Change the Language in Windows Vista

Changing the language in Windows Vista can be quite a problem depending on the available edition of Windows Vista. By default it is not possible to change the language of menus, dialog boxes and every other system related element directly. Windows Vista Ultimate and Enterprise users can download so called Multilingual User Interface Packs (MUIs) and install them.

Every other version of Windows Vista is left with Windows Vista Language Interface Packs (LIPs) that only translate the interface partially. I’m not sure why Microsoft has decided to provide different solutions depending on the edition of Windows Vista but that is the case.

There is no official way to install a MUI on a Vista edition other than Vista Enterprise and Vista Ultimate. Vistalizator (via Techtrends) has been developed to provide a way to change the language in every edition of Windows Vista with MUIs. The author provides links to the language pack and the download of the software on his homepage.

This can be very useful for users who bought a notebook or computer abroad that is using a default language that they do not understand or prefer not to use.

Here is how you use Vistalizator to change the language in Windows Vista. Download the program from the developers homepage and pick on the language packs for 32-bit or 64-bit Windows Vista (either with or without SP1). Start Vistalizator and pick the language pack that you have downloaded. A click on Install starts the process and Vista will be started with the new language from then on.

The big advantage of this method is that it uses the official language packs provided by Microsoft and that the change of the language in Windows Vista only takes about five minutes.