Windows Vista?

Question

What's the difference between Windows Vista and Windows Vista (Upgrade), other than price? Is it better to buy just Vist or an upgrade?

Answer 1

Honestly?

I think its another way for Mr Gates to add a few more billion dollars to his piggy bank.

Answer 2

The Upgrade version of Windows Vista is intended for an upgrade from another operating system, any version of Windows XP. If you are running a home edition of XP any of the upgrades you qualify for. If you are running XP Professional you must upgrade to Vista Ultimate or Vista Business or do a fresh Install of a lower version of Vista and lose some of the features of XP Professional.
You can also do a clean (fresh) install of Vista from an upgrade version of Vista. You will lose all your current programs with a fresh install but generally have a more stable platform to work from than having programs left behind with their own issues. Microsoft will walk you through it, if you ask them.. I spent about 2 hours off and on with Microsoft on the phone telling them what I wanted.. they were very helpful and even called me back to check that I was up and running.
I'm running Vista Home Premium.. generally happy with it, despite the few problems I encountered. I had problems getting my sound card and my TV card working but with a little trial and error got them working. My printer, usb hard drive, video card, and monitor were all recognized. I'm running a P4 3.0 Ghz, 1 Gig of memory, a Geforce 7600 GS, video card and it runs pretty smoothly, only slowing down occasionally.

Answer 3

The primary benefits of Vista are its increased security and it is a 64-bit OS.

As with any newly released OS, it is going to have bugs and multiple patches you'll need to download. Also, unless you upgrade your hardware, you'll probably notice significant decrease in performance.

So, if you want the security and new features Vista has to offer, already have a fast system, and don't mind encountering some issues along the way, then upgrading may be right for you. Otherwise, I'd probably wait until you satisfy these conditions.

Answer 4

A full version contains more than an upgrade. Are you sure your computer can run Vista? Here are some links for you to investigate.

Windows Vista – Specifications – Most Visible Features
Buffalo News, 1/29/07
Vista will add to Windows display deal with viewing photos, playing videos, recording and downloading music, and running the new “memory-gobbling” programs like Office Live. Needs:
800mHz speed, 1gHz better
512mb RAM minimum
20gb to run Vista
60-80gb hard drive

Windows Vista Advisor – Will your computer support Windows Vista?

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradeadvisor.mspx

Information on Windows Vista
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/enterprise/default.mspx

Windows Vista – antivirus program not necessary
http://www.betanews.com/article/Allchin_Suggests_Vista_Wont_Need_Antivirus/1163104965

MS Windows Vista – Features/Benefits

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/default.mspx

Answer 5

i have windows vista home and my mom bought the upgrade she said it isn't that different and it was a waste of money i work out okay on just the home basic. To find the differences between home basic and up go to your start menu click on windows anytime upgrade and then click on compare the editions of windows vista.