List of features removed in Windows Vista

While Windows Vista contains many new features, a number of capabilities and certain programs that were a part of previous Windows versions up to Windows XP were removed or changed – some of which were later re-introduced in Windows 7.

The following is a list of features which were present in Windows XP but were removed in Windows Vista.

Windows Explorer

Taskbar

Start menu

Other Windows shell and usability features

Search

Internet Explorer

User accounts and Winlogon

Win32 console

Graphics

Audio

Windows Media Player features

DirectX features

Media features

Setup and servicing

File system, drivers, memory and hardware

Boot, shutdown, power management

Windows applications and features

System Restore
Backup
Diagnostics and maintenance
Group Policy
Connectivity
Windows Fax and Scan
E-mail and contacts
Imaging
Microsoft Agent
Help and Support
Other features

Networking

Legacy networking components

Legacy features and other changes

See also

Notes and references

  1. How permissions are handled when you copy and move files and folders
  2. MoveSecurityAttributes not working under Windows 7
  3. Permission settings on a folder not being respected
  4. How do I refresh thumbnails in Windows 7?
  5. HTML Explorer Thumbnails
  6. "Explorer: View: Choose Details: Audio Sample Rate and Audio Sample Size are not available within the list of Choose Details.". Microsoft Answers. October 8, 2009. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
  7. Customizing Folders with Desktop.ini
  8. Sorting is a state and a verb (and a floor wax and a dessert topping)
  9. Vista feature regression: "security tab" missing for multiple selections in Explorer properties
  10. Modify Multiple files' NTFS permission
  11. Folder permissions
  12. How to edit the security attributes of more than one file at a time
  13. IColumnProvider Interface on MSDN
  14. Vista Property Handler for each file stored on mapped drive
  15. 16-Bit Icons Are So Passé: Windows Confidential – TechNet Magazine
  16. MSDN: Property System
  17. Description of Simple Folder View in Windows XP
  18. Microsoft is trashing Windows Explorer
  19. Registry hack allows menubar to be top toolbar in IE7, not available for Explorer
  20. One can still undo/redo multiple renames, moves and copy operations from the context menu and older deletes can be undone from the recycling bin or through use of previous version feature.
  21. File types tab removed
  22. Why did Vista remove hierarchical SendTo menu items in context menu?
  23. TechNet Magazine – Windows Confidential: Looking Smart by Being Stupid
  24. "IShellExecuteHook Interface". Microsoft. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  25. File Manager doesn't run in Vista
  26. "How to: Simulate Mouse and Keyboard Events in Code". Microsoft. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  27. Scrapping the scraps
  28. "Release Notes for Internet Explorer 7". Microsoft. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
  29. Release Notes for Internet Explorer 7
  30. ALLUSERS property
  31. Authoring a single package for Per-User or Per-Machine Installation context in Windows 7
  32. Change/Modify/Edit the failed Password Complexity dialog
  33. SPAP Deprecation (PStore)
  34. Vista logon screen does not have drop down menu to pick domains
  35. "How to enable domain select on Vista logon screen?". Server Fault. 26 August 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
  36. "Runas". Microsoft. September 28, 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  37. "New Authentication Functionality in Windows Vista: GINAs Replaced with New Credential Providers". Microsoft. August 25, 2006. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
  38. Credential Providers in Windows Vista
  39. Executing a Fast User Switch programmatically – part 2
  40. Winlogon Notification Packages Removed: Impact on Windows Vista Planning and Deployment
  41. Vista's Interactive Services Detection Service | ITsVISTA
  42. "DeleteProfile Function". Microsoft. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  43. "The folder redirection process fails on a computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows XP when you change the user name in Active Directory". Microsoft. 2008-07-02. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  44. Some 16-bit DOS-based Programs and the Command Prompt will not run in full-screen mode in Windows Vista
  45. Command Prompt Properties
  46. Missing Drag and Drop in Vista Command Prompt
  47. GDI is not hardware accelerated in Windows Vista
  48. Are there Control Panel features that were available under Windows XP that are no longer available on Windows Vista?
  49. Stretched Desktop or Spanning Mode Not Available in Catalyst Control Center Under Windows Vista
  50. Description of DualView in Windows XP
  51. MultiMonitor Support and Windows Vista
  52. MultiMonitor Support and Windows Vista
  53. Windows Vista Display Driver Model
  54. Windows Vista restricts non-Win32 apps to 32 MB of memory
  55. MIDI and Windows Vista
  56. Audio improvements in Windows Vista
  57. Deciding Whether to Use the MIDI or DMus Port Driver
  58. An error message occurs when you try to run a Microsoft speech-based application in Windows Vista
  59. How to Change the Size of the Volume Control Mixer Window
  60. Output of analog and digital audio in Windows Vista and Media Center
  61. 62.0 62.1 What happened to Messenger in Windows Media Center?
  62. What happened to caller ID in Windows Media Center?
  63. 64.0 64.1 Windows Media Player 11 FAQs
  64. Windows Media DRM FAQs
  65. "Walmart.com – Music Downloads". Walmart. January 2008. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
  66. "Backing up and restoring licenses". Microsoft. November 2006. Retrieved January 4, 2007.
  67. You cannot use the Fraunhofer IIS MPEG Layer-3 codec to create MP3 content
  68. Addressing Application Compatibility in Windows Vista
  69. 70.0 70.1 DirectX Frequently Asked Questions (Windows)
  70. DirectInput ConfigureDevices in Windows Vista
  71. DirectPlay deprecated
  72. Timing jitter and clock drift when editing or playing MIDI in Windows Vista
  73. Migrating from WIA to WPD
  74. Windows Movie Maker no longer supports analog capture or webcam capture
  75. Windows Media Source Filter gone in Vista/Win7 – Alternatives?
  76. Issues building a streaming filtergraph for wmv in Vista
  77. "Windows Vista can only be installed on an NTFS volume". Microsoft. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
  78. Windows Vista Service Pack 1 White Paper
  79. "How to Create a Vista SP1 Slipstream Installation DVD".
  80. Command-line switches for Windows software update packages
  81. Update.exe switches and Package manager
  82. Russinovich, Mark (17 November 2008). "Pushing the Limits of Windows: Virtual Memory". Mark Russinovich’s Blog. Microsoft. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  83. Driver Signatures and PnP Device Installation: Windows Driver Kit
  84. 85.0 85.1 85.2 "Deprecated components in Windows Vista". MSDN. Microsoft.
  85. "Driver Signing Requirements for Windows". Microsoft. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
  86. "Kernel-Mode Code Signing Policy (Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista)". Microsoft. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  87. John Leyden (2008-07-08). "ATI driver flaw exposes Vista kernel". The Register.
  88. "Features and functions in version 1.1 of the Client-Side Caching Command-Line Options command-line tool". Microsoft. 2006-10-30. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  89. How to move the client-side caching (CSC) folder to a new location in Windows Vista
  90. "Encrypting File System". Microsoft. 2008-05-01. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  91. "RenameItem Method of the Win32_OfflineFilesCache Class". Microsoft. 2009-04-02. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  92. The Safely Remove Hardware feature does not stop power from being provided to a USB device in Windows Vista
  93. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950161/en-us
  94. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958103
  95. "Ask me what to do" no longer a configurable option in each case when user presses power button
  96. Blog post with a copy of the English documentation for the -t option under Vista.
  97. Writing UPS Minidrivers: MSDN
  98. Vista System Restore Q&A – System Restore MVP Bert Kinney
  99. Adjusting the amount of disk space System Restore uses to hold restore points: Bert Kinney – System Restore MVP
  100. System Restore: Monitored File Name Extensions
  101. http://blogs.technet.com/b/filecab/archive/2006/11/06/file-backup-in-windows-vista-faq.aspx
  102. http://blogs.msdn.com/spatdsg/archive/2007/03/01/efs-and-vista-and-backup.aspx
  103. http://blogs.technet.com/b/filecab/archive/2008/03/10/what-s-new-with-backup-and-restore-on-vista-sp1.aspx
  104. Ntbackup Command line Reference
  105. "Under disk cleanup there is an option to compress old files". Microsoft Answers. Microsoft. 2010-06-21. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  106. zusie2003; dax1792 (2010-12-28). "No option to compress old files in disk cleanup". Microsoft Answers. Microsoft. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
  107. http://blogs.technet.com/b/filecab/archive/2006/07/10/disk-defragmenter-faq.aspx
  108. Windows Vista Defrag: Dumbed-Down Interface
  109. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc709618%28v=ws.10%29.aspx
  110. http://windowsitpro.com/article/utilities/defrag-from-windows-vista-s-command-line-98086
  111. http://www.watchingthenet.com/get-detailed-statistics-by-running-windows-vista-disk-defragmenter-from-the-command-prompt.html
  112. What happened to Dr. Watson
  113. XNA Framework Goals
  114. How to use System Information (MSINFO32) command-line tool switches
  115. Check if multiple GPO's are changing the same policy setting(s)
  116. Changes to remote administration in Windows Server 2008
  117. "Windows DAC/MDAC Deprecated Components". Microsoft. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  118. What happened to Fax Console?
  119. 121.0 121.1 Fax & Scan – V.34 compatibility and TWAIN
  120. Vista – No "Block Sender" Option in Windows Mail Newsreader
  121. Changes to Photo/Video Import in Live Photo Gallery
  122. How Annotations in tiff images work, between different versions of Windows and Office
  123. Microsoft Agent Changes in Windows Vista
  124. "WinHlp32.exe is no longer included in Windows Vista". Microsoft. 2006-06-27. Retrieved 2006-08-31.
  125. Download WinHelp Viewer for Windows Vista
  126. WinHelp and Windows Vista
  127. Using What's This? Help on Windows Vista with Visual Basic 6.0
  128. Sound Recorder in Windows Vista cannot open existing files
  129. Windows Watch: No Word support in Wordpad
  130. Michael Kaplan, Sorting it all Out, Return of the Unicode IME
  131. Unable to find Clipboard Viewer (Clipbrd.exe) in Vista
  132. "JSI Tip 4471. What games are included with Windows XP?". Penton Media Inc. 2001-11-20. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
  133. "Windows Vista Help: Learn about Windows games". Microsoft. 2008-07-22. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
  134. Serial Keys support removed.
  135. Link Shell Extension: Remote Capabilities
  136. Where did the Shortcuts go from My Network Places?
  137. My Network Places in Vista?
  138. The connection fails on a Windows Vista-based computer when you try to communicate with another computer through an IPsec tunnel-mode connection
  139. About Wireless Provisioning Services: MSDN
  140. Windows Remote Assistance: frequently asked questions
  141. You cannot connect to a Web folder from a Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP x64 computer
  142. Strong and Weak Host Models
  143. Utility to provide automatic ad hoc wireless network connections in Windows Vista
  144. How to connect to adhoc network automatically in Vista?
  145. Auto connect wireless ad hoc networks in Windows Vista
  146. How to keep RAS connections active after logging off in Windows versions prior to Windows Vista
  147. Direct incoming connections over serial, infrared or parallel ports are not supported in Windows Vista
  148. E-mail identities in Windows Mail
  149. IIS7 Vista and SMTP server. Where is it?
  150. Rendezvous IP Telephony Conferencing
  151. RTC Client APIs and Windows Vista
  152. Migrating from NetMeeting
  153. "Discontinued Support for IP over 1394". Microsoft Hardware Database Compatibility. Microsoft. December 8, 2004. Archived from the original on 2006-09-10. Retrieved 2006-04-24.
  154. NetDDE is not present in Windows Vista
  155. Alert functions (Windows): MSDN
  156. MS-CHAPv1 support dropped
  157. Alternative for Object Packager (Removed in Vista)
  158. See Microsoft Windows and the Plug and Play Framework Architecture for a discussion on ISA PnP technology.

External links