Confused over which copy to buy

  • Thread starter Thread starter afosty
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afosty

Hi i run windows xp pro at the moment and now i've come round to the idea
that i'll take the plunge and buy vista,but i just cant work out which copy i
need to buy (i want the home premium) do i buy the full retial box or the
upgrade version?
Any advice would be more than welcome ,many thanks in advance all.
 
In order to upgrade to Windows Vista from Windows XP Professional,
you would need to purchase either an upgrade edition of Vista Business
or Ultimate edition, not Vista home Premium.

Download and run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradeadvisor.mspx

How to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista by using
the upgrade version of Windows Vista:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931226/en-us

Installation choices for consumer versions of Windows Vista:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932616/en-us

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience -
Windows Vista Enthusiast

---------------------------------------------------------------

Hi i run windows xp pro at the moment and now i've come round to the idea
that i'll take the plunge and buy vista,but i just cant work out which copy i
need to buy (i want the home premium) do i buy the full retial box or the
upgrade version?
Any advice would be more than welcome ,many thanks in advance all.
 
afosty said:
Hi i run windows xp pro at the moment and now i've come round to the idea
that i'll take the plunge and buy vista,but i just cant work out which
copy i
need to buy (i want the home premium) do i buy the full retial box or the
upgrade version?
Any advice would be more than welcome ,many thanks in advance all.
Click to expand...


You may buy either the upgrade or standard edition.

Keep in mind that the word "upgrade" on the box means "upgrade license" but
not necessarily "upgrade the software".

You can only upgrade the software (not have to reinstall your apps) if you
upgrade to Business or Ultimate. However you may still use an upgrade
license to "upgrade" to Home Premium, but you will have to reinstall your
apps and restore your files and settings. I know this sounds confusing, but
it works. See the upgrade table at:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradepaths.mspx

The green dots are where you can upgrade the software(upgrade install). The
yellow dots are where you have to do a custom install. As you can see in
the line for XP Pro, you can use an upgrade edition of Vista Home Premium to
save some money but you will have reinstall your apps and files afterwards.

You need to run the Vista Upgrade Advisor to see what you need to do before
upgrading to Vista.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradeadvisor.mspx
 
afosty said:
Hi i run windows xp pro at the moment and now i've come round to the idea
that i'll take the plunge and buy vista,but i just cant work out which
copy i
need to buy (i want the home premium) do i buy the full retial box or the
upgrade version?
Any advice would be more than welcome ,many thanks in advance all.
Click to expand...


Home Premium won't give you the same functionality as XP Pro. Unless you
really need the Media Center, I'd recommend Vista Business. It does
everything XP Pro does.

Buy the Upgrade package. Regardless of what you'll be told, it can do a
"Clean Install" without XP being on the machine. Cheaper still, buy an OEM
package.
 
Sinner said:
Home Premium won't give you the same functionality as XP Pro. Unless you
really need the Media Center, I'd recommend Vista Business. It does
everything XP Pro does.

Buy the Upgrade package. Regardless of what you'll be told, it can do a
"Clean Install" without XP being on the machine. Cheaper still, buy an OEM
package.



Many thanks for the information guys i'm a bit of a dunce at this i just wish i'd found this place earlier.
Click to expand...
 
You may buy either the upgrade or standard edition.

Keep in mind that the word "upgrade" on the box means "upgrade license" but
not necessarily "upgrade the software".

You can only upgrade the software (not have to reinstall your apps) if you
upgrade to Business or Ultimate. However you may still use an upgrade
license to "upgrade" to Home Premium, but you will have to reinstall your
apps and restore your files and settings.
Click to expand...

I found that out the hard way two months ago when I bought the full
versison of Home Basic intending to upgrade and not have to re-intall
everything.
 
Nonny said:
I found that out the hard way two months ago when I bought the full
versison of Home Basic intending to upgrade and not have to re-intall
everything.
Click to expand...

Bummer.
 
Hey Sinner, not to doubt you, but also being new to Vista your comment
confuses me a little.
You say that the business version will also do a "Clean Install" without XP
being on the machine.
I thought an 'upgrade' was exactly that. So how do you do an 'upgrade' on an
empty harddrive?


Mickey
 
There is a widely known but unsupported way to make this happen. A
cursory Google search will tell you how. I won't because I can't guarantee
that at some future date it will be terminated.
 
Mickey Mouse said:
Hey Sinner, not to doubt you, but also being new to Vista your comment
confuses me a little.
You say that the business version will also do a "Clean Install" without
XP being on the machine.
I thought an 'upgrade' was exactly that. So how do you do an 'upgrade' on
an empty harddrive?


Mickey
Click to expand...

It's called "the workaround." Richard refers to it. I agree with him it is
unsupported by Microsoft and could lead to non-genuine Windows if MS decides
to invalidate it in the future.
 
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