WILL MICROSOFT PLEASE CLARIFY?

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There are now multiple threads related to the Upgrade versions of Vista and
great confusion abounds! So, I'm starting a new one to REQUEST A DEFINITIVE
STATEMENT from a Microsoft representative to clarify the true position!

To summarize: It has been stated that upgrade DVDs are non-bootable to force
the upgrade to be initiated from within the qualifying upgrade-from product.
If it is true that this change in technique (from XP etc.) has been adopted,
the following appear to be true with the Upgrade SKUs:

1 - There is no possible upgrade path from 32-bit existing product to 64-bit
Vista even though the (advertised) right to make that upgrade has been
purchased.

2- Although Complete PC Backups may be performed, there is no way to perform
a restore from any of those backups.

3- There is no way to perform a "Repair" install of the Vista OS

4- There is no way to perform other "Repair" type operations (equivalent of
XP repair console)

5 - There is no way to perform a completely clean install of Vista

If true, this is truly a bizarre situation.

Or... are there other as yet undocumented (and therefore untested)
mechanisms provided to perform the above?

How will the crippled state of the Upgrade SKUs be communicated to the
unsuspecting purchasers of "Upgrade to Windows Vista Included" PCs over the
next month or so?

All the above items seem so severe that a Microsoft clarification is required.

Feel free to reply to this message to add your request that Microsoft should
clarify (or add to the list of problems caused by this change in technique.
 
cvp said:
3- There is no way to perform a "Repair" install of the Vista OS

4- There is no way to perform other "Repair" type operations (equivalent of
XP repair console)
Click to expand...

repair a Windows Vista installation is simplier than XP. Just put the Vista
DVD and select repair option from the graphical interface.
5 - There is no way to perform a completely clean install of Vista
Click to expand...

there's it.
 
Of course I don't actually have a copy of the Upgrade SKU DVD, but there is
no such option on mine if I merely place the DVD in the reader. I only get
options to:
Check Compatibility Online
Install Now
Transfer Files And Settings

There is of course an option to Repair -
IF I BOOT FROM THE DVD.
But since we're discussing the situation arising from a non-bootable DVD,
that option is non-existent and your comment makes no sense.

there's it.
Click to expand...


?????? Where's what?
 
mik, his concern and mine is that we cannot rely on what we have been able
to do up to now because we have all been using the FULL edition dvd's. No
one has an UPGRADE edition dvd to check with. The concern is with the
Upgrade edition dvd's not with the upgrade capabilities of the full edition
dvd's. We all know about those.
 
It is possible that the SETUP program on a Vista 64-bit DVD will run
under 32-bit Windows XP.
 
Correct, Colin. (Good name that - mine too)

And the concern arises particularly because the only official-sourced info
has actually CREATED the concern and awoken us from our assumed knowledge
about upgrade products would work (based on prior OS Upgrade versions)
 
You Kiddin. You done asked Redmond the Quintissential Kings and Queens of
NONINTUITIVE to clarify?

LOL to da 64th.

CH
 
Unfortunately, it doesn't - just gives out a message about having to be
running on a 64-bit system. There are many ways this upgrade to 64-bit COULD
have been done, but no identified one so far with the Upgrade Product
 
There is, it requires installing to a different volume (partition). How
awkward that is. The longer it takes for someone to be able to upgrade, the
more likely they will have installed some program or device that will make
the upgrade not work or have problems after completion.
 
Well sure! Since the concern only arose because of 'official' Microsoft input
or readme info, it seems only reasonable to ask them to clarify.

I assumed that others would also be eager to hear the real story, as opposed
to "here's how I think it might work" and "here's how it used to work
with..." variants that each of the other threads is filled with.

So I'm looking for other NG participants to add their weight to a request
for info.
 
You have it exactly.

cvp said:
Correct, Colin. (Good name that - mine too)

And the concern arises particularly because the only official-sourced info
has actually CREATED the concern and awoken us from our assumed knowledge
about upgrade products would work (based on prior OS Upgrade versions)
Click to expand...
 
Awkward indeed, John! Especially if you wanted to make sure the System
Partition was upgraded and the "old" system's Boot Partition were separate
(so you could just remove the drive afterwards). However, if I had to, I
would. It was the difference between "clean" and "completely clean" that I
was kinda thinking of there.
 
That has nothing to do with it. I have been installing both x86 and x64
Vista from an XP Pro x64 desktop all through beta testing. The question
here is not installing to a different partition but running a Vista Upgrade
edition dvd on a machine with only one partition or just a raw drive. No
one here has done that yet and some of the docs on microsoft.com seem to
suggest that it would not be possible. The wording is confusing but seems
to say to some of us that you can only use the Upgrade Edition to upgrade a
running legacy Windows. For this thread, forget everything you know about
the full edition dvd's we have had access to up until now.
 
Chad, I'd like to meet your supplier. :P

Chad Harris said:
You Kiddin. You done asked Redmond the Quintissential Kings and Queens of
NONINTUITIVE to clarify?

LOL to da 64th.

CH
Click to expand...
 
And what if you need to replace the hard drive?

cvp said:
Awkward indeed, John! Especially if you wanted to make sure the System
Partition was upgraded and the "old" system's Boot Partition were separate
(so you could just remove the drive afterwards). However, if I had to, I
would. It was the difference between "clean" and "completely clean" that I
was kinda thinking of there.
Click to expand...
 
Indeed! I suppose you could re-install the qualifying OS on the new drive and
then Upgrade to Vista. What a pain that would be! Especially if the
qualifying product was itself an upgrade, and needed another CD fed in. It's
bad enough that I have to keep a USB diskette reader around for XP F6
installs. One if the attractions of Vista is to get additional storage
drivers on non-diskette media.

The more I think about this, the more ridiculous it seems!

Some of my non-IT friends who frequently call on my services ask me "What do
ordinary people do?"

I have to say "I don't know!" Maybe they just go and buy a new PC...
 
Personally, if I had to replace the hard drive, I would restore my backup
and be done with it. Failing that, I would install XP to a second partition
and activate, install Vista to the first partition, make the first
partition active, copy the boot files to the first partition, install Vista
Boot Pro and clean up the boot records, reboot and hope I did it right, all
the while wondering why I didn't buy the full copy and hoping the nobody I
know calls up and asks how to do it. :-)
 
Are you guy's saying, that to use a Vista Upgrade DVD, you must have a
qualifying OS already inplace?

Why would MS design the Vista Upgrade in such a fashion?
Stevek
 
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