List of features removed in Windows Vista

While Windows Vista contains many new features, a number of older technologies, obsolete capabilities and certain programs that were a part of Windows XP are no longer present or changed, resulting in the removal of certain functionality. The following is a list of features which were present in Windows XP but which have been removed in Windows Vista.

Internal changes and application changes

• Executable images created for the DOS/Windows environment, using any compiler and language which does not link to the Win32 API, are subject to failure or performance degradation when executed in Windows Vista, because Vista arbitrarily restricts the memory space for the executable to 32 MB (33,554,432 bytes). The limitation applies to any compiler, linker, or executable not conforming to the Win32 API. The same is not true for previous versions of Windows.
• The ability to choose a different hardware or software MIDI synthesizer other than the default Microsoft GS Wavetable Software synth has been removed from the user interface for audio configuration in Windows Vista. A different output MIDI synth or output device port can be selected only by editing the registry.
• When using Windows Aero, all GDI and GDI+ applications run in the new Compositing window manager known as Desktop Window Manager. In that case the GDI render path is redirected through DWM; however GDI is not hardware-accelerated when it is redirected. But, due to the nature of desktop composition (internal management of moving bitmaps and transparency and anti-aliasing of GDI+ being handled at the DWM core), operations like window moves and resizes can be faster or more responsive because underlying content need not be re-rendered.
• Since Windows Vista features a rewritten audio stack and does not inherit the Hardware Abstraction Layer for audio that was present under prior versions of Windows, there is no hardware acceleration of DirectSound and DirectSound3D APIs. DirectSound is emulated entirely in software. As a result, hardware acceleration and 3D spatialization utilizing DirectSound3D is no longer supported. OpenAL is the only hardware accelerated path for 3D positional audio.

• In Windows XP, essentially, audio would be "broadcast" to all the audio endpoints at once. However, the new audio engine in Windows Vista changes this behaviour. Basically, audio can be sent only to the specific endpoint that the system has set by default, or which the user has configured via the Control Panel setting. Although this new audio behavior provides more flexibility and separate Digital Signal Processing (DSP) capabilities, it is limiting in cases where audio has to be streamed locally or across the network to multiple devices (analog to one and digital to another).

• As with x64 editions of Windows XP Professional and Windows Server 2003, x64 versions of Windows Vista do not include NTVDM (the subsystem for executing DOS applications) and Win16 subsystem. This prevents any DOS or Windows 1.0, 2.0 and 3.x application from running. Third party software such as DOSBox can be used to emulate the DOS environment.

• Although it is possible to customize the action Windows takes when the hardware Power button is pressed, it is no longer possible to set power options to ask the user every time what action to take upon pressing it. Therefore, selecting a different power action in each case is not possible.

• Installing Windows Vista on a volume with a FAT32 file system is no longer supported. Windows Vista can be installed only on an NTFS volume. Reading from and writing to FAT and FAT32 volumes is still supported.

• Video content support is removed from Windows Image Acquisition for Windows Vista in favor of the newer Windows Portable Devices API. As a result, the Windows Vista version of Windows Movie Maker no longer supports importing video from an analog video source such as a VCR, an analog camcorder or from a Web camera.

• It is not possible to back up and restore licenses in Windows Media Player 11.

• It is not possible to share Microsoft Office Outlook contacts with Windows Contacts, whereas in Windows XP, configuring the "UseOutlook" value in the registry allowed sharing Outlook contacts with the Windows Address Book.

• The ability to send email as plain text (without HTML) only to a specific contact is not available in Windows Contacts.

• Motherboard support for Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) is required for Windows Vista; as a result, older motherboards supporting only Advanced Power Management do not work. ACPI 2.0 or later is preferred, as Windows Vista's support of technologies like AMD's Cool'n'Quiet power-saving technology is disabled on ACPI 1.0 enabled motherboards. Other "legacy" hardware technologies no longer supported include: EISA buses, game ports, MPU-401, AMD K6/2+ Mobile Processors, Mobile Pentium II and Mobile Pentium III SpeedStep; ISAPnP is disabled by default.

• SerialKeys, an accessibility feature for augmentative communicative devices is no longer supported.

• Direct3D Retained Mode (D3DRM) has been removed , DirectPlay Voice and DirectPlay's NAT Helper have been removed. Some DirectInput functionality has been removed as well. DirectPlay has been deprecated. The DirectMusic kernel mode synthesizer that supplies the DirectMusic components with a high-resolution timer has been removed.

• Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extensions (WMI Driver) services are no longer supported.

• In the Windows Vista version of the Backup application, it is not possible to specify what files and folders to back up and what files and folders are to be excluded. Users can select only document categories to back up. Files from a specific path or over the network also cannot be backed up due to this reason. Backup also does not present a list of files that will be backed up. Also, Encrypting File System (EFS) files are skipped over and not backed up. Windows Vista Service Pack 1 adds support for backing up EFS-encrypted files.

• In the Windows Vista implementation of EFS, apparently there is no longer support for the WebDAV protocol. In Windows XP, encrypted files copied from or to WebDAV shares would remain encrypted "on the wire" (which contrasts with the decryption that occurs when copying from or to SMB aka CIFS shares). In Windows Vista, encrypted files copied from or to WebDAV shares would be decrypted "on the wire". This feature was deprecated in favour of "client-side encryption", planned for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008.

• The GINA library and support for GINA-based authentication has been replaced with Credential Providers so that authentication plug-ins are moved out of the Winlogon process space to the fullest extent possible in order to provide more reliability and consistency. Consequently, third-party GINA modules do not work. However, the Credential Provider model is also pluggable.

• The logon screen does not show the number of running programs or unread email messages, when using Fast User Switching.

• The Dr. Watson application debugger and crash analysis tool has been removed. It is intended to be replaced by the Problem Reports and Solutions control panel. However, its functionality is different.

• The DirectX Diagnostic tool (DxDiag) only shows information; it is no longer possible to test the hardware and the various DirectX components.

• The Shutdown menu has been removed from Windows Task Manager.

• Windows Vista uses Package Manager (Pkgmgr.exe) and Windows Update Standalone Installer (Wusa.exe) to install software updates and hotfixes. However, these do not support the various command-line switches like Windows XP's Package Installer (Update.exe) did. Much of the functionality from Update.exe is missing. For example, there is no way to skip backing up uninstall information for hotfixes using the /nobackup or /n switch. Windows Vista backs up files before installing hotfixes to the %Windir%\WinSxS folder. Since the backing up of files cannot be skipped, this folder can get considerably large and take up a lot of disk space.

• Because of setup design changes for faster installation, it is not possible to slipstream service packs or hotfixes into the core operating system files as was possible with Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000. Microsoft has introduced updated Windows Vista disc media that integrates Service Pack 1.

• It is not possible to backup the activation state for the same computer in Windows Vista. In retail or OEM versions of Windows XP, upon reinstallation, it was not necessary to activate Windows on the same computer without making hardware changes, if the WPA.DBL file was backed up and later restored.

• Windows Media Player 10, which is downloadable for Windows XP and part of Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 includes the Fraunhofer MP3 ACM codec. Because of licensing restrictions, Windows Vista only includes an MP3 decoder, not an ACM encoder.

• If a previously installed update or hotfix requires restarting Windows, it is not possible to check for new updates using Windows Update without restarting. Previously, in Windows XP, any number of updates could be installed before restarting.

• 16-bit applications launched with administrator-level privileges run in their own memory space; 16-bit inter-process communication therefore only works for non-elevated processes, as these can still be configured to run in the same memory space.

• The "All Users" wallpaper can no longer be changed - all Windows Vista machines now show the same wallpaper at the logon screen.

Features removed from the Windows Shell

• Active Desktop functionality has been removed. As a result, animated GIF files can no longer be set as the desktop background. No other dynamic content such as HTML or HTA files can run on the desktop.
• The File Types tab has been removed from Folder Options. This feature was available from Windows 95 up to Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. The File Types tab allowed users to change the file associations for various types of files. It allowed configuring which application would open when a user clicked on a certain type of file, or allowed manually defining a new file extension, defining/editing custom secondary actions, showing extensions only for specific file types, or customizing the file icon. While there is a more simplified option to change the file associations, called Default Programs in the Windows Vista Control Panel, this option only allows users to change the default action that occurs when they double click a file. It does not allow users to choose which application would load if the user were to right click on a file and then choose a secondary option such as Edit. The Open With dialog box in Windows Vista also uses the corresponding Default Programs API which limits only one registered application to be set as the default program. It is also not possible to navigate/jump to a particular extension using the alphanumeric keys on a keyboard; scrolling is required.
• It is not possible to override AutoPlay by pressing the SHIFT key as was possible in Windows XP, though it can still be disabled through Control Panel.
• Menus cannot be set to slide anymore. Only the fade effect is available.
• The taskbar cannot be dragged to the bottom of the screen to hide it manually.
• Toolbars such as "Quick Launch" can no longer be "dragged off" the taskbar as floating minibars or docked to another edge of the screen, though physical folders can be dragged onto the desktop edge in a similar manner. The Language Bar is the only toolbar that can float on the desktop.
• Some functions and name exports have been removed from shell32.dll.
• The "RunAs" feature in the shell has been replaced with "Run as administrator", and no longer allows alternate credentials to be entered (only the interactively logged on account can be used). The RunAs commandline feature is unchanged.

Features removed or changed in Windows Explorer

• It is not possible to display the full path in the title bar when Windows Aero is enabled. When Aero is disabled (Classic folder view), the full path can be displayed in the title bar.
• The Toolbar button in Explorer to go up one folder from the current folder has been removed. This is now accomplished by selecting a folder in the breadcrumbs bar or by pressing together Alt + Up keys; some functionality is lost however, for example it is not possible open the containing folder in a new window by clicking with the Ctrl key pressed.
• The ability to customize the standard toolbar's layout and buttons.
• Ability to add a password to a zip file (compressed folder).
• The Common Tasks pane (renamed 'Favorite Links') and the Details pane can be removed only through the 'Organize' button.
• Filmstrip view is replaced by the icon view feature which supports multiple sizes, and a new full-screen slideshow mode.
• The ability to view and edit metadata stored in a file's secondary stream through the "Summary" tab of the file's "Property" dialog.
• Web Publishing Wizard.
• Support for enabling a folder for web sharing with Internet Information Services via the Windows Explorer interface.
• Desktop Cleanup Wizard
• The "Computer Description" field is no longer shown on the Explorer view of a workgroup
• The IColumnProvider shell extension interface has been removed. Shell extensions that display information in Explorer's columns will therefore fail to work.
• The "Status" bar no longer shows the total space used by a folder when displaying a folder's contents or free space remaining on the disk.

Features removed in Internet Explorer 7

• The ability to customize the toolbar layout is removed. The position of the address bar and the 'command bar' cannot be readjusted.
• Internet Explorer is no longer integrated with Windows Explorer. This can also be seen in Internet Explorer 7 on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.
• Several old and little-used technologies have been removed: DirectAnimation support, XBM images (removed from IE 6), CDF, view-source protocol handlers and 40-bit SSL ciphers.
• Image toolbar has been removed. Most of the commands that were on this floating toolbar—Save Picture, E-mail Picture, Set as Background, etc—are now in the context menu that appears when an image is right-clicked.
• Offline Favorites, a feature that automatically synchronized and stored web pages for later perusal when not online, was removed in favor of using RSS feeds.
• The maximum size for the "Temporary Internet Files" folder (downloaded files cache) is limited to 1024 MB in Internet Explorer 7. This is also true for versions of Windows other than Windows Vista.

Features removed from the Win32 console

• The Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) does not support all DOS video modes and therefore DOS-based and Win32 console programs cannot run in full screen mode.

• In previous versions of Windows, it was possible to save different settings for each console window. Windows would ask the user whether to apply settings for the current window or the shortcut that started the window. Windows Vista however saves settings for all console windows without asking the user.

• Dragging and dropping a folder or file into a Win32 console window no longer pastes the path of the folder or file. The functionality has been disabled due to privilege escalation concerns.

Removed or changed networking functionality & programs

• Windows Vista uses the strong host model for networking, instead of the weak host model used by all previous Windows versions. A weak host model can accept locally destined unicast packets from any network and transfer them to other interfaces on that network. In a multihomed network setup, a strong host model can considerably limit connectivity although it improves security against multihome-based network attacks.
• A single icon in the notification area (system tray) represents network connectivity through all network adapters, whether wired or wireless and for all different types of connections. It is not possible to set individual connection status icons on the taskbar or hide some or all network icons altogether.
• Changing the KeepRasConnections registry key to remain connected after logging off from a RAS client is not supported in Windows Vista.
• The Direct cable connection feature is not supported in Windows Vista.
• Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and POP3 servers have been removed from the IIS component in Windows Vista.
• The Gopher protocol, is no longer supported.
• Rarely used protocols such as Bandwidth Allocation Protocol and X.25 support for SLIP have been removed. SLIP connections are automatically upgraded to use PPP.
• The SPAP, EAP-MD5-CHAP, and MS-CHAP v1 protocols are no longer supported for PPP-based connections, in favor of MS-CHAP v2.
• Unlike Outlook Express, Windows Mail has no support for HTTP mail via the WebDAV protocol (used by older Hotmail accounts and Yahoo! Mail); the addition of Windows Live Mail is likely to be required for similar functionality and there is a link to this from the Welcome Center. Also, unlike Outlook Express, Windows Mail does not allow users to switch Identities or manage multiple identities within one running instance of the program. Instead, identities are now tied to the user account and to create additional users or identities, a new user account has to be created.
• NWLink IPX/SPX/NetBIOS Compatible Transport Protocol.
• rexec, rsh, finger, and some other command-line tools primarily used to communicate with UNIX-based systems have been removed from the default installation. The Subsystem for Unix-based applications (SUA) (previously known as Windows Services for Unix) still provides them as an optional component.
• Windows Messenger has been removed in favor of a link to Windows Live Messenger.
• The RTC Client API 1.3 is not included in Windows Vista.
• Support for built-in H.323 Voice Over IP (VOIP) capabilities has been removed. NetMeeting, H.323 and IPConf TSPs, and HyperTerminal all are no longer included. Windows Meeting Space is the replacement for NetMeeting, however, features like microphone support, and ability to set up audio or video conferences, are now removed.
• IP over 1394 (FireWire networking) support has been removed.
• Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM).
• Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) routing protocol component in Routing and Remote Access.
• Basic firewall in Routing and Remote Access (replaced with Windows Firewall).
• Static IP filter APIs for Routing and Remote Access (replaced with Windows Filtering Platform APIs).
• Services for Macintosh, which provided file and print sharing via the now deprecated AppleTalk protocol, has been removed.
• NetDDE, a technology that allows applications using the DDE transport to transparently exchange data over a network, is no longer supported.
• The NT LAN Manager Security Support Provider service has been removed in favor of the newer Kerberos authentication protocol.

Features removed from other programs

• The graphical representation and progress indicator of the defragmentation process have been removed from Windows Disk Defragmenter. It is also not possible in the RTM release to manually specify which drives to defragment from the GUI without using the command line defrag.exe utility. Windows Vista Service Pack 1 includes the ability to control which volumes the disk defragmenter runs on.
• Sound Recorder in Windows Vista can no longer open audio files. Moreover, it cannot save in lossless (uncompressed) WAV format when run without using any switches; instead, it saves in lossy 96 kbit/s WMA format. Only the version of Sound Recorder from the N editions of Windows Vista saves audio in WAV format by default. Also, all the basic audio processing features such as format conversion, sample rate conversion, adding echo, reversing the audio, changing volume and playback speed, splitting, inserting and mixing audio have been removed, as has the graphical viewing of the sound wave spectrum.
• Version 6.4 of Windows Media Player (mplayer2.exe) is no longer included. It was also dropped previously from Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 but was present in other Windows XP editions.
• Support for Microsoft Office Word documents (*.DOC) has been removed from WordPad. Microsoft recommends the freely downloadable Word Viewer for viewing these documents.
• The wizard for transferring photos from the camera had some of its functionality removed in Windows Photo Gallery such as the ability to choose which images to transfer from the camera; users had to copy all images even if they had been previously downloaded. However, the previous behavior with options to choose and automatically organize photos into folders is available in Windows Live Photo Gallery. Also, users can still manually copy specific images from the camera by exploring the connected camera from Windows Explorer.
• Support for animated .GIF files has been removed in Windows Photo Gallery. Animated GIF files display properly in Internet Explorer.

Removed legacy programs

• Clipbook Viewer is not included.
• Object Packager, a legacy tool for packaging non-OLE objects and embedding/linking them inside OLE objects, is not included.
• Built-in support for the 32-bit .HLP (WinHelp) help format has been removed to discourage software developers from using the obsolete format and encourage use of newer 32-bit help formats such as Compiled HTML Help. When starting an application which uses the 32-bit .HLP format, Windows will display a warning saying that the format is not supported any more. A downloadable viewer for viewing .HLP files is available from the Microsoft Download Center. . Support for the 16-bit .HLP format remains.
• Context-sensitive help is not available in Windows Vista as it was dependent on WinHelp. Although the HTML Help technology also supports context-sensitive help, Windows Vista dialogs remove the "What's this" button and context sensitive help functionality.
• Desktop versions of internet games, Backgammon, Hearts, Reversi, Spades and Checkers have been removed. Although these games are freely playable online on MSN Games, they run within the browser and require signing up for an account or a Windows Live ID and then signing in manually every time.
• The Pinball game has been removed.
• Program Manager has been removed altogether. Previously, in Windows XP Service Pack 2, running the executable did not launch it, however it stored several old icons.
• Many of the screen savers introduced in earlier versions of Windows are not included with Windows Vista, this includes most of the OpenGL screen savers introduced since Windows 95b and classics such as the Flying Windows screen saver.

Other minor changes

• The ability to customize the Windows startup sound has been removed, although the logon and logoff sounds can still be customized.
• The ability to view program updates grouped together with the programs for which they were installed is removed. Updates can be viewed separately in the Programs and Features control panel. However some updates are not descriptive and do not mention for which program they have been installed, therefore it can be difficult to determine for which program a particular update is installed.
• The Startup Hardware Profiles feature in System Properties has been removed.
• The Windows Classic theme colors (Brick, Eggplant, Rainy Day, Wheat, Pumpkin, etc.) have been removed.

See also

• History of Microsoft Windows
• Windows Server 2008

External links

• Microsoft's Windows Vista homepage