Getting Your System Ready
For Windows Vista
Last updated: March 09, 2007
If you plan to upgrade to
Microsoft Windows Vista, there are some things you need to
consider first. Not only do you need to think about which version of
Vista is right for you, but you also need to consider issues such
as data backup and how to transfer files from Windows XP.
Using the Vista Upgrade Advisor
Visiting Microsoft's Web site and reading about the features and
details of each version of Vista will probably give you a good idea of
which is version best-suited to your needs, but you also need to make
sure the version you have in mind is also suited to your computer
system. To help you determine which Vista is right for you, Microsoft
offers an Upgrade Advisor, a reporting tool that scans your system
to help you determine if a Vista upgrade will work with your current
system set-up and software.
Begin the process by plugging in all your
hardware and gadgets, such as external
hard drives, printers and so on.
Next install and run the Upgrade Advisor. You'll go step-by-step
through the prompts and in just a few minutes the Upgrade Advisor will
be scanning your system. After the scan has finished, you get an
on-screen report of any known system,
device or program
incompatibilities that you'll encounter if you install Vista.
From this report you'll have a good
indication if the bulk of your hardware and devices will work with
Vista, and you'll know beforehand which devices need to be upgraded. If
the Upgrade Advisor report shows incompatibilities with some of your
system devices, don't assume right away that Vista will require too much
in system upgrades to bother with. You need to check the manufacturer's
Web site of any found incompatible devices and look for newly released
Vista drivers, which may not be available on the Vista DVD itself.
If the manufacturer does have a Vista
driver available, you can install it after you have put Windows
Vista on your system. While this process can be time-consuming (after
all you have to do the work instead of Vista) it does mean you won't
necessarily have to upgrade the device. If Vista does not support the
device and the manufacturer has not released any Vista drivers, then you
might not be able to use it after you upgrade to Vista.
The Upgrade Advisor also produces a
report on the software you have installed on your system. If any
software is known to not work under Vista, that is noted on your Advisor
report. You will probably find that most software will work, but some
smaller applications, such as some
FTP applications or music-downloading
software, for example, might need to be removed from your system before
upgrading.
Lastly, the Upgrade Advisor will also
make recommendations as to which versions of Microsoft Vista are
compatible with your current system. If the Vista you're considering is
listed, without any major compatibility issues noted, you're good to go
with migrating to Windows Vista. If you decide to purchase an upgrade
version of Vista, and not a full install package, be sure to view the
system requirements for the upgrade. Not all upgrades work with some
versions of Windows XP. For example, if you have Windows XP Home
Service Pack 2, you can purchase the Upgrade version of Windows Vista
Home Premium. If, however, you have Windows XP Professional Service Pack
2, it's incompatible with the Home Premium upgrade, and you'll need to
purchase the full version of Vista Home Premium instead.
Make Use of the Advisor's Report
When you have decided on which edition of Microsoft Vista you're going
to purchase (and have made the purchase and are getting ready to
install) you should run the Upgrade Advisor again to refresh your memory
of which drivers, devices and programs aren't compatible with Vista.
If you have chosen an upgrade versus a full install version you will
need to properly remove those incompatible components from your system
before upgrading.
In the case of a full, clean
install (and
by this we mean using a full version of Vista, not an upgrade package),
this won't be necessary, because you'll be installing to a clean hard drive.
It's still important to note which programs and devices were listed as
incompatible. For hardware and unsupported devices, you'll want to to
remove or disable them before installing Vista and take care of getting
those running after the
OS upgrade. You will also want to avoid
installing fresh copies of those incompatible applications on your new
Vista-enabled system as well.
Additionally, if you plan to install
Vista as a full, clean install, if the hard drive already contains your
XP operating system, it's advisable that you format the drive first to
get a good, full clean install of the new operating system.
Purge & Clean
After you have taken care of and planned for any device and software
incompatibilities as found in the Upgrade Advisor, there are a few more
steps you should take to get your system prepared for installing
Microsoft Vista. Again, this information is mostly of use to those
installing an upgrade version of Vista on top of an existing, compatible
version of Windows XP. The next thing you need to do is purge your hard
drive of any software and applications that you don't use. This is
basically means going through your hard drive and properly uninstalling
applications and deleting any other files on your system that you don't
really use. After cleaning the unwanted files and software off the
drive, you should then run a disk cleaner and
disk Defrag utility before
backing up your data and installing Vista.
If you choose to do a full version install of any Vista operating
system, we recommend you start with a clean hard drive so the purging
and disk clean-up steps are not as necessary, but formatting and
defragging are.
Backing up your data, however, is
necessary regardless of which type of Vista install you've chosen.
Back It Up
Once the drive is purged, cleaned and defragged, it's time to backup
your data. You probably have your own method of backing up saved files,
folders and commonly used information such as Internet Explorer
Favorites and contact lists. We recommend you follow your own backup
routine, whether it be by making a disk image or simply dumping copies
of what you need to a second hard drive,
DVD or
thumb drive. We do plan
on introducing you to a nifty Microsoft tool that will back-up your XP
files for transfer to a Vista machine, but it is important to backup
your data using a method not directly connected to the Vista upgrade
process for added security.
Windows Easy Transfer
Windows Easy Transfer makes migrating data from your XP-based machine to
a Windows Vista machine a simple process. The Windows Easy Transfer
wizard will simply prompt you to select the files you want to migrate
and prompt you for the location of where it should store those files.
You can send the data to a second hard drive in your system, an external
drive thumb drive, network drive, or even burn it on CD or DVD. If you
do not have any of these alternative storage devices available, you can
also purchase a special USB cable that allows you to transfer the data
to another PC. It's important to choose an external location to save the
files to. Do not save your Easy Transfer data to the hard drive on which
you're installing Vista.
Windows Easy Transfer allows you to
transfer the following data from XP to Vista: User accounts, Files and
folders, Program data files and settings, E-mail messages, settings, and
contacts, Photos, music, and videos, Windows settings, and Internet
settings.
For a clean install of Vista on a new or
formatted hard drive, Windows Easy Transfer is an important step. When
Vista launches for the first time after the install, there is no record
of your bookmarks, files, user and application settings and so on.
Directly in the "Vista Welcome Screen" you'll find a quick link to
transfer the data saved by Windows Easy Transfer to your newly upgraded
Vista machine. Once the data is transferred to the drive with Vista
installed, the files and folders are directed to the right places on
your hard drive and you should be able to access these familiar XP
files, folders, and settings.
If you're using an upgrade version of Vista, if all goes well, you
should find that after the final installation reboot, all of your files
and data will be in perfect order and available to you exactly as they
were in Windows XP (one of the benefits of using a Vista upgrade
version). With that said, running the Windows Easy Transfer tool before
the upgrade is a quick and simple process, and a step you can take
anyway, if for no other reason than as an extra secure backup of those
important files and settings.
Summary
Now that you have it cleaned-up and backed-up, if you're planning to
install an upgrade version of Windows Vista, you will want to disable
your virus scanner before installing. Once Vista has successfully been
installed to your PC, you can begin your set-up tasks, such as using
Windows Easy Transfer to get those files migrated to the Vista-based
drive and taking care of any hardware and devices that were not
supported by Vista, but can be installed by using a driver provided by
the manufacturer. Of course if you did a full install you will now be
ready to start the seemingly never-ending process of reinstalling
software, setting up your desktop, getting the antivirus security in
place and then start playing with some of the new features in Windows
Vista such as desktop gadgets, and shifting windows. And, of course,
you'll probably want to make downloading Vista updates a priority, too.
By Vangie Beal
This article originally appeared on
PracticallyNetworked.com. You
can view the full article, with screenshots
here.
Last updated: March 09, 2007
Microsoft home page
The Microsoft home page hosts a collection of company news articles, as
well as links to product information, training, support, free software,
events, and company information.
Windows
Vista
Windows Vista has something for everyone. Learn more about the feature
benefits for consumers, business, IT departments, and enterprise
deployments.
Webopedia's Quick Reference: Microsoft Windows Vista
For years, computer users heard of a mysterious new operating system
from Microsoft, codenamed Longhorn. In 2005 Microsoft officially removed
the Longhorn codename and announced the operating System under the
official name of Windows Vista.
Small Business Computing: Upgrading to Windows Vista . The Great
Migration
Although he acknowledges that some small businesses in specific
industries may derive some benefit from Aero (the sleek, translucent
interface in Vista Premium, Business and Ultimate), Wexler says the
average SMB doesn't need it. "It may be sexy, but it's not a show
stopper for small businesses." The total cost of upgrading is higher
than the mere price of buying the software.
Small Business Computing: Visions of Vista: Which Version, If Any, is
Right For You?
The latest version already has a few Vista-only features that will
probably make it difficult to run QuickBooks from one server that
several employees need to access. And by the time the next version of
QuickBooks comes out in the fall, no doubt the latest features will all
require Vista. In all likelihood, security vendors will follow suit with
software that works best on Vista.
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