windows vista upgrade?

Question

i use xp will i have any problems insalling home premium from a disc.i have 33gb space on my harddrive

Answer 1

There is a free Vista advisory tool that you can download from the net that will provide you with detailed information on whether your system will accept Vista or not.

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

Answer 2

When I upgraded to vista I had few problems. I didn't use the upgrade install and did a fresh install. Vista actually left my old installation on the drive in a folder called windows.old. All I had to do was transfer the files I wanted to keep and delete the rest.

The only software I haven't been able to run is the software for my mobile phone (sony ericsson) but the drivers for the phone itself installed fine and I use floats mobile agent instead which is much better so not a bug deal. A few things I have to run as administrator or under windows XP compatibility mode but on the whole I have to disagree with the scaremongers who say ALL YOUR SOFTWARE WON'T WORK.

I would advise that you ensure that your computer has a decent processor memory and graphics card though.

As happy as I am with it I have to say that I don't think overall tat vista is a big enough improvement over XP to make it woth paying full price for and would suggest getting it with a new PC. The only reason I upgraded was I got a free upgrade with my laptop.

Answer 3

Yes, many people are having problems upgrading due to the fact that a lot of the programms on your computer WILL NOT WORK with Vista, in fact a few companies are now bringing out guides to removing Vista and reinstalling XP. Wait till you get a new PC.

Answer 4

Did you run the upgrade advisor utility?

Better yet...why are you bothering to upgrade is a better question? We (the IT shop I run) is not going to upgrade as it offers practically nothing to the average user, and it requires more of everything (processor, memory, vid card etc).
Additionally mobil device are difficult if impossible to get running. Dual vid cards will get you bettrer perfomance than the vista video junk. Most programs are not wtritten in 64 bit so that is a flop. IMO not a worthy upgrade. But if you are determined try the vista upgrade advisor and see what is it reports back. Then ask again.

Answer 5

From what I have heard from others going to Vista they have all had problems and has cost them a lot of extra money. Seems Vista has problems which have not yet been sorted out. Check it out with PC World or someone similar.

Answer 6

If your computer comes with 33GB HD it tells me it's an older computer and answer will be no. If it's not broken don't fix it

Answer 7

i would not bother, to be honest.
first of all, it is very resource heavy(e.g.ram,hard disc space etc)
secondly, it offers nothing new except looks a bit fancier.
Third, for all its fanciness, mac and linux operating systems are already doing what vista does except smoother and fancier.
.
don't believe me? look up 'Ubuntu beryl' on youtube

Answer 8

In terms of space, no. But you should also make sure your memory, processor, and video card are up to speed.

Answer 9

dont bother its shiv

Answer 10

Early adopters take note: Windows Vista is on its way, fully prepared to mow down every operating system in its path. It's just about time to see what all of the hubbub is about.

Even before its widespread release, Vista has been a polarizing influence on the tech industry. Its many changes, both cosmetic and under the hood, have excited some, bored others, and convinced a handful of angry users to finally try Mac OS X or Linux.

Regardless of that, it's likely that Vista will be the prevalent operating system in a couple years, just as Windows XP managed to push out Windows 98 and ME within a year or two after its release. New PCs will come with Vista installed, and most users who purchased a new computer in the past few months are entitled to a free or discounted copy of the new Windows. If you're a PC user, you'll probably experience Windows Vista one day soon, and you'll most likely upgrade—if not now, then eventually.

A lot of bloggers heartily recommend starting with a clean installation of Windows Vista or even purchasing (or building) a new computer to experience the full might of the operating system. That's great, in many scenarios, but in some cases you might want to upgrade your existing Windows XP or Windows 2000 installation. If your computer already meets or, better, exceeds the Windows Vista minimum system requirements and you're less interested in a shiny, clean installation than a quick and convenient upgrade, you might want to go for the in-place switcheroo

Can You Upgrade to Vista?

First things first: You need a copy of Windows Vista. Go to the store on January 30 and pick one out. Hopefully, Jason Cross' article on Vista variants helped you choose which Vista SKU meets your needs, but the upgrade path is more complicated than a simple assessment of your computing habits.

Whether you can actually perform an in-place upgrade depends on which version of Windows you already have and which Vista you plan to get. You can only perform an in-place upgrade from certain Windows XP versions to certain Windows Vista versions; you can't upgrade any of the pre-Vista Windows operating systems (including Windows 9x/Me and Windows 2000) to Vista without performing a clean installation.

Thus, you can upgrade Windows XP Home to any version of Vista; you can also upgrade any version of Windows XP to Windows Vista Ultimate. You can't upgrade XP Professional or Tablet PC to either of the Vista Home SKUs, nor can you upgrade XP Media Center to Home Basic or Business.

Windows 2000 and Windows XP x64 cannot be upgraded in place at all.

Note that, even if you can't perform an in-place upgrade, you might still qualify for upgrade pricing if you own any version of XP or Windows 2000

What's New About Vista's Installer

The actual setup routine that Windows Vista employs is quite different from those of previous versions of Windows. It's faster, more modular, it makes updating the OS during the installation particularly easy, and it's completely and utterly free of any DOS elements at all.

No matter which version of Windows Vista you chose to purchase, you received the same DVD-ROM as everyone else did. In other words, even if you bought Home Basic, your DVD is interchangeable with the guy next door who sprung for Ultimate. The key is the key: Vista's license key, the long alphanumeric string you have to enter before the OS will install, determines which version gets dropped onto your system.

That makes upgrading from one Vista to a higher-end SKU much easier. You don't have to go to the store or to Amazon and buy a new disc; you can upgrade online, pay the difference, and leap from Home to Ultimate without much hassle.

Vista Setup Architecture: Image-Based Upgrade
When you perform the Windows Vista installation, the routine looks similar to that of XP (although you're given fewer choices during setup). In fact, behind the scenes, the process is quite different. Windows Vista doesn't sling and expand individual files. The DVD contains a bootable image of Windows Vista that it replicates on your computer's hard drive.

Vista Setup scans your XP installation, and then makes copies of all relevant information. Unlike the XP upgrade process, it doesn't merge your XP installation with the Vista installation. After all of the relevant information (including applications) is copied over, then your actual XP installation is removed. In effect, you get the best of both worlds—upgrading your system, so your old apps and data come over, and a (relatively) clean Vista install. No more DLL hell. After the image is in place, the Vista setup routine checks out your system and configures itself accordingly.

Not only should an in-place upgrade go smoothly (barring any unexpected incompatibilities), but future upgrades to higher Windows Vista SKUs (going from, say, Home Basic to Home Premium), later versions of Windows Vista (think: service packs), and even releases of post-Vista Windows operating systems, are likely to be incredibly easy.

For this improvement, you can thank the Microsoft "Setup" team, and a little concept called component manifests. Component manifests are scripts, written in XML, that describe how Windows setup routines should migrate data during an upgrade. Traditionally, the entire setup procedure was on the shoulders of the Setup team, and as features were added to and removed from Windows, the team had to adjust the setup routine—all the while preserving its data-migration handling.

Windows Vista is componentized right down to its installation system, and programming teams in charge of various Windows components can all write their own XML manifests to handle migration of data that appears in their own components. The componentized upgrader can even include calls to code if necessary to handle more-complex migration tasks that cannot simply be scripted.

All this means Windows Vista Setup should have an easier time with data migration than Windows XP had when a user upgraded from Windows 9x or Me. In the future, any component of Windows Vista should be easily upgradeable, with reliable data migration

Prepare for Your Vista Upgrade

Before you upgrade your unsuspecting computer to the new Windows, you need to prep it. You should perform a backup and engage in some routine maintenance to make the upgrade as smooth as possible.

1. Back up your files.
This is not optional. You really need to perform a backup, and check it (some of us found this part out the hard way), before you proceed. Vista is new, and although it underwent the most sweeping beta program in the history of Windows, there may be undocumented incompatibilities galore. An operating system upgrade isn't something to take lightly; it could, potentially, hose your hard drive.

Use your favorite backup program to back up virtually everything that you can't restore from installation media. You don't necessarily have to create a full system backup—although it's not a bad idea—as long as you make backups of things like finances, documents, digital photos, game saves, music, homemade videos, and so on.

Consider creating a full system backup or an image of your hard drive in its current state, if you have space on an external hard drive or a network share. If something goes awry, you can simply restore the backup or image. If you only back up your data, you'll have to completely reinstall your OS, your applications, drivers, and everything else you need. That process can easily wipe out a day or two.
2. Purge your system.
Next, get rid of anything you don't need. Uninstall applications you haven't opened in the past year and will never use again. Run Disk Cleanup and do away with stuff like temporary files and installation files for updates. Check your download folders for installation files of programs you installed long ago. Consider archiving data that you haven't used in some time to removable media such as writeable DVDs, and then removing it from your system's hard drive. If you haven't cleaned up your hard drive in a while, this is the time to do it.
3. Uninstall your antivirus program.
Some antivirus programs have issues with system upheavals, including installing a new operating system. Even if you're absolutely sure your antivirus program is Windows Vista–compatible, uninstall (or at least disable) it before you proceed. If you know it's not Vista compatible, get rid of it entirely. Get another one or upgrade your current one after the Vista installation is complete. Consider a freebie like AVG.

Disable other security applications, like antispyware and third-party firewalls.

4. Defrag the hard drive(s).
Even if you don't believe in defragmenting hard drives on a regular basis, you should perform a defrag before you start the Vista setup program. After a serious purge, there are sure to be plenty of gaps in the file system and at least some program fragmentation. Make your drive neat and orderly to roll out the carpet for the new OS.

More Info : http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2082985,00.asp

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Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor

Before you being Before you begin

Before you run the Upgrade Advisor, be sure to plug in any USB devices or other devices such as printers, external hard drives, or scanners that are regularly used with the PC you're evaluating.

Download Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor Download Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor

The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor works with 32-bit versions of Windows XP and Windows Vista. Review upgrade options that are available for versions earlier than Windows XP.

Make sure your computer is ready for the edition of Windows Vista you want.

The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor will help you to determine if your Windows XP-based PC can run Windows Vista. You can also use the Upgrade Advisor to determine if your Windows Vista-based PC is ready for an upgrade to a more powerful edition of Windows Vista.

This small software tool will scan your computer and create an easy-to-understand report of all known system, device, and program compatibility issues, and recommend ways to resolve them. Upgrade Advisor can also help you to choose the edition of Windows Vista that best fits the way you want to use your computer.

Just download, install, and run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor.

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