install of Vista Beta 2 on OEM Xp

[Guest]

Hi, Bit new to this so bare with me please, I downloaded Vista Beta 2 today
but before install could someone tell me if I install Vista as upgrade on a
hard drive with XP SP2 factory installed and I have the restore disc to take
back to factory settings could I still use the restore disc or would it
become unusable after Vista?

If the restore disc will not work after Vista I would have no option but to
carry on using Vista. The operating system i.e. Xp is stored within Norton
Ghost on the Hard drive.
Any helpfull advice would be appreciated

Regards
Johnboy

 

[Andre Da Costa [Extended64]]

Yes, you can upgrade OEM versions of XP SP2 with Vista, no problems at all.
I personally would install Vista on a logical partition though, since it has
been reported so many times here that the upgrade experience isn't all that
worth it.
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Andre
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[milleron]

Well, if your manufacturer used Norton Ghost, then the restore disc is going
to work, but it's going to take your computer back to its state at delivery,
isn't it? All your installed apps, email, data files, etc. would be gone.
Before you install the beta as an upgrade to your present operating system,
you really should make sure that you have a CURRENT Ghost (or True-Image)
image, so you can restore to that when you're done with the Vista Beta.
Even then, you'd have to make provisions for restoring important data files,
such as saved emails, that you accumulate while using Vista.

The "option" to carry on using Vista is not really an option because it's
time-limited. After 5/31/07, you'd need to install a released version of
Vista, and you wouldn't want to upgrade a beta version to the final version,
even if that were possible. You'd therefore be in the position of having to
reformat and start from scratch again.

This beta is NOT recommended to be the only OS on a production machine or on
the main computer in a home (Microsoft's recommendation). I'll tell you
that it's really NOT that stable, nor is it yet compatible with all hardware
devices. For example, many users of the most common sound cards cannot get
them to work under Vista. If you install Vista with no other operating
system to fall back on, you're almost surely going to wish you hadn't done
it.

 

[Guest]

Thanks, I have a second hard drive which has three partitions and I use to
run MY documents from, any back ups I do through Nero Backit up and so on. I
was woried that once I installed Vista and didnt like it or had prblems that
i couldnt take my computer back top day one, I do take it back to factory
settings on a 6-8 monthly basis and have done for some time, it helps get rid
of all the rubbish.

Thanks
Johnboy

 

[Kerry Brown]

Hi, Bit new to this so bare with me please, I downloaded Vista Beta 2
today but before install could someone tell me if I install Vista as
upgrade on a hard drive with XP SP2 factory installed and I have the
restore disc to take back to factory settings could I still use the
restore disc or would it become unusable after Vista?

If the restore disc will not work after Vista I would have no option
but to carry on using Vista. The operating system i.e. Xp is stored
within Norton Ghost on the Hard drive.
Any helpfull advice would be appreciated

Regards
Johnboy

It depends on the restore procedure. If it's totally CD/DVD based it should
work fine but you will lose all your data, programs, settings etc when you
do the factory restore. If it's based on a hidden partition on the hard
drive then it may or may not work. Some OEM restore procedures use a
non-standard boot sector with a hidden partition. Installing Vista shouldn't
mess this up bit it is possible the Vista boot loader could do something so
that this setup won't work anymore. You would be best to either install
another hard drive for Visa or use a disk imaging program to clone/image
your current setup before installing Vista.

 

[Ron Miller]

Thanks, I have a second hard drive which has three partitions and I use to
run MY documents from, any back ups I do through Nero Backit up and so on. I
was woried that once I installed Vista and didnt like it or had prblems that
i couldnt take my computer back top day one, I do take it back to factory
settings on a 6-8 monthly basis and have done for some time, it helps get rid
of all the rubbish.

Thanks
Johnboy

A partition on that second hard drive is exactly where you want to
install Vista. The basic installation of the 32-bit version takes up a
full 9GB, so plan the size of the new partition accordingly.


snip

Ron