Using OEM Vista to upgrade XP?

[Gareth]

I've been conned in to buying what turns out to be an (expensive) oem
version of Vista Home Premium.

I've read conflicting information on whether or not I can use the oem disk
to upgrade an existing installation of XP Home.

Can anyone explained whether or not it is possible to use an oem Home
Premium disk to upgrade an installation of XP Home?

Gareth.

 

[Tim]

Assuming this is a new license and has not been installed on any other PC, I
cannot think of a reason why it shouldn't work. By "conned" do you mean it
was purchased from a questionable source? If so, then you may have something
to worry about.

Tim

 

[Rock]

I've been conned in to buying what turns out to be an (expensive) oem
version of Vista Home Premium.

I've read conflicting information on whether or not I can use the oem disk
to upgrade an existing installation of XP Home.

Can anyone explained whether or not it is possible to use an oem Home
Premium disk to upgrade an installation of XP Home?

No, OEM versions cannot do an in place upgrade. They can only do a clean
install.

 

[Tiberius]

OEM always has been clean install ONLY, plus its cheaper...

the only drawback of OEM is that it gets locked into the computer you
install it onto.
meaning you cannot install the same vista with the same product key on
another PC.

I always advise people to do a clean install.. its not a bad thing you know!


w

 

[Gareth]

No, OEM versions cannot do an in place upgrade. They can only do a clean
install.

Thanks everyone.

So I really have been duped then. A very expensive mistake. The only
"choice" is to try to sell it or do a clean install I guess.

Gareth.

 

[Steve Thackery]

Well, it needn't be a problem. Rather than "upgrade" your XP installation,
back up what you want and do a clean install of Vista (i.e. elect NOT to
upgrade the XP installation).

This will work fine with your OEM disk. Most people who've been around the
clock a few times would agree that an in-place upgrade of XP to Vista is
undesirable.

Steve

 

[Rock]

"Rock" wrote

Thanks everyone.

So I really have been duped then. A very expensive mistake. The only
"choice" is to try to sell it or do a clean install I guess.

You can use the disk you do have. Many times it's better to do a clean
install rather than the upgrade, and there is no guarantee, even if you get
a retail upgrade version, that the upgrade will succeed so you're left with
doing a clean install anyway.

Before doing the migration backup your system, better yet image it to an
external hard drive using Acronis True Image Home version 10 so you can
restore if there is a problem. Then run the Windows Easy Transfer Utility
from the Vista DVD on the XP installation to create a copy of the data and
settings. Make sure you have the original media from all installed apps.

How to use Windows Easy Transfer to migrate files and settings from one
Windows-based computer to another Windows Vista-based computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928634/en-us

Then install Vista clean using the OEM disk, use Windows Easy Transfer to
bring in the data and settings, then reinstall all apps.

There are other downsides to using the OEM version. It is not transferrable
to a different computer. By the license it's tied to the first computer on
which it's installed. Also you are responsible for tech support. The
retail versions come with two free support incidents with MS tech support.

 

[Richard Urban]

OEM versions of an operating system are meant for a fresh install. They will
not allow an upgrade install.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[DP]

One other thing that no one has mentioned is to use the OEM disk to create a
dual-boot situation on your machine (assuming you have enough drive space to
host two OSes). That way, you still have your XP to boot into if Vista
creates problems for you or you just don't like it.

 

[Peter in New Zealand]

One other thing that no one has mentioned is to use the OEM disk to
create a dual-boot situation on your machine (assuming you have enough
drive space to host two OSes). That way, you still have your XP to boot
into if Vista creates problems for you or you just don't like it.

Just to encourage you I ran XP Pro for about three years on my machine
and recently purchased Vista Home Premium OEM. I did a clean install
which went perfectly, and I have been hammering the system for the past
couple of weeks. I am impressed with Vista, and the only thing I did
first was carefully back up all my data files onto CDs. Once the system
was up and running with Vista it was a simple matter to copy the data
back onto the machine in the appropriate places. And, like others in
this thread, I always prefer clean installs. I have been using and
upgrading my Windows OS since 3.0 days, and I cam tell you that you will
really appreciate Vista. Good luck.

 

[sean sullivan]

you shouldn't be able to install a copy of windows on more than one computer with the same key anyway....that's called piracy.

EggHeadCafe.com - .NET Developer Portal of Choice
http://www.eggheadcafe.com

 

[Tiberius]

I did not mean that you would have the same windows and product key
simultaneously on 2 computers...

I thought that it was so apparent that no one would be dumb enough to even
imagine that. I was wrong.

however with retail you can uninstall vista on one computer and install it
on another...

with OEM vista dies on the computer you first install it and activate it on