WFP DVD install tips

[DJ Bjorklund]

I've got Beta 2 installed as a dual boot with XP on a separate
partition. As a Windows Feedback Panelist I'm told the DVD for RC1 is
in the mail.

Will I be essentially "upgrading Beta 2"? That is do I just throw it
in and follow the prompts to ultimately end up with an "XP dual
bootable to Vista RC1" scenario..?

Will I be, well, more interested in RC1? With the more interesting
features either inoperative (search) or so bug laden(Media Center),
Beta 2 didn't exactly grab me enough to be interested in its regular
use, but I'm preaching to the choir aren't I? ;-)

 

[Guest]

You can either upgrade or clean install into the partition that contains Beta
2. It is much improved over build 5384.

If you are having any issues, you need to be using Microsoft Support. They
are very helpful and need to know what is going on.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

If you want stuff that works, use RC1. You can upgrade your Beta 2 to RC1.

However, MS is really looking for your upgrade experience upgrading XP to
RC1, so if you have an XP cd install XP on the partition first (don't
activate), load some software, then upgrade to RC1 and let MS know how it
went. Remember, it is far more important right now to get upgrade
experiences reported to MS than it is to provide ourselves with an OS for
personal use. After all, that will come after rtm.

 

[John Barnes]

Is that for x86 only or x64 also
Not sure I want to go thru the disaster again with x86, but I may reload the
image file and give it a go. I would like to try using an image of XP x64
to upgrade if that is possible.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Both. The XP Pro x64 upgrade to Vista x64 scenario is rarer than the x86
scenario and may be more useful for you to have a report on. Generally it
would go much better than the x86 scenario since XP Pro x64 enforces 64bit
driver requirements and the transitition should be smoother. If you don't
have XP Pro x64, try the trial at
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/facts/trial.mspx. I don't think it
will matter if it is trial or not when you perform the upgrade. Of course
you cannot upgrade across platforms so you would have to have XP x64 already
installed to try out the upgrade. Load a few games and whatever else you
can find (but not AV or backup software) before testing the upgrade so you
can find some issues and successes to report about. Good luck!