XP Pro to Vista Home Premium

[JR]

I installed Vista Home Premium over XP Pro without realizing that I could not
do an in-line upgrade. As a result, I did a "clean" install and all of my
applications and settings are gone. In retrospect, I realize that I should
have upgraded to Vista Ultimate.

What is the best way for me to get my applications back?
Can I restore my XP Pro applications and setting by doing an upgrade from
Vista Home Premium to Vista Ultimate?

Thanks!

 

[Dustin Harper]

No. Once you've done a clean install of Vista over the top of XP, all your
previous information, applications and settings are gone. Upgrading to Vista
Ultimate will only give you the Ultimate applications, nothing from your old
installation would be there.

 

[Dwarf]

Hi JR,

Sorry, but a clean install is a destructive install. All data on the disk is
lost and unrecoverable by the normal home user, although data can sometimes
be recovered by specialist companies at a cost prohibitive to most people. In
future, backup all user data to removeable media and remember to check that
it is accessible. The applications themselves are best reinstalled.
Dwarf

 

[JR]

Thank you for your replies. FYI, I was able to recover XP Pro with all my
settings, applications, and files intact.

Subject: Get XP Back After Clean Vista Install

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933168

The MS link was helpful, but not a comprehensive solution. Certainly not
intended for the normal home user. So that I don't go through this
expreience again, I will upgrade to Vista Ultimate so I can do an in-use
upgrade.

Thanks again for your posts.