Windows Vista:  Autodesk Support for the current Windows platform arrives!

Those of us in the support community have been fielding phone calls from customers (and sales) about Windows Vista compatibility and until now, the answer in most cases has been No, No. No! We have been awaiting the release of service packs for the 2008 versions of Autodesk that make those applications compatible. The wait is now over, and the word is YES. Windows Vista is now supported with the appropriate service packs.

Windows Vista and Inventor 2008
Windows Vista and Inventor 2008 are now a fit. With the release of Service Pack 1 (SP1), Inventor 2008 is now officially supported on Windows Vista and customers can download Service Pack 1 from the Inventor download page at the following URL:

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=DL9852114

If you are making the move to Vista and want to run Inventor 2008, just download and install the Service Pack. Autodesk will support Inventor 2008 on the following five flavors of Microsoft Windows Vista:

• Windows Vista Enterprise

• Windows Vista Business

• Windows Vista Home Basic

• Windows Vista Home Premium

• Windows Vista Ultimate

At this time, Autodesk has no plans to support the Windows Vista Starter Edition.

What about Graphics Adapters (video cards)?

For a while now, the configuration of a CAD system has included high end graphics cards with OpenGL. No need to throw those cards away. You can still run Vista and Inventor 2008 as long as you get the appropriate Direct3D driver for that graphics adapter. You want to make sure you do not try running Inventor in OpenGL mode on Vista since Microsoft supports OpenGL through emulation which is significantly slower. The native graphics mode of Windows Vista and all 64 bit Windows Systems is Direct3D. Autodesk Inventor began supporting Direct3D in Inventor 11. With the use of Direct3D, Inventor 2008 on Vista shows performance gains (around 5 percent) as compared with Windows XP. Other solid modeling software vendors (you know who they are) currently still show performance decreases with Windows Vista! The following link shows video cards that are certified for Windows Vista and Inventor 2008 (click for link). Make sure you use a video card with a Direct3D driver.

What Operating System Should I get with a new computer?
The recommendation at this stage of the game is simple; if you plan to run CAD software, Microsoft Windows Vista has a green light when used with the correct video graphics adapter and Direct3D video drivers. As of July 11, 2007, this is a partial list of applications released by Autodesk with Vista support:

Windows Vista does support the following versions of Autodesk software (may require patches / service packs):

• Autodesk Inventor 2008 family of products

• AutoCAD Land Desktop

• Autodesk Civil 3D

• AutoCAD 2007

• Aut0CAD LT 2007

• Autodesk AutoCAD Revit Series Structure 4

• Autodesk AutoCAD Revit Series Structure 3

• Autodesk AutoCAD Revit Series Building 9

• Autodesk AutoCAD Revit Series Building 9.1

• Autodesk Data Management Server 2008

• Autodesk Network License Manager

• Revit Architecture 2008

• Revit MEP 2008

• Revit Structure 2008

• Autodesk 3ds Max 9

Unless otherwise noted, only the current versions of Autodesk products will support use with Windows Vista.

How can I get more information on this subject?
If you are looking for more information on Windows Vista and updates that Autodesk may post regarding application compatibility and this new operating system, you can visit http://www.autodesk.com and use the search function for Vista or take a look at these links, which were valid at the time of this writing (Wednesday, July 11, 2007).  click for link. You can also contact your Hagerman & Company account manager for current information. As always, when you are looking to upgrade, make sure your specific application(s) will run on the new operating system and hardware and, if not, find out what you need to upgrade. If you have questions or comments about this article, contact me.
 

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