>>> Vista and something that does not yet seem to be addressed <<<

  • Thread starter Thread starter John Monahan
  • Start date Start date
J

John Monahan

I have been looking over this newsgroup for a few days and do not seem to
find the answer to a situation that I am sure will come up a lot;-

OK I have an install of XP+SP2 that is years old and is on a disk with many
many other correctly functioning programs. Everything is rock solid. The XP
does not seem to pass the WGA test (because it is some old OEM product or
something) so to move to Vista I suppose I will opt for a full/clean
install.

Here is my issue.... I have many programs on the disk many of which I am not
sure I can find the install CD's or internet downloads. They are all linked
into the XP registry fine and function correctly. Can I install a "full
install" version of Vista on this disk WITHOUT having to track down the CD's
of all of these programs and reinstall them. Can I boot up on the above XP
and simply install Vista over it without loosing anything. In other words
can I avoid having to reformat the disk booting from the DVD drive.
 
You may be able to use the upgrade option rather than the custom option and
thus preserve your apps. When you use a full edition product key Vista
Setup does not need to verify genuine Windows so the only question remains
is what the compat report says. This report is generated when you choose
the upgrade option. You must remove any apps, drivers, etc. identified by
the compat report as blocking the upgrade.

It is possible that the upgrade option will be disabled. This can happen
when you have a configuration that is incompatible with Vista. There is no
way to know if this will happen until it happens. If there is something
non-standard about your XP you may run into this.

The old OS is removed completely, even in an upgrade scenario, so don't
worry about snippets of XP interfering with your new Vista installation.
There won't be any. You might have problems resulting from one or more of
the apps you carried over, however. This is a common experience with
upgrades from XP to Vista.

Use the Windows Easy Transfer wizard from Vista to save your files and
settings in case an upgrade is disabled or the upgrade does not produce
satisfactory results.
 
Colin has covered everything very well. I'll add a couple of tips. Backup
everything before you start. I prefer to use a disk imaging program with an
external hard drive. If something goes wrong in the upgrade process you can
then get back to where you started. The programs most likely to cause
problems are antivirus, antispyware, disk utilities and other programs that
require low level system access. It is best to uninstall those programs
before the upgrade then install Vista compatible versions after the upgrade.
 
I will add one additional tip.

Image your system to an external hard drive before you begin the upgrade.
Then, if things blow up, you can go back to where you were previously and
try again.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
 
Thanks guys I am getting there. So if I understand correctly, I buy a full
edition put it in the DVD drive WHEN I already have XP up and running and
take an upgrade option instead of a full install. Will Vista not get bent
out of shape because I am asking for an upgrade rather than a new install
with the full install key I will be using? I.e. does a full install key
also work for an upgrade key?

Richard the cable transfer approach will not work for me. I will put the OS
on the same computer. I just upgraded it with a new motherboard etc.
 
The key determines what version of Vista is installed. If it's a full
version key then you can upgrade or do a clean install. If it's an upgrade
key then you can only upgrade.
 
When you buy a full edition the legacy license is not tied to the new
installation. Therefore you can use whatever installation method is the
most convenient for you. Perhaps you are confusing upgrade pricing with
upgrade functionality. Retail full editions of Windows have always
supported upgrading.
 
Thanks Richard & Colin you were a big help. It's now clear to me and I am
ready to go. Counting the days to the end of the month!
 
I updgraded from XP pro to Vista. After upgrading, none of my installed
software shows up in Vista. Programs like Office 2007, Photo Shop, Viso, MS
Maps, all installed on XP pro. How do I fix this problem. How do I get this
programs to run? I can see them in the old windows folder but they were not
identified during the install process. Why and How do I fix them.

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