Windows Vista will receive support for the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface technology by late 2007, Microsoft promised. The technology is set to replace the Bios, leading to shorter boot times and unlocking advanced features.

Microsoft disappointed many users and developers earlier this year when it pulled support for the technology from Windows Vista. That was in part because Apple is using UEFI on its Intel powered systems and UEFI Vista would enable users to run Vista on their Macs. But Apple itself has solved that issue with the creation of Bios powered Bootcamp.

24 May 2006

Only a limited number of PC systems will feature UEFI support by the time Vista comes out. PC manufacturers simply needed more time, and that's what Microsoft is giving them.

The latest Beta 2 release of Windows Vista offers UEFI support for testing purposes only. Microsoft will strip the feature from the final release.

Introducing new technologies such as UEFI is a chicken-egg dilemma. If there are no operating systems supporting the technology, system builders won't build them. But without hardware in the market, Microsoft is right to focus on finishing Vista.

Building ecosystems is hard, even for Microsoft.

Photo: Andrew Ritz, a Microsoft development manager for the core platform architecture team delivering his UEFI session at WinHEC 2006.

Tags: winhec2006, winhec, microsoft, windows vista, beta, UEFI, BIOS