Win XP Pro SP2 to Vista Ultimate - Upgrade Advisor questions;

[Rod Davies]

Hi

in preparation for upgrading to Vista Ultimate from Win XP Pro SP2, I ran
Upgrade Advisor and got No Compatability Data for:

1. Intel System Management Bios Driver. SO ... I have downloaded a BIOS
revision for my Intel D865PERL motherboard. I have NOT run the executable to
this 2005 update as yet.

2. Compaq NC 3120 Fast Ethernet NIC. This is a network card I got from an
'old' 3 yr old Server. It's not my original network card. The ONLY update I
could find for this card is for Win2003Server. So, I downloaded that
update, from 2006, but again have NOT run the executable yet.

3. Patin Couffin Engine. VSO Software. WHAT is this??? I see from Device
Manager it's version 1.1....OF WHAT?? What is VSO Patin Coufin???

So, am I prepared? ARE these 3 items as above 'drop-dead issues'? Will
VISTA ULTIMATE IN-PLACE UPGRADE work??Windows Advisor says these 3 items can
be tackled after the upgrade. So I guess I put the drivers onto a USB so I
can actually get to them during the install? Or should I be able to get up
and running without them anyways and install the
BIOS update and Network card drivers IF REQUIRED from an already running
Vista setup?

Given I have enough HDD space, I run over 2gb RAM, Office 2007 already
running sweetly, should I run the upgrade? I WANT TO !!!

I AM WANTING TO RUN AN IN-PLACE UPGRADE as I don't want the hassle of
reinstalling ALL my software and settings, SOME of which I appreciate
probably won't run effectively under Vista anyways (Roxio EZCD Creator 5,
PowerDVD etc).

Rgds and thanks for any help/guidance!!!!Rgds

 

[Richard Urban]

If you have a software issue, or suspected software issue (any antivirus,
anti spyware and utility suites are in this group), the time to address it
is prior to updating. You may not be able to correct for the problem after
the update.

This problem is posted here frequently "after the fact" and in many cases
the only way to solve the condition is to perform a destructive (clean)
install of Vista.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban MVP
Microsoft Windows Shell/User

 

[HEMI-Powered]

Today, Rod Davies made these interesting comments ...

Hi

in preparation for upgrading to Vista Ultimate from Win XP Pro
SP2, I ran Upgrade Advisor and got No Compatability Data for:

I've been following the XP vs Vista "debate" some time, so please
excuse this question: what is it about XP you think is bad for
you and/or what is it about Vista you think is good?

And, if it were me - but it isn't <grin> - and I were sentenced
to upgrade to Vista right now, it would certainly be a nuke and
clean install. Others have similarly advised but it is clearly up
to you.

1. Intel System Management Bios Driver. SO ... I have
downloaded a BIOS revision for my Intel D865PERL motherboard.
I have NOT run the executable to this 2005 update as yet.

2. Compaq NC 3120 Fast Ethernet NIC. This is a network card I
got from an 'old' 3 yr old Server. It's not my original
network card. The ONLY update I could find for this card is
for Win2003Server. So, I downloaded that update, from 2006,
but again have NOT run the executable yet.

3. Patin Couffin Engine. VSO Software. WHAT is this??? I see
from Device Manager it's version 1.1....OF WHAT?? What is VSO
Patin Coufin???

So, am I prepared? ARE these 3 items as above 'drop-dead
issues'? Will VISTA ULTIMATE IN-PLACE UPGRADE work??Windows
Advisor says these 3 items can be tackled after the upgrade.
So I guess I put the drivers onto a USB so I can actually get
to them during the install? Or should I be able to get up and
running without them anyways and install the BIOS update and
Network card drivers IF REQUIRED from an already running Vista
setup?

Do you have any legacy - read: older - software or hardware that
you cannot get a Vista driver for immediately, or maybe never?
e.g., if the company that made your printer, scanner, whatever,
or your fav apps & utilities is either out-of-business or no
longer supports it, you are out of luck, and at best, will have
to spend money far beyond that of Vista alone.

Given I have enough HDD space, I run over 2gb RAM, Office 2007
already running sweetly, should I run the upgrade? I WANT TO
!!!

I AM WANTING TO RUN AN IN-PLACE UPGRADE as I don't want the
hassle of reinstalling ALL my software and settings, SOME of
which I appreciate probably won't run effectively under Vista
anyways (Roxio EZCD Creator 5, PowerDVD etc).

Please change your mind! Besides Registry trash left behind over
the years, you have potentially incompatible or dangerous drivers
and other things that the upgrade adviser may not tell you about.
The best way to do this is to bite the bullet and do a clean
install.

See my initial questions: if you're looking to do all of this for
a good reason, and NOT because "everybody else is doing it",
then, don't you want the best possible install?

 

[LaRoux]

Don't take "no data" to be the same as "not compatible". When I ran the
upgrade advisor on my 3 year-old laptop, there were probably a dozen or more
items like this for various hardware items that I couldn't change in
addition to several software incompatibilities that I was able to rectify.
What did I do? I made sure I had a good image backup of my XP installation
and forged ahead. When it was all done, the only "issue" I had was that the
advanced features didn't work for my touch-pad. Digging around on Toshiba's
site revealed that although there wasn't anything for my model (too old?),
there were Vista drivers for new models. I downloaded the package,
installed, and viola!, it just worked.

I'm not sure why there are a few posters in this group (that apparently
don't run Vista) who are determined to frighten everyone into believing that
there are so many problems that you can't possibly run Vista on your old
hardware, much less just upgrade in-place. Believe me when I tell you that
other than the lack of Aero Glass on my 3 year-old, $500 original cost,
2.4ghz CELERON for gosh sakes laptop, I'm completely satisfied with Vista,
even thrilled. The media center features alone are a huge plus and the last
several days I've been running the speech recognition and it's wonderful. My
CPU is probably a little under powered for it but it's effective if not a
little slow from time to time.

For your specific questions, I would (1.) do the BIOS upgrade before doing
anything else. (2) Although it's probable that you can get your NIC to work,
I would have another card available if you can or even swap out for another
one before you start. There's nothing worse than needing to download a
driver for a NIC that's not functional. (3.) The Patin Couffin Engine
appears to be related to software to copy DVD's so if you have something
like DVD XCopy or CloneDVD, it's probably a part of that.

As for the in-place upgrade, make a backup and go for it. Do a quick
evaluation on what you think and then either restore or move ahead. I think
you'll be happy you did.

 

[Grant]

Hi

in preparation for upgrading to Vista Ultimate from Win XP Pro SP2, I ran
Upgrade Advisor and got No Compatability Data for:

If XP pro is working "DO NOT UPGRADE" wait until Vista SP1 is available and
then only install it on a new system with 100% compatible hardware. Also
never do an Upgrade only ever do clean installs.It could work but from experience and reading this NG and other forums its
more likely to fail.