PC manufacturers that expected to get their hands on the final version of Windows Vista will have to wait a couple more weeks for the operating system, according to sources familiar with Microsoft Corp.'s plans.

Microsoft originally targeted Oct. 25th for Vista's release to manufacturing, but a last-minute bug that "took most of the Vista team by surprise" caused an unexpected delay, said Ethan Allen, a quality assurance lead at a Seattle high-tech company that tests its products for Vista. Allen also oversees hotfix.net.

Allen said the Vista team discovered the bug, which "would totally crash the system, requiring a complete reinstall," in Vista Build 5824 on Oct. 13. The team fixed the bug a week later in Vista Build 5840, he said, but the delivery of the operating system to PC makers was delayed.

ComputerWorld