Replacing primary drive, Vista upgrade or full?

[Guest]

Unfortunately, I'm about to replace a failing primary hard drive with a new
one. Obviously I 'm going to need to reinstall my operating system, as well
as everything else. I have my original OEM CD of Windows XP Pro, however I
plan on upgrading to Vista at some point this year -- I'm in no rush to do so
though. What I want to know is if it's better for me to do a clean install of
the full version of Vista on this new drive when it's released next month or
will my system's performance be the same if I just get the upgrade version
and upgrade over my Windows XP Pro install?

The reason I ask is because I want to know whether or not I can go gonzo on
the new hard drive and not have to worry about doing another clean, full
install of an operating system within the month If it's better for me to do a
clean install using the full version, then I'll likely get the full version
when it comes out next month, however if I'm told that my system performance
won't suffer if I just get the upgrade version, then I'll likely wait a
little longer to upgrade to Vista (what I want to do) and then just buy the
upgrade version at some point later in the year. I know that it used to be
the case in previous versions where it was recommended that you do a clean
install of any WIndows operating system, but I'm not "in-the-know" enough
these days to know if the "experts" still recommend that now that we're in
the year 2007.

Thanks for any and all help.

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi John,

Installing Vista as an upgrade to XP essentially is a clean install as it
replaces the operating system entirely, and simply imports things like
programs that are already installed as well as data and settings. The ending
performance result will be the same whether you upgrade or clean install and
then reinstall preferred software. Here are some things to be aware of:

- To use the upgrade version, you must start from within the existing
operating system. What this means is that if you ever should decide to
reinstall from a formatted disk with an upgrade version, then you will first
have to reinstall WinXP, then upgrade. Unlike previous upgrade versions of
Windows, you can no longer simply insert a disk to show proof of ownership
of a qualifying media disk.
- Performance is heavily dependent on ram, the more the better. Don't
upgrade without at least 512MB, and a full 1 or 2GB would be better.
- As you have an OEM system, run the upgrade advisor to check for hardware
incompatibilities. If these exist, check that drivers are available from the
OEM or device manufacturer before you upgrade. As the upgrade is a one-way
street, you won't be able to simply uninstall Vista once it's been done.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeadvisor/default.mspx

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

In addition to Rick's fine advice also keep in mind that since the XP is OEM
you can't transfer it to a new computer in the future anyway so you might as
well save a little money and buy an upgrade edition of Vista. Life would be
easier should you need to do a reinstall in the future if you image the
Vista system after the upgrade.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Rick and Colin. Well I've replaced my drive since I originally posted
this. I think I worded my question wrong originally though. I know that
upgrading over Windows XP to Vista is a choice I have, however my main
concern is whether or not I'm better off doing a clean install from scratch
or just inserting the Vista upgrade CD and installing right over my current
operating system with all my various apps/programs already installed.

The reason I am so curious is because way back when, it was always
recommended that when installing a new operating system, to do a clean
install of it on a formatted hard drive because it would clear out all old
system files, etc. from the previous operating system that would otherwise
still be uselessly sitting stagnant on the hard drive if I was upgrade to the
new OS via the upgrade CD and not the full CD. I know I actually did this
when upgrading from Windows 98 to Windows 2000.

Thanks again for your advice and feedback.

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi John,

The upgrade process has changed considerably. Essentially, installing Vista,
even as an upgrade, lays down an entire new OS, it doesn't just overwrite.
With an upgrade, the settings and accounts from the old OS are then imported
into it. As there is no option to later uninstall and revert, there is no
need to preserve the remnants of the old OS, though you may find a
windows.old that you can later delete.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[John Barnes]

If you upgrade, make sure you remove anything you are told is not compatible
and any A/V and firewalls. Also make sure you do a complete system backup
before starting in case there are any problems with the install or after.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

As Rick indicates, Vista is not installed with a file copy methodology but
with a block copy (imaging) methodology. Since every byte in an image is
pre-determined there are no untouched bytes to contain snippets from the
previous OS like you get with a file copy method. The OS is always a clean
installation in Vista.

There is no option in Setup called "clean" install. You only get "upgrade"
and "custom" and custom does not automatically reformat the hard drive.

You cannot do a classic clean installation (where you reformat and start
fresh) with an upgrade edition of x86 Vista. I believe you can with an
upgrade edition of x64 Vista because you do not have to start the x64 Setup
from a desktop like you do x86.

Vista upgrade editions do not use shiny media to verify compliance like
earlier versions of Windows did. They never ask for shiny media as proof of
eligibility for upgrade pricing. Instead, Vista upgrade editions check for
installed copies of Windows that qualify for upgrade pricing. Forget that
legacy cd. Vista doesn't care if you have it or not.