Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 2.0 Beta

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The new public beta for Windows Vista Hardware Assessment has been released and you can go sign up and download the beta from the Microsoft Connect website.

What is Windows Vista Hardware Assessment?  I've covered this before (see here for all the detail) but in essence this free app allows you to automatically scan your network for all computers and figure out what hardware they are running on.  Once this discover work is done, the tool will analyse the results and produce a nice report which tells you which machines are Vista compatible.  It'll save you money because you will understand which individual components need refreshing rather than the whole PC.  The reports themselves are really useful, check out these samples here:

Sample WVHA Reports:
Word Assessment: https://www.jamessenior.com/blogfiles/Lucerne_Publishing_Assessment.doc 
Excel Report: https://www.jamessenior.com/blogfiles/Lucerne_Publishing_Report.xls

The new version features OU-targeting, machine names import, localized UI/readiness reports and more. 

One more thing before you download it, do you think doing public betas is a good idea (back story here)?  Let me know your thoughts...

To start downloading this build, follow these steps:

  1. Visit Connect site: https://connect.microsoft.com
  2. Sign in with your Live ID (if you don't have one, please create one)
  3. Click "My Participation". If you see Windows Vista Hardware Assessment v2 Beta program listed, skip to Step 7, otherwise proceed to Step 4.
  4. Click "Available Connections" on the left-hand nav
  5. Scroll to the bottom of the page
  6. Select "apply" for Windows Vista Hardware Assessment Beta Program
  7. Select "WVHA V2.0 - Public Beta"
  8. Click Downloads and follow on-screen instructions to get the Public Beta build; to file feedback, click Feedback and follow on-screen instructions.

Please note that there are three files included in the package:

  1. Executable file (build number 2.0.480.00)
  2. ReadMe document
  3. Helpful instructions for feedback submissions to Microsoft Connect#

Technorati tags: WVHA, Hardware Assessment, Vista