Vista installation not recommended

The Division of Information Technology (DoIT) recently finalized a new three-year Microsoft Desktop Campus Agreement for the UW–Madison campus. The agreement permits use of the new Microsoft operating system, Vista and Office 2007 on departmentally owned computers through October 2009.

Although its use is permitted, the campus has identified numerous critical issues regarding Vista, including software compatibility with campus systems, hardware requirements and installation challenges. Visit Windows Vista compatibility issues for details.

DoIT is therefore recommending that staff not install Vista until many of these issues are resolved. Staff should consult with their departmental IT staff before ordering or installing Vista on campus PCs.

Microsoft Office 2007 has fewer issues, although incompatibility between the default Office 2007 file format and previous Office file formats may pose challenges. Visit Office 2007 compatibility for details.

PC manufacturers began shipping Vista on new computers on Jan. 30. Any department that wants to purchase Vista or Office 2007 media from the DoIT Tech Store now may do so.