Upgrading to Vista?

[Guest]

I am currently looking into buying a new, high-end PC (most likely
Alienware). I see that Alienware currently has a savings of $100 off of any
PC. However, that offer is ending soon and I am planning on ordering it
before then.

One of the plans that Alienware offers is a free upgrade to Windows Vista
Home Premium with the purchase of a new PC, even before Vista comes out (they
ship you the DVD). I, however, have never installed a new operating system on
a computer before.

My question is: how hard will it be to upgrade the PC, which would be
running Media Center, to Vista? Do I just pop the DVD in and it does
everything? Do I have to uninstall Media Center. Do I have to format the Hard
Drive?

Any thoughts or answers would be appreciated

Thank you,
robot

 

[R. McCarty]

Good question - and brings up a number of issues not yet addressed
in most documentation from OEMs I've seen. If you receive the DVD
of Vista, you insert it, enter your Key and wait ( Times vary but the
upgrade process is much longer than a fresh install ). One thing that is
a potential problem is there isn't a Uninstall of Vista. Once the PC is
upgraded to Vista the only way to return to XP/MCE is use the OEM's
Factory Recovery process. Also, there are programs that run fine using
XP/MCE but will need updated versions using Windows Vista. I would
assume that the OEMs have thought this out to avoid issues. This also
brings up the issue of Recovery. If you want to restore the PC to it's
original/factory state you'd have to recover to MCE and then perform
the Vista Upgrade. It may turn out that these upgrade coupons/disks
are actually an OEM recovery image - if that's the case then the user
will want to be sure the backup their data before migrating the machine
to Windows Vista.

Sorry, it's a nebulous answer but until someone actually gets a XP/MCE
system and does the upgrade process there's little actual information to
share.

 

[Rock]

I am currently looking into buying a new, high-end PC (most likely
Alienware). I see that Alienware currently has a savings of $100 off of
any
PC. However, that offer is ending soon and I am planning on ordering it
before then.

One of the plans that Alienware offers is a free upgrade to Windows Vista
Home Premium with the purchase of a new PC, even before Vista comes out
(they
ship you the DVD). I, however, have never installed a new operating system
on
a computer before.

My question is: how hard will it be to upgrade the PC, which would be
running Media Center, to Vista? Do I just pop the DVD in and it does
everything? Do I have to uninstall Media Center. Do I have to format the
Hard
Drive?

In addition to R. McCarty's response there are Vista newsgroups where you
should post Vista questions. One of them is
microsoft.public.windows.vista.general.

 

[Guest]

If there's a problem in the upgrade and you get the blue screen of death then
you essentially lose your original OS and will need to purchase it if the OEM
did not provide you the disk. This happened to me when I tried to upgrade
to XP SP2 from SP1. I lost everything and had to buy a new OS because I
didn't have the disk.

When it comes to your OS, you shouldn't be messing with it unless you truly
know what you're doing. I will never again upgrade an OS on a critical
server (computer). It's best to simply buy a new computer and install the OS
you require and keep it.

I recommend you simply wait to buy a new computer with the OS you require
and save yourself from some major potential problems.

 

[Rock]

"Astralis"

If there's a problem in the upgrade and you get the blue screen of death
then
you essentially lose your original OS and will need to purchase it if the
OEM
did not provide you the disk. This happened to me when I tried to
upgrade
to XP SP2 from SP1. I lost everything and had to buy a new OS because I
didn't have the disk.

When it comes to your OS, you shouldn't be messing with it unless you
truly
know what you're doing. I will never again upgrade an OS on a critical
server (computer). It's best to simply buy a new computer and install the
OS
you require and keep it.

I recommend you simply wait to buy a new computer with the OS you require
and save yourself from some major potential problems.

Your resolution is extreme, and to put it simply but without wanting to
offend you, a situation of your own making. In the first place you should
always have the means to recover your system, be it the system recovery CDs
or an installation CD. Your not having it was just plain error on your
part. Secondly there are easy ways to protect the status of your system
which are worthwhile to use even when not upgrading.

Get a drive imaging program, image the drive to external media such as an
external USB hard drive, then if something happens during an OS upgrade or
the hard drive dies or whatever, restore the image and you're back in
business.

Don't let circumstances control your choices on when/what you want to do, or
cost you down time and money. Establish good computing practices and have
fun.

 

[Guest]

Rock,

Very true. Unfortunately, recovery disks are rarely provided by
manufacturers today.

And like I said, if you're not an advanced user, you wouldn't think to go
through all the steps you just mentioned. No reasonable person who is not a
pro or even a hobbyist would think of doing that.

I now know what to do and have advanced light years but know that any
reasonable person who is not a computer pro will think like I did.

 

[Rock]

Rock,

Very true. Unfortunately, recovery disks are rarely provided by
manufacturers today.

And like I said, if you're not an advanced user, you wouldn't think to go
through all the steps you just mentioned. No reasonable person who is not
a
pro or even a hobbyist would think of doing that.

I now know what to do and have advanced light years but know that any
reasonable person who is not a computer pro will think like I did.

I wouldn't say rarely. Some do, some don't. But many systems prompt you to
create the recovery CDs at first boot up Also many offer the option to buy
the recovery CDs at time of purchase and even to purchase an installation CD
at a small cost at the time of purchase.

Also if there is no recovery CD there is a hidden recovery partition on the
hard drive with a routine to invoke the recovery process at boot up.

Personally I would never buy a system that didn't come with an installation
CD. But in any event there are mechanisms available on every system to
restore it. The only way this becomes not useable is if the user does not
create the CDs when the were supposed to and/or the hard drive dies killing
the recovery partition. And then you can usually buy the recovery CDs from
the manufacturer at a reasonable cost.

The point is the buyer needs to be aware of these things when they purchase
a system. Do a bit of research, visit a few newsgroups, ask a few
knowledgeable friends.

The advice to give to the OP in this case shouldn't just be to forget
everything. Give the OP advice on how to best safeguard the system, advice
that will serve them whichever route they take.

 

[Guest]

Rock,

Wise words. You are correct. I should have said how to protect and given
the tools rather than telling the OP to not do it. Because in fact if the OP
does create a back-up then he'll be fine if it does not work.

And it's a wise lesson to also make sure your rig comes with the disks.
And if the computer asks you to create a backup on the first install, do it.

Thank you for the kind correction.

Astralis

 

[Rock]

Rock,

Wise words. You are correct. I should have said how to protect and
given
the tools rather than telling the OP to not do it. Because in fact if the
OP
does create a back-up then he'll be fine if it does not work.

And it's a wise lesson to also make sure your rig comes with the disks.
And if the computer asks you to create a backup on the first install, do
it.

Thank you for the kind correction.

Astralis

You're welcome. We always need folks helping out in here sharing their
knowledge and experiences.