handle it

Cons: Unstable Beta drivers for a lot of hardware, IE7 is just unusable, "feels" slower than XP. Tries to "fix" itself too much for its own good.

Summary: I have vista ultimate so basic is probably even less worth it. I had medium hopes for vista but even with low expectations, after using it for about 2 weeks ...

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Summary: I have vista ultimate so basic is probably even less worth it. I had medium hopes for vista but even with low expectations, after using it for about 2 weeks now I am still disappointed. My machine is a P4 3.2Ghz, 1GB RAM and Radeon X800 128. One of the most basic things, the start menu is just terrible. When you click on "Programs" in XP, it pops up in an instant. In vista there is a very noticeable and annoying delay. When playing counterstrike the OS blue screens (yes, blue screens) on me and of course restarts. Sure, this is probably due to the beta ATI drivers but come on, why a complete OS crash?? Same thing when testing the webcam from my pinnacle video capture card (to be fair, also non-vista drivers). Vista has a "self-fixing" feature which tries to determine when a program has stopped responding and then tries to "find a solution" for this problem and, of course, never finds a solution for it and just kills the program. Most annoying is that it pops up an alert telling you it is trying to find a solution and my windows sidebar constantly has this problem and thus I constantly get popups. I'm not even gonna talk about IE. Just use firefox. I'm gonna stay on vista since slowly better drivers are coming out and I'm still hopeful it will improve. I understand that a lot of the problems are due to vendor drivers and MS is not fully responsible for that but the native vista features also just don't perform acceptably.
If you are buying a new computer, of course, get vista. All the hardware will likely work fine. If you are just looking to upgrade XP, hold off until you see a lot of good user reviews. You are not missing anything from vista.

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17 out of 18 users found this user opinion helpful.
3 stars

Avoid this version

by Cobra_R on January 26, 2007

Pros: DirectX 10

Cons: stripped of just about everything that attracts Vista in the first place.

Summary: Not even worth it. You miles well stick with Windows XP Home, because this version of Vista is stripped of just about everything that attracts Vista in the first place. ...

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Summary: Not even worth it. You miles well stick with Windows XP Home, because this version of Vista is stripped of just about everything that attracts Vista in the first place.

Vista Premium Edition is the best all the way around for the avg pc user.

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9 out of 13 users found this user opinion helpful.
7 stars

Better than XP, But difficult to install

by supersandro on February 9, 2007

Pros: Amazing interface, Secure, Sidebar and Gadgets, Windows media player 11, Windows Photo Gallery, new games and great search tools.

Cons: Very Difficult to install, not all drivers are supported, Poor and expensive customer service.

Summary: I would have given Home Basic a 8/10 if it wasn't so difficult to install. First it had given me several error messages. Then when I did a ...

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Summary: I would have given Home Basic a 8/10 if it wasn't so difficult to install. First it had given me several error messages. Then when I did a clean install with the upgrade disk (because thats one of the options) it would not activate. Microsoft did little to help me activate it. But I finally figured out the problem (I put the computer in safe mode and installed it. Hey it worked!). You have to update your audio driver when you are finished. But other than that, this OS looks AMAZING! The interface is sleek yet easy to use. The new interface makes it easier to use and search items. The search bar on your start menu is also handy. The Windows Media Player 11 works much better on Vista than on XP. The new Photo Gallery is also a handy tool. The games look great and are actually some-what more fun to play, but generally look better. The security is also good in Vista but can be a little annoying, but it is necessary and helpful. Overall its better than XP, but I just wish the Installation went smoother!

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5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
1 stars

Window Vista or Windows Dictatorship

by spacepirate1 on January 29, 2007

Pros: It's New(er)

Cons: Few reasons to upgrade, big brother control mechanisms

Summary: I won't get into the pros and cons of this new operating system in terms of the usual critique, because it's all been covered here. What I want ...

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Summary: I won't get into the pros and cons of this new operating system in terms of the usual critique, because it's all been covered here. What I want all of you to be aware about are the technologies that Microsoft has implemented in order to control what you can or can not view or listen too. If you are not familiar with DRM, them please read about it. Microsoft has also implemented AACS within Vista, and this is also something you really need to inform yourselves about. I suggest you start on this website:

http://www.grc.com/SecurityNow.htm#76

Listen to episodes 73, 74 and 75. You might be shocked at what you will hear. If you're not that tech-savvy you'll probably have to listen to these shows a couple of times.

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4 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
3 stars

Little ado about nothing

by JEH on January 30, 2007

Pros: Pretty pictures

Cons: $200 cosmetic job

Summary: I have long been a Windows fan ... but even an ardent fan knows when he is being scammed. There is NO reason the leave XP ... ever, as far as *I* ...

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Summary: I have long been a Windows fan ... but even an ardent fan knows when he is being scammed. There is NO reason the leave XP ... ever, as far as *I* see. No more than there was a reason to leave Office 2000 - which still has FAR more features than I would ever use!

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3 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
5 stars

how to make ur vista run faster.

by immoonin on January 5, 2008

Pros: Appealing and Smart

Cons: Slow for games, huge applications

Summary: The vista is all about the visual appeals..... The best new thing is the gadgets...it?s just like a shortcut to virtually anything.
I am working on a 1
...

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Summary: The vista is all about the visual appeals..... The best new thing is the gadgets...it?s just like a shortcut to virtually anything.
I am working on a 1 GB/ 256 MB ATI mobility card/7200 RPM HDD laptop and the vista works well even with a large number of applications. The problem comes when you start a game...

Since there are many things on desktop which is updating itself regularly, so the cpu usage fluctuates, which make ur system slow.

Following things can improve the speed of ur machine.
1. Use original XP theme in vista..... the speed will increase drastically.
2. Use minimum visual setting in folder options....remove all smooth edges, shadows etc.... the machine will work fast.
3. Don?t use too many gadgets at a time.....
4. while playing game, close the side bar
5. Check ur startup (run msconfig), remove unwanted programs like itune update, java update, adobe reader startup, ms office start file some osa.exe ...., real player, QuickTime etc.
6. use ur updated drivers (for vista), do not rely on vista drivers or old xp drivers. It may work fine, but have some compatibility issues.
7. Remove screensaver, desktop themes etc, even the wallpaper.
8. try to keep at least 10-20% of ur drive space empty all the time (for all drives). If u have less space in any drive, it will significantly impact the speed.
9. use less number of usb plug n play device.
10. increase ur page file size.
11. Do not use windows firewall, use some original software.
12. use temperature control/fan speed control software.

These small steps will definitely improve ur system performance while using Vista or any OS.

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2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
5 stars

Apple Mac OS X Rip-off

by pastagreyhound on January 28, 2007

Pros: It's very pretty!

Cons: It's XP with a different skin and "gadgets"

Summary: I have been using the beta version of Vista since August of 2006. I currently own three pc's and an iMac. The best way to sum up Vista is ...

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Summary: I have been using the beta version of Vista since August of 2006. I currently own three pc's and an iMac. The best way to sum up Vista is this: go to a store that sells Apple computers (like an Apple store!) and play with OS X. That's basically what Vista is--a knock-off of Mac OSX. Yes, Vista is easy on the eyes, but otherwise, Microsoft simply stole elements from OSX and changed the names--like Widgets to Gadgets. They took the Apple "spotlight" and made a search function at the bottom left hand corner, in the start menu.

And let's face it--this is Microsoft, there will be plenty of bugs to work out and lots of vulnerability and security problems the first few months.

Save your money and switch to a Mac--that's what I did and there isn't a day goes by that I don't regret it!

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4 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
1 stars

terrible operating system

by paigely on January 9, 2008

Pros: what pros?

Cons: it doesn't comply with numerous popular programs, doesn't have drivers for printers, locks up, causes intermitent internet, takes forever for a file transfer - minimal in former versions

Summary: I cannot comprehend how CNET could possibly give this OS such a high review other than being in the pocket of microsoft. I can't even downgrade back to XP ...

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Summary: I cannot comprehend how CNET could possibly give this OS such a high review other than being in the pocket of microsoft. I can't even downgrade back to XP without massive effort. Dell no longer offers VISTA on their new computers because of the high number of client complaints.

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1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
3 stars

Vista cannot walk and chew at the same time

by novamba on August 31, 2007

Pros: looks pretty

Cons: freezes consistantly, too secure

Summary: I cannot simoultaneously run 3 apps on vista without a crash. Today It froze as I tried to install an MS web cam while I logged on to MSN messenger. ...

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Summary: I cannot simoultaneously run 3 apps on vista without a crash. Today It froze as I tried to install an MS web cam while I logged on to MSN messenger. If given a choice, stay with XP SP2.

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1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
1 stars

The WORST operating system i have owned

by Midget010 on June 20, 2007

Pros: The Log In menu is slightly nicer

Cons: Everything is slower that XP. My advice is to stay with XP. You could just be using a program, and it will stop responding. Many programs have not yet been released on Vista aswell.

Summary: Stay with XP at ALL costs until they sort out ALL the bugs. Because there are a lot in my opinion

Summary: Stay with XP at ALL costs until they sort out ALL the bugs. Because there are a lot in my opinion

1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

Showing opinion 1 to 10 out of 74

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Specifications

Manufacturer: Microsoft Corp.
Part number: 66G-00002
Description: Windows Vista Home Basic is the edition of Windows for basic home computing needs. If you only want to use your PC for tasks like browsing the Internet, using e-mail, or viewing photos, then Windows Vista Home Basic may be the right edition for you. While it won't provide as many benefits as Windows Vista Home Premium, it will help you use your PC more easily and more safely than you could with Windows XP. The first thing you'll notice about Windows Vista Home Basic is how easy it is to find the programs and files you're looking for. The instant desktop search feature looks across all of your documents, e-mails, photos, and other files, organizing the results in the way that you want to view them. When coupled with the built-in web search of Windows Internet Explorer 7 in Windows Vista, you'll spend less time looking for the things that you need and more time on the activities that you care about. With automatic defenses against malicious software and fraudulent websites, Windows Vista Home Basic enables you and your family to use your computer with greater confidence. Plus, parents can use built-in controls to help ensure their children's computer use is protected and appropriate. Windows Vista Home Basic makes it easier than ever to set up your new PC, with features that easily transfer all of your data and settings from your old PC to your new one. What's more, you can have peace of mind for years to come with technology that keeps your system running quickly and reliably over time. Simply put, Windows Vista Home Basic provides you with just the essentials you need for home computing.

Microsoft Vista Home Basic

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