installing and old programs

[Guest]

Will I have to re-install all my existing programs and files once I upgrade
from
Windows XP proffesional to Windows Vista Beta 2. (i.e will the hard drive in
essence be re-formated)

(ps. seems like this would be most common question below "can my machine run
Vista" but for some reason I have had trouble finding an answer)

 

[Mark Dietz]

If you upgrade, programs that were installed should remain installed. There are
a few things that you should not have installed when you upgrade though as they
can cause problems, like antivirus software and firewall software. The installer
should do a compatibility check before hand and recommend the uninstallation of
anything that may break the system when Vista is installed.

 

[Guest]

Hi,
Actually you don't want to do an upgrade, especially if you have programs
in XP you use frequently, vista is not 100% compatible with most programs out
there. Also if you upgrade you cannot uninstall vista and return to XP you
will have to wipe out the drive and reinstall everything again. Best thing
would be to do a clean install to a clean partition or empty hard disk from
within XP or boot from the DVD and do a clean install there, don't install it
to the same partition where XP is installed.