Vista Pre/Post-reset builds? Difference?

[TL7]

I could not find the answer online.
But which difference do

• * Pre-Reset
  * Post-Reset

builds have?

[BF10]

Pre-reset builds are made in the Windows Server 2003 RTM Release Candidate (back when it was called ".NET Server") with files and a few architecture from Windows XP added. However, it quickly became a bloated mess and after build 4093, they had to reset the kernel to the post-reset one. Windows Server 2008 also had two pre-reset builds leaked, 4029 and 4066 (both can be hard to install though).

Post-reset builds are made in the Windows Server 2003 SP1 Beta, which also had contents of Windows XP added, which made these builds more stable than pre-reset ones.

It is worth noting that builds 3683-3718, 3790, and Server 4066 uses i386 installation, all others use .WIM.

[LuLu]

pre-reset: more experimental features
post-reset: already decided what vista will have (much less features)

[r1k1]

Pre-reset bulids were focused on creating a stock gap version of Windows between XP and codename Blackcomb (WIndows 7), however completely changed focus after the reset due to the development hell that was. Post-reset builds focused on perfecting the features of the pre reset and creating a final project (Vista).

[AlphaBeta]

A very large difference between pre-reset and post-reset that builds of the former have a very big part of its user experience rewritten in C# and relying on the .NET Framework (or WinFX, if you will), while post-reset's UX is pure C++ using the Win32 API.

[Maza]

pre-reset: more experimental features
post-reset: already decided what vista will have (much less features)

A misconception.

Post-reset builds included many features intended for pre-reset builds that eventually fell by the wayside before development completed. Examples include Castle, Lists, Metadata Painting, and PC-to-PC Sync. Please see this topic for more information.

[LuLu]

i didn't write ALL
but much less

[Maza]

i didn't write ALL
but much less

You were not referring to Castle, etc? The problem is that many users—and I will admit that I interpreted your post as such—seem to believe that the majority of "Longhorn" features were never intended, let alone implemented in post-reset Windows Vista. It is a very prevalent viewpoint that post-reset is "boring," "ugly," "useless," and all sorts of other negative adjectives.

[LuLu]

i'm saying, that pre-reset had alot of ideas but half working
some made in rtm, some didn't

reason - clear decision what would work on time

[Maza]

i'm saying, that pre-reset had alot of ideas but half working
some made in rtm, some didn't

I hope that you did not imply that post-reset did not have many of the same pre-reset ideas.

[jimmsta]

A very large difference between pre-reset and post-reset that builds of the former have a very big part of its user experience rewritten in C# and relying on the .NET Framework (or WinFX, if you will), while post-reset's UX is pure C++ using the Win32 API.

This was the primary focus of LH. They wanted to prove that .NET could be utilized in place of Win32, to help instill a sense of familiarity and trust in developers for the platform. It was a troubling time for .NET, as developers were still primarily working with the previous generation of tools, and not wanting to move on to .NET. Pushing everyone into an environment that was built on top of the new tech would help promote the .NET platform further into the mainstream. Sort of the situation that we have now with UWP - no one wants to let go of the old design paradigms. While .NET was the future in 2003, UWP is the future in 2018. Each platform that Microsoft develops requires a vehicle to drive innovation, which is what the OS has become since NTOS/2 was devised.

The fact that Vista did not ship with a UI entirely built on .NET is telling of how little even Microsoft trusted .NET at the time. There were severe performance issues that weren't fixed until later editions of the platform. Windows 8's Metro design was essentially a take-2 on the pre-reset reliance on .NET. Windows 10's UWP is effectively take-3, and it is taking hold among developers, albeit slowly. Microsoft will continue to push .NET's backend into the mainstream, which is to be expected. They've created the Windows Runtime which is essentially a complete re-imagining of the pre-reset LH vehicle.

Longhorn was an attempt at pushing .NET down developers' throats. Ironically, it backfired on Microsoft themselves, hence the post-reset. The future, however, is brighter thanks to everything they learned during those early LongHorn builds. The Universal Windows Platform would not exist had it not been for that tremendous push of .NET functionality.