Windows Vista build 5259

Windows Vista build 5259 is a pre-Beta 2 build of Windows Vista. This build, along with a recompile, was leaked publicly on or before 30 November 2005.

Setup
The setup interface has been changed in this build, now using a window in the middle of the screen with a fake Aero border and Aero buttons, but the title bar is not transparent. A new aurora wallpaper has been introduced in place of the old blue graphic with the silhouette of the Windows logo in the top left corner. An option to automatically activate Windows upon finishing setup has been added to the product key page. The disk partitioning section has also been slightly reorganized.

The second phase has been updated with the new wallpaper as well, however, it still retains the general look of the previous setup design iteration. The most notable change is that the progress bar in the bottom of the screen has been replaced with one similar to the first phase with numbers and labels marking each stage of the installation process.

This is also the first build with a WIM-based setup to feature an Out-of-Box Experience. Compared to the Windows XP version, the OOBE uses the Aero Wizard interface and includes pages for determining information that would have been determined during the second phase of Windows XP setup. The version included with this build is already very reminiscent of the version that shipped with RTM, although it uses a different font and some graphical glitches are present.

The autorun program has been also updated with the new variation of the Windows flag, however, it is vertically stretched in this build. The window background has also been changed to a solid dark blue color.

New features and changes

 * Applications that require elevated permissions upon launch will now open up a user account control dialogue once again, now looking more similar to that of the RTM.
 * The icon to report a bug on the desktop has been renamed to simply "Feedback".
 * Added an option called ReadyBoost to use USB drives as a virtual RAM drive.
 * Windows HotStart, a system that runs both a program and boots the OS at the same time by pushing a button, has been introduced.
 * This is the earliest leaked build to store the minimum build number required for upgrading in.

New and changed applications
This build introduced many apps later included with the RTM, including Windows Antispyware, based on a similar product by a company Microsoft acquired in 2004 and which would later be renamed to Windows Defender. Outlook Express 7 has been replaced with Windows Mail. Windows Mail comes with new in-app icons, except the application's icon still resembles Outlook Express 6.

Certain apps such as Migration Wizard have been changed too, where Migration Wizard now re-uses a similar interface as the fake Aero Glass window during setup. However, it throws out two asserts upon launch. The Help and Support Center has also been organized in a much more efficient manner. Windows Media Center has been updated quite a fair bit, now containing a much different layout. Finally, Internet Explorer 7 has dropped its bluish-purple accent, and is now back to a more grey look. The loading icon has improved in quality, and it has also been slightly re-arranged. Tabs now also have its own close button, rather than having to right click on a tab to close it. Windows Digital Gallery is renamed to Windows Photo Gallery and the app received minor updates. "Publish to RSS" has been removed from Windows Calendar.

File Explorer and Control Panel
File Explorer itself has received a few updates. Many icons have been replaced, and the ribbon colors are a static blue to green gradient. The control panel derivative however has received larger updates. The gradient on the left is now a dark green to light green gradient with a green Windows logo. An entirely new page has been added too, dubbed "System". This replaces the old Computer properties dialogue with a more efficient and less compact page. The main page includes the Windows Edition, system rating, processor info, amount of RAM, computer name and description, workgroup, and activation. Extra toolbars have been added on the green sidebar, such as Hardware and Security Center. Another new page, dubbed "Personalization" has been added too. Here you can change things such as the current theme and desktop background. Ease of Access applet got a new icon as well. Windows Update is now a Control Panel applet rather than a HTML page.

Starting with this build, system folders are no longer hidden by default. With this, the functionality to hide/show system folders have been removed as well.

Aero, taskbar and DWM
Although windows using the Aero Basic theme looks similar to aforementioned builds of Vista, and DWM effects are also practically the same, Aero using DWM now resembles that of RTM, with things such as the buttons and drop-down menus now being updated to a less glossy style. The taskbar and start menu has now received major updates, with the taskbar resembling that of the RTM as well. The start menu is closer to resembling that of the RTM, but it still has a few differences. There is also now an option to change the Glass color. Finally, Flip3D also resembles that of the RTM.

Bugs

 * Certain applications such as Device Manager isn't accessible via run. In this case, an alternative route is Control Panel > System > Hardware > Device Manager.
 * This build tends to have stability issues, and can easily crash upon simple tasks, such as installing drivers and opening up applications. At worst, bluescreens can also occur.
 * The CPU may not be shown correctly in system properties.
 * Even if you don't have a floppy drive in your machine, a button for it may appear in File Explorer anyway.
 * Explorer may randomly crash at times.

Installation

 * On some devices and virtual machines, the setup cannot partition the hard drive, requiring the usage of DiskPart. After using Diskpart to partition the hard drive, you must then restart the machine.
 * It is not possible to install or upgrade this build from build 4033 due to an assertion error.
 * It is also not possible to install or upgrade this build from build 5000 and build 5001 due to setup.exe crashing.

Windows AntiSpyware
Time displays the 24-hour format but within indicating AM/PM.