Final Release Installation Question

[Guest]

I read an article from a tech website that said users that have RC1 may not
be able to buy the upgrade version of the final release. That we'll have to
get the full version, which is significantly more expensive. Is there any
veracity to this?

 

[Theo]

I personally have never seen any Release
Candidate be a qualifier for an "update" version
of the final version. If Microsoft did that you
would have everyone scrambling to get the RC.

What was the entire context of the article? Do
you have a link?

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Ben;
Anyone will be able to buy the upgrade version.
But as far as using it...
None of the Beta or pre-release versions will qualify for upgrade if past
history is any indicator.
If you plan to use the upgrade, you will need qualifying media such as a
Windows XP CD.
If you do not have a qualifying OS with that computer, you will need to buy
the full version of Vista.

 

[Guest]

The problem is I had Windows XP but I had to do a clean installation of
Vista. Upgrading had an installation bug. So I'm concerned that there's no
previous version to validate. I did have it and I still do have the disc.

So more specifically, because of the clean installation am I screwed and
have to buy the full version? Or will having the product key from the XP I
used to run be sufficient?

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Ben;
If the Windows XP CD is retail, that will suffice.

If your Windows XP is OEM, that depends on how the OEM manufacturer created
the CD.
Some OEMs have made their CD in such a way that is will not work as
qualifying media.
If that is the case, you will need to install Windows XP and then upgrade
from there.