Windows Vista build 5048

Windows Vista build 5048 is a pre-Beta 1 build of Windows Vista. It is the official Longhorn Developer Preview, which was released to attendants of WinHEC 2005 on 24 April 2005. The checked/debug versions of this build were uploaded on 26 December 2021.

Being a pre-beta 1 build, it is noticeably closer to Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 than to pre-reset builds. It is also an  build, which suggests that it was recompiled several times, and therefore is behind regular builds compiled at the time. The x64 version of this build is similar to the x86 build, but it has a different End-user license agreement and Windows XP x64 Edition brand wallpaper instead of the Windows Server 2003 brand wallpaper which is named as.

Unlike other post-reset Vista builds, it was compiled in evaluation mode, and it can be installed on the current date. The timebomb in evaluation mode behaves just like pre-reset builds; if the timebomb expires, the user is automatically logged out.

This is the last available Windows build to include the Luna theme, although it is noticeably broken and uses Slate graphics for the right pane of the Start menu. It is also the last known build of Windows to include the game 3D Pinball Space Cadet, as well as the last to include the login prompt used in Windows 2000 build 1946.1 and onward, and the logoff prompt used in Windows 2000 build 2031.1 and onward.

Setup
Although previous builds of post-reset Vista re-used the older i386 installation process, this build re-uses the Windows Preinstallation Environment installation process from later builds of Longhorn, retaining the slate theme as well. However, a few changes have been made. The launching WinPE screen does not show anymore, now leaving you without any option of pressing F6 to load in certain drivers during boot. However, the user still can load drivers by selecting the "Load Driver" option at the page where the user decides where Windows will be installed. The icon even shows a F6 key. The starting setup screen has also been altered, now containing the Windows flag. Anti-aliasing is no longer present on fonts, and the numbers on the progress bar no longer glow. Finally, the hardware portion of setup now includes a dummy progress bar on the bottom, and the Windows flag has been added to the middle of the page. Asides from all of these minor changes, setup is overall mostly similar to what was found in later pre-reset builds of Longhorn. The setup autorun is notable for containing a mention of Beta 1, in this case the second button is labeled View Beta 1 Release notes.

New features and changes

 * This build includes Windows System Assessment Tool (shortly WinSAT) and Windows Diagnostic Infrastructure (WDI). However, WinSAT is non functional and links lead to an intranet website instead.
 * Windows Media Player 10 and Internet Explorer 6 SP2 are also now present.
 * Sync Manager (Later known as Sync Center) has been introduced.
 * Many of the icons from later pre-reset builds have returned, some with minor alterations. A few icons are also new to this build. However, the Control Panel and Printers icons are from Windows 95, just like late pre-reset builds.
 * This build uses the legacy login dialog (similar to ones in Windows 2000/Server 2003). The Windows XP welcome screen can be enabled in User Accounts from Control Panel, and is a leftover that would be removed before build 5098.
 * This build uses  as the default bootloader, but still includes   as an alternative way to boot. This can be seen via a dual boot. As a result, this build also contains the notable red screen of death when a boot error occurs.
 * You can choose a bunch of different themes, including the Windows XP Luna themes, the classic theme, and the three new Aero themes.
 * Paint has received an update which added a zoom slider first seen in pre-reset build 4051).
 * Self-Healing NTFS was reintegrated from pre-reset build 4074.
 * Instant Search was implemented in this build.
 * Control Panel's Category View was revamped and applets were added for installed programs.
 * Microsoft Anna Speech Synthesizer from pre-reset build 4093 was added. However, it is slightly different.
 * This build changes the  screen to blue, and the text black.

Windows Boot Manager
This is the first known build to include the Windows Boot Manager, replacing  used since the Windows NT 3.1 October 1991 build. Unlike its predecessor, the Boot Manager stores its data in BCD (Boot Configuration Data) stores rather than plaintext INI files.

Unlike later builds, the error screen is red in this build, leading to it being called a red screen of death. Furthermore, the advanced boot options screen is blue. Text mode is also used at all times, while later versions use a framebuffer console in a VESA compatible mode if possible.

This is also the first build to require ACPI support, as it is required by the new boot loader and trying to start Windows on a non-compliant system results in an error.

Windows Explorer

 * My Computer has been renamed to Computer, as with late pre-reset builds.
 * File checkboxes and scalable icons (first seen in pre-reset builds) have been reintroduced.

Start menu
Start Menu received many new updates in this build including the famous search box that will later be seen in Windows Vista and Windows 7. The outline of the start menu is now transparent. "All Programs" menu is now an inline menu and it doesn't open in a separate context menu-like UI.

Customize Start Menu has references to "My Games" and "My Hardware" links.

Windows Aero

 * This build marks the debut of the Aero theme (which is loaded by default without DWM).
 * This build includes three new Aero themes.
 * One of the new Aero themes (Theme 2) use a similar design to later builds of Vista (The only difference is that the minimize and maximize buttons are little arrows, where the minimize arrow points down and the maximize arrow points up).
 * The Aero theme is now the default theme overall system, along with its visual effects and wizards.

Desktop Window Manager
This build of Vista reintroduces the Desktop Window Manager, after being absent in late pre-reset and Omega-13 builds. It crashes at startup if no driver is installed and software emulation is needed if when no compatible driver is available. Although LDDM drivers are now included by default, claiming support many GPUs of the time, as of December 2021, no success have been reported using any of the included LDDM drivers, or even drivers ported from other builds, suggesting that the LDDM stack is broken. However DWM in this build can run with a regular XPDM driver, so long as a whitelisted GPU is installed, or the whitelist is bypassed by using a registry edit.

There are two different ways of initializing DWM, one is modifying the registry, while the other is initializing a DLL via. The more simpler rundll32.exe method is simply opening up the command prompt, and typing. This, however, randomizes the effects used with DWM. The other method of initializing DWM can be done via opening the Registry Editor, navigating to, creating a new key called DWM, then creating the following DWORDs inside the key: (Technically only the EnableMachineCheck DWORD is required, and even that can be skipped if the GPU device name contains the substring "5900" or "9800".)

After making these changes, log out then log back on to initialize DWM. (Logging out and back on need to be repeatead after every reboot, as DWM fails to initialize on the first logon due to a bug.)

When DWM is successfully enabled using this method, it can then be toggled on and off using Ctrl+Shift+F9 like in most other builds with DWM.

User Account Control
This is the first build after the development reset to include a preliminary version of User Account Control.

Removed features

 * MSN Gaming Zone
 * Windows NetMeeting (which would be replaced with Windows Meeting Space later during development)
 * Windows XP Tour
 * Filmstrip view in Windows Explorer

Bugs and quirks

 * There is a limit of 50 files able to be browsed per folder, but it can be bypassed by viewing icons in groups.
 * Enabling auto login for the default user account while having the new login screen enabled can make the login screen throw up an error. This can be safely ignored.
 * The  option is missing from the new login screen.
 * With fast user switching enabled, the "Switch user" option doesn't appear when selecting "Log Off". Instead, the Log Off dialog is always the one Windows XP would display with fast user switching disabled. It is still possible to switch users using the key combination Windows+L.
 * Help and Support does not open due to a missing, but an updated help application, called  , can be found in the Windows folder.
 * The Windows logo has a white background on the hibernation screen.

Installation

 * The setup switches to 16-bit color 800x600 video mode after briefly using 24-bit 640x480 during its startup, resulting in a noticeable dithering effect of the background during setup.
 * Although this build can partition properly during setup, the partitioning page doesn't refresh properly, requiring you to reboot your system in order to see the new partition.
 * The timer located at the bottom-right corner in setup is not functional, as it always displays  regardless of the progress.

Upgrading
While this build requires build 5019 or higher to upgrade to,  in the sources folder lists various bugs that will be encountered when an upgrade takes place.

File differences
The following files have been introduced, renamed or removed from build 5001: