The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor
This is small beta application that you can run on your current
Windows XP-based computer to find out if it's ready for an upgrade
to Windows Vista. It will scan your computer and generate an
easy-to-understand report of any known system and device
compatibility issues, along with recommendations on how you can get
your PC ready for Windows Vista.
*VISTA
CERTIFIED REGISTRY CLEANER - Free Registry Scan
How to clean-install Vista using the upgrade version of
Vista on any hard drive.
No prior XP or W2K installation or even a CD is required.
You can "clean install" with an upgrade version of Vista to any
formatted or unformatted hard drive, which is usually the
preferred method when installing any new operating system. You
must, install Vista twice to take advantage of this trick. But
Vista installs much faster than XP, so it's quicker than
installing XP followed by Vista to get the upgrade price.
1) Boot the PC from the Vista DVD.
2) Select "Install Now," but do not enter the Product Key from
the Vista packaging. Leave the input box blank. Also, turn off
the option Automatically activate Windows when I'm online. In
the next dialog box that appears, confirm that you really do
want to install Vista without entering a Product Key.
3) Correctly indicate the version of Vista that you're
installing: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate.
4) Select the "Custom (Advanced)" install, not the "Upgrade"
install.
5) Vista copies files at length and reboots itself one or more
times. Wait for the install to complete. At this point, you
might think that you could "activate" Vista, but you can't.
That's because you haven't installed the Vista upgrade yet. To
do that, run the DVD's setup.exe program again, but this time
from the Vista desktop. The easiest way to start setup again is
to eject and then reinsert the DVD.
6) Click "Install Now." Select Do not get the latest updates for
installation. (You can check for these updates later.)
7) This time, do enter the Product Key from the Vista packaging.
Once again, turn off the option Automatically activate Windows
when I'm online.
8) On this second install, make sure to select "Upgrade," not
"Custom (Advanced)." You're not doing a clean install now,
you're upgrading to Vista.
9) Wait while Vista copies files and reboots itself. No user
interaction is required. Do not boot from the DVD when asked if
you'd like to do so. Instead, wait a few seconds and the setup
process will continue on its way. Some DOS-like, character-mode
menus will appear, but don't interact with them. After a few
seconds, the correct choice will run for you automatically.
10) After you click a button labeled Start in the Thank You
dialog box, Vista's login screen will eventually appear. Enter
the username and password that you selected during the first
install. You're done upgrading to Vista.
11) Within 30 days, you must "activate" your copy of Vista or
it'll lose functionality. To activate Vista, click Show more
details in the Welcome Center that automatically displays upon
each boot-up, then click Activate Windows now.
Information Disclaimer
