Confused Re Upgrade vs Full Version Install

[Les]

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930985/en-us

If I read this correctly the upgrade versions of Home and Basic will not
install on a blank/new drive without first installing a previous version of
Windows, but the Ultra upgrade version will. Previous versions of Windows
(98/XP e.g.) would boot from the CD and during the install would ask for a
previous version disk to be inserted and after verification of the disk
would continue the install. Is my assumption correct that if I have Vista
Home Premium Upgrade and my hard drive dies unexpectedly and I buy a new
drive, I'll have to install my XP version and then the Vista version?

 

[Rock]

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930985/en-us

If I read this correctly the upgrade versions of Home and Basic will not
install on a blank/new drive without first installing a previous version
of Windows, but the Ultra upgrade version will. Previous versions of
Windows (98/XP e.g.) would boot from the CD and during the install would
ask for a previous version disk to be inserted and after verification of
the disk would continue the install. Is my assumption correct that if I
have Vista Home Premium Upgrade and my hard drive dies unexpectedly and I
buy a new drive, I'll have to install my XP version and then the Vista
version?

Yes you are correct except for one thing. The Ultimate upgrade must also be
run from the legacy desktop. It's true for all the upgrades to an x86
version of Vista. Depending on what qualifying OS you're starting from and
what version of Vista your going to, you may have the option of either an in
place upgrade or custom install where with others it is only the custom
install.

 

[Les]

Yes you are correct except for one thing. The Ultimate upgrade must also
be run from the legacy desktop. It's true for all the upgrades to an x86
version of Vista. Depending on what qualifying OS you're starting from
and what version of Vista your going to, you may have the option of either
an in place upgrade or custom install where with others it is only the
custom install.

Thanks Rock. Seems rather dumb to have to do it this way but I guess MS
must have their reasons. I really don't have the money to spend for the
full install version so I reckon I'll just have to live with doing it the MS
way.

 

[Peter M]

Rock [MVP - User/Shell]

Thanks Rock. Seems rather dumb to have to do it this way but I guess MS
must have their reasons. I really don't have the money to spend for the
full install version so I reckon I'll just have to live with doing it the
MS way.

It's not really dumb, well it is but I can see their reasoning... if it was
like XP and you just had to insert a disk as proof then why would anyone buy
retail when all you'd have to do is download a torrent of xp mce or pro,
burn to disk and use that with a vista upgrade.

 

[Conor]

Thanks Rock. Seems rather dumb to have to do it this way but I guess MS
must have their reasons.

Punish the 140 million pirate Windows XP installs.

 

[Guest]

Am I understanding this correctly:

1. An upgrade version of Vista will only work by being run from inside a
current OS (XP).

2. Upgrades will NOT let you install in/on a new drive or partition. The
will only install over a current OS.

3. #2 implies I cannot keep my duel boot system of XP & Vista?

4. Is it possible to format a 2nd drive with XP (creating 2 XP installs) and
use the 2nd install for my upgrade thereby creating a Vista & XP system?

Tnx for any help.

Jeff

 

[dirty old man]

If you use your XP license as a basis for qualifying for a Vista Upgrade,
you loose your XP license.


| Am I understanding this correctly:
|
| 1. An upgrade version of Vista will only work by being run from inside a
| current OS (XP).
|
| 2. Upgrades will NOT let you install in/on a new drive or partition. The
| will only install over a current OS.
|
| 3. #2 implies I cannot keep my duel boot system of XP & Vista?
|
| 4. Is it possible to format a 2nd drive with XP (creating 2 XP installs) and
| use the 2nd install for my upgrade thereby creating a Vista & XP system?
|
| Tnx for any help.
|
| Jeff
|
| "Les" wrote:
|
| > http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930985/en-us
| >
| > If I read this correctly the upgrade versions of Home and Basic will not
| > install on a blank/new drive without first installing a previous version of
| > Windows, but the Ultra upgrade version will. Previous versions of Windows
| > (98/XP e.g.) would boot from the CD and during the install would ask for a
| > previous version disk to be inserted and after verification of the disk
| > would continue the install. Is my assumption correct that if I have Vista
| > Home Premium Upgrade and my hard drive dies unexpectedly and I buy a new
| > drive, I'll have to install my XP version and then the Vista version?
| >
| >

 

[Guest]

Another thought...

If I use the Upgrade version and install over my XP and I install XP on a
different partition creating a duel boot system again?

My preference would be to keep my XP install (since lots of apps installed)
and start a brand new Vista.

Jeff

 

[MICHAEL]

Another thought...

If I use the Upgrade version and install over my XP and I install XP on a
different partition creating a duel boot system again?

You aren't supposed to do that.

My preference would be to keep my XP install (since lots of apps installed)
and start a brand new Vista.

You will need to buy the full retail version to do that.

 

[Rock]

Am I understanding this correctly:

1. An upgrade version of Vista will only work by being run from inside a
current OS (XP).
Correct.

2. Upgrades will NOT let you install in/on a new drive or partition. The
will only install over a current OS.

This is not known yet, no one has had their hands on on upgrade edition to
check but it seems that would be the case since otherwise you could have
both installed which is not allowed.

3. #2 implies I cannot keep my duel boot system of XP & Vista?

The license for the qualifying OS that is used as the basis for the upgrade
to Vista is subsumed into the Vista license. So you cannot dual boot Vista
upgraded from XP and the XP it was upgraded from. You need two XP licenses
for that. The upgrade version of Vista is cheaper because it has to have an
underlying OS - you can't have both. If you want both then get a full
version of Vista. This was also the case when upgrading from Win98 to XP.
The Win98 license gets tied into the XP license.

4. Is it possible to format a 2nd drive with XP (creating 2 XP installs)
and
use the 2nd install for my upgrade thereby creating a Vista & XP system?

No, two installs of XP require two licenses.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

An x86 upgrade edition works that way. An x64 upgrade edition runs from a
dvd boot of the system.

 

[Rock]

An x86 upgrade edition works that way. An x64 upgrade edition runs from a
dvd boot of the system.

I believe the context was x86.

 

[Guest]

Thanks all for the help.

I'm glad I asked before shelling out my clams... good news is (from reading
these posts) any version I buy contains the entire OS and I only need to make
the difference up to get a higher version.

Jeff

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Jeff, the Anytime Upgrade from one edition to a higher one will always cost
you quite a few dollars more than buying the edition you wanted up front. I
believe it can be more than $50 in some cases.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

You were replying to Jeff and he did not specify.

 

[Guest]

YIKES O


Guess I better get my Ultimate upgrade now instead of getting the home
premium and upgrading later to ultimate.

Thanks for the heads up/warning.

Jeff

 

[Barry Watzman]

RE: "the Anytime Upgrade from one edition to a higher one will always
cost you quite a few dollars more than buying the edition you wanted up
front. I believe it can be more than $50 in some cases"

In the case of Business to Ultimate, the price difference is $60 and the
Anytime Upgrade cost is $140. A situation that is, in my mind,
outrageous, and that may cause me not to upgrade at all.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

There are other things about Anytime Upgrade that I prefer to avoid besides
pricing. However, since the actual price for an AU is up to the Microsoft
Partner and not Microsoft, I suggest you shop around on the page that comes
up listing the Partners. Those are the folks you make the actual payment
to.