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Vista Upgrade Installation
Often times there is quite a bit of confusion about the
word 'Upgrade' as it relates to operating systems. I want to
make it clear that in this article, I'm talking about
installing Vista on a system that already has a functional
Windows operating system installed and that you are
'upgrading' that functional operating system to a version of
Vista. In order to accomplish that task, the 'upgrade'
process has to be started from inside the current Windows
operating system. In theory, once this process has been
completed, Vista will become the primary operating system on
the machine, replacing what was there previously. You cannot
'roll back' to the previous operating system and restore the
functionality present prior to the upgrade.
There are mechanisms built in to the install to help you
determine if you want to upgrade. They appear on the first
screen of the install routine and consist of "Check
Compatibility Online" and 'Transfer Files And
Settings From Another Computer' routines. I suggest you make
use of both before committing to the upgrade process and pay
special attention to the 'Compatibility Report' that will
appear later as you move through the upgrade process. If
something appears that is a cause for concern you still have
the option to cancel before moving ahead with the upgrade.
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To begin the
upgrade process, insert the DVD and wait for the
Install Windows screen to load. If you read
through the
Clean Installation guide you'll
notice this screen has some different options.
Clicking 'Check Compatibility
Online' takes you to the Windows Vista Upgrade
Advisor site where it can be downloaded. It
doesn't take long and I recommend you give it a
try. It can point out areas that may negatively
impact your decision to upgrade.
Because in this case install
is running from inside XP, the 'Transfer Files
And Settings From Another Computer' option is
now available. As the name implies, this utility
named 'Windows Easy Transfer' allows you to
transfer files and settings from one computer to
another using a variety of different methods.
Once you're ready to proceed
with the installation, go ahead and click
'Install Now' to get things started. |
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The first order
of business is to get any available installation
updates. So far this has proven to be rather a
hit or miss proposition for me. Sometimes it
will connect and work as intended while other
times I get a message telling me it was unable
to connect. If it works
it's very convenient, especially for the
hardware drivers, but even if it fails the
updates can be downloaded and installed after
installation is complete.
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Once again it's
time for the Product Key and talk about
activation. Unlike XP and previous Windows
offerings that stopped dead if you didn't have a
product key, this is no longer the case with
Vista. You aren't required to enter a key at
this point, although there are some strongly
worded cautions about the potential for data
loss if you choose not to enter the key. There
is also a check box to select whether or not
Vista will be automatically activated. |
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If you chose not
to enter the Product Key in the previous step,
this screen will pop up asking you to confirm
that you do not want to enter the key. The same
warning of potential data loss is present and an
additional warning has been added that you may
need to purchase another edition of Vista if you
continue without entering the key. Pressing [
Yes ] will return you to the screen where the
key can be entered. Selecting [ No ] will take
you to the screen below. |
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Declining to
enter the product key in the previous step
brings you here where you must select the
edition of Windows that you purchased. The
warning makes it clear that if you select a
version you don't have a key for, you'll either
have to purchase that version or reinstall Vista
and select the proper version. This screen is a
two step process; selecting the appropriate
version and then certifying you have selected
the version of Vista by using the checkbox. Once
those two items have been completed the [ Next ]
button is activated. |
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Next up is the
Vista license terms. Simple choice; click [ I
accept the license terms ] and the install
continues. If you decide not to check the box
you'll want to make use of that red 'X' in the
upper right hand corner of the screen. |
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Now it's time to
select the type of installation. Upgrade or
Custom are the choices.
Had this installation started by booting the
system with the DVD in the drive and then
working your way to this point, the 'Upgrade'
option would not have been available. Because
the installation was started from inside XP, the
'Upgrade' option is available.
The 'Custom' option is also
available if you decide you'd rather not upgrade
but instead install a clean copy of Vista.
It's very important to note at
this point that if you click on the 'Upgrade'
option you are committed to the upgrade. There
is no backing out. You will most likely see a
'Compatibility Report' screen if any issues
exist with the install, but unless they are
issues that would cause the upgrade to fail
totally you will have to proceed with the
upgrade.
If you select 'Custom' you are
taken to the screen shown below where it asks
where you want to install windows. Should you
decide you really do want to upgrade instead,
you can use the [ Back ] button to return to the
previous screen and select 'Upgrade' option. |
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This is the
screen I mentioned above that appears if you
select the 'Custom' option.
Since there is only one drive
available on this system the choice of where to
perform the 'Custom' install is limited.
What's important to note is
the statement at the bottom of the screen that
if you want to make changes to partitions you
have to restart Windows from the installation
disk.
There are no disk tools
available when the installation is started from
inside Windows.
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If you decide to
go ahead and do the 'Custom' install you will be
prompted that you are overwriting a previous
Windows installation.
The files and folders are moved to the
Windows.old folder, and as it says they will be
accessible, but the previous operating system
will no longer be functional.
Personally, I don't like this
option. Every time I've used it I get the
feeling the new installation performs less
satisfactorily than a true clean installation.
That may just be my imagination, but that's
still the feeling I get. I much prefer to have
the files backed up externally and do a clean
install and not have them moved to Windows.old. |
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This is the
Compatibility Report I mentioned previously. If
you want to view the detected issues, click the
link for more information. If you really don't
care what the issues are and what impact they
might have, click the [ Next ] button. |
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This is the
detail of the Compatibility Report. |
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Once you've
finished up the install location and click [
Next ] it's just a matter of waiting as Vista
goes through the install motions. They are true
to their word on this screen when they say the
system will restart several times.
How long will it take to install
Vista? I've experienced timeframes all over the
spectrum from 30 minutes to over 5 hours, but
for an 'Upgrade' install it's almost impossible
to estimate. It depends on the complexity of the
install and the amount of users, data, files,
etc on the system being upgraded. I've read
reports in newsgroups of people at the 10+ hour
mark and the install was still chugging along.
Add that as one more reason to avoid an
'Upgrade' installation.
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If this was a
clean installation that was being performed
there would be five screens where you input
specific user, network, updating, and time zone
options and a 'Thank You' message for installing
Vista. However, because this is an upgrade
installation that was started from inside
Windows, that information is already known and
doesn't have to be entered as part of the
upgrade process. Because
the system is connected to a network, setup
wants to know whether the network is a home,
work, or public location. Read the descriptions
and select the one most suitable to your
situation. |
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Earlier in the
installation you saw a Compatibility Report
screen containing a report about a PCI sound
driver that could potentially be an upgrade
issue. This "Found New
Hardware" screen is a direct result of the
Compatibility Report and wants to search for the
necessary driver online. You can grant
permission to always search online anytime a
driver is needed, grant permission to search
this one time only, or deny permission to search
online. |
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In this case the
driver search was successful and the software
for the device has been installed. |
That's it for the Upgrade Installation. I don't know
why this butt ugly desktop insists on appearing after an
'upgrade' procedure, but it has happened on every one
I've performed.
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