installing vista onto second hard drive

J

jkiejr

i have two 320 gb sata hard drives the first one i have installed has xp
running on it i want to install the second one and put vista on it. i have to
things i want to know do i need a full version of vista or just and upgrade.
and how would i go on and do this but vista on the second drive
 
C

Carey Frisch [MVP]

You'll need to purchase a "Full Version" of Windows Vista
and boot from the Windows Vista DVD. During setup, you'll
see an option to install Vista on the second hard drive.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience -
Windows Vista Enthusiast

---------------------------------------------------------------

i have two 320 gb sata hard drives the first one i have installed has xp
running on it i want to install the second one and put vista on it. i have to
things i want to know do i need a full version of vista or just and upgrade.
and how would i go on and do this but vista on the second drive
 
C

Colin Barnhorst

For most users you have two ways to do a parallel installation of 32bit
Vista. Boot with the dvd as Carey says and select the second drive or start
Vista setup from the XP desktop and select the second hard drive for the
installation. You cannot do this with an upgrade edition of Vista and
continue to use the existing XP because of a licensing requirement in
upgrade editions that says you must discontinue use of the Windows you are
upgrading from. A standard (full) edition makes no such requirement even if
you use its upgrade functionality in performing the installation so you want
to purchase a full edition and not an upgrade edition.

Before you continue you need to ensure that you have Vista drivers for your
computer. Vista will most likely contain most if not all but there is no
garuntee. Check your computer mfg's website for drivers and for special
instructions for upgrading to Vista.
 
J

jkiejr

i also wanted to know could it work if i installed xp on to the second drive
and then upgraded with the upgrade version
 
C

Colin Barnhorst

Not if it is the same XP product key you are already using on the first
drive. There is no need to install anything on the second drive before
Vista because Vista upgrade Setup is going to already see the XP on the
first drive. After all, you have to start Setup from there anyway.

If you have already purchased the Vista upgrade edition and you want to
continue using XP you can, but you need a third license to do it. You do
not have to install any software (the XP on the first drive will satisfy the
Vista installer) but you do need to own another Windows license. The fact
that you have XP already installed lets you perform the mechanics of the
parallel installation using an upgrade edition product key. You get to
decide if the license for the existing XP is the one you are going to tie to
Vista (and not be able to use anymore) or not.

The Vista upgrade license only requires you to OWN a license for Windows
that is eligible for upgrade to Vista. It does not require it to be
installed on the computer. This may seem pretty advanced, but stay with me.

The editions of Windows that are eligible for upgrade to Vista are Windows
2000 and later. If you have an old copy of Windows laying around unused
right now it may solve the problem.

It needs to be a retail copy (no OEM).
It cannot be in use on any computer right now.
It needs to be Windows 2000, XP, or Vista (of course it won't be Vista but I
am covering the bases).
And of course it is not the XP already on your computer.

Do you have any software like that?

If not, then I would go to eBay and buy a retail copy of Windows 2000. The
seller should say whether or not the item is available for transfer to a new
computer. That is what you want to hear. Buy it. When you receive it put
it on your shelf and forget about it. You will then be in compliance with
the Vista upgrade edition license. You will not have voided your XP license
just because Vista Setup found it on your system during the installation of
Vista on your second drive. That is just the way the software is written
but the licensing questions are yours to answer, not the software's.

This is the kind of thing I have in mind. I searched on on eBay for
"windows 2000 professional upgrade".
http://search.ebay.com/search/searc...trt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=32&fsoo=2
If the link does not work just repeat my search.

The reason I am searching on "upgrade" is because that has to be a retail
edition (there are no OEM upgrades) and that is all you need. The reason I
am searching on Windows 2000 Professional is to avoid all the Windows 2000
Server copies on eBay right now. The reason I am searching on Windows 2000
is because it should be a lot cheaper than an extra copy of XP.

If you have not purchased Vista already then just buy a full edition. The
upgrade edition plus the extra Windows to comply with the upgrade license
come out to pretty much the same as a full edition and it is less hassle.
 
T

Timothy Daniels

Barnhorst, you da Man!! What a fine line you walk,
and you walk it well.
:)

*TimDaniels*
 
J

jkiejr

no i havent bout the upgrade i was wondering that so if to save me some money
instead of purchasing the full

Timothy Daniels said:
Barnhorst, you da Man!! What a fine line you walk,
and you walk it well.
:)

*TimDaniels*

Colin Barnhorst said:
[.........]
The Vista upgrade license only requires you to OWN a license
for Windows that is eligible for upgrade to Vista. It does not
require it to be installed on the computer. [.....]
Do you have any software like that?

If not, then I would go to eBay and buy a retail copy of
Windows 2000. The seller should say whether or not the item
is available for transfer to a new computer. That is what you
want to hear. Buy it. [........]
 
C

Colin Barnhorst

Thank you for da kind words. :)

Timothy Daniels said:
Barnhorst, you da Man!! What a fine line you walk,
and you walk it well.
:)

*TimDaniels*

Colin Barnhorst said:
[.........]
The Vista upgrade license only requires you to OWN a license
for Windows that is eligible for upgrade to Vista. It does not
require it to be installed on the computer. [.....]
Do you have any software like that?

If not, then I would go to eBay and buy a retail copy of
Windows 2000. The seller should say whether or not the item
is available for transfer to a new computer. That is what you
want to hear. Buy it. [........]
 
C

Colin Barnhorst

You won't save money. You would only save money if you planned to overwrite
the XP already on your computer. But if you want to continue to use the XP
as well as the Vista, then just buy the full edition of Vista. Full
editions are a lot less hassle anyway just because of issues like these.
The operating system is so important to your computer that it is not the
place to skimp. If you need to save money do it by using Open Office and
things like that.

jkiejr said:
no i havent bout the upgrade i was wondering that so if to save me some
money
instead of purchasing the full

Timothy Daniels said:
Barnhorst, you da Man!! What a fine line you walk,
and you walk it well.
:)

*TimDaniels*

Colin Barnhorst said:
[.........]
The Vista upgrade license only requires you to OWN a license
for Windows that is eligible for upgrade to Vista. It does not
require it to be installed on the computer. [.....]
Do you have any software like that?

If not, then I would go to eBay and buy a retail copy of
Windows 2000. The seller should say whether or not the item
is available for transfer to a new computer. That is what you
want to hear. Buy it. [........]
 

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