Mastering Windows Vista for Business Professionals
By Mark Minasi and John Paul Mueller
The following excerpt is from chapter two of Mastering Windows Vista for Business Professionals, entitled "Installing Vista."
Check out the rest of this chapter, Installing Vista.
Checking System Compatibility
There isn't any doubt that the upgrade requirements for Vista are considerably higher than previous
Windows versions. You'll also find that you need new drivers to meet Microsoft's stricter
requirements. In fact, you'll find that Vista simply won't upgrade some past Windows versions.
The following sections provide the information you need to ensure Vista will run on your system.
Suggested Upgrade Paths for Previous Versions of Windows
Vista requires a significant investment in hardware, so let's face it, many machines out there
today can't run it solely from a hardware perspective. In addition, Microsoft has limited the
updates it supports. You can't support any past version to just any version of Vista. Table 2.1
shows the update paths that Microsoft has envisioned for Vista.
NOTE: As of this writing, the Vista upgrade only supports Windows XP SP2. The upgrade process might not work if you have an earlier version of Windows XP (including SP1).
Table 2.1: Vista Upgrade Paths from Previous Windows Versions
| PREVIOUS VERSION
|
UPDATE VERSIONS
|
| Windows XP Professional
|
Vista Business and Vista Ultimate
|
| Windows XP Home
|
Vista Home Basic, Vista Home Premium, Vista Business and Vista Ultimate
|
| Windows XP Media Center
|
Vista Home Premium and Vista Ultimate
|
| Windows XP Tablet PC
|
Vista Business and Vista Ultimate
|
Table 2.1 contains a very short upgrade list. However, any other previous version of Windows
requires that you perform a clean install. Essentially, this means starting from scratch, although,
you can save your settings for future use.
Using the Microsoft Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor
To check whether Vista thinks your computer will be able to run it, run the Microsoft Windows
Vista Upgrade Advisor program. Don't use the commonly available alternatives, such as the
update advisor for Windows XP. The following steps describe how to check your system:
- Insert the Vista DVD. If your computer doesn't automatically start running the DVD, open
an Explorer window, navigate to the DVD, and double-click the setup.exe program.
- On the opening screen, click the Check Compatibility Online link.
- Download and install the Microsoft Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor by following the
prompts provided by the installation program.
- Check Launch Microsoft Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor on the final installation page and
click Close. Vista automatically starts the program for you.
- Click Start System Scan. The program asks you to choose the Vista features you want to use.
Many of the entries are self-explanatory, such as using the Aero Glass interface. Other entries
are more nebulous, such as simplifying your business.
- Check the features that you expect to use. When you get to the bottom of the list, you'll see
Microsoft's recommendation for the version of Vista that you should use.
- Click Next (it's hidden at the bottom of the list). The upgrade advisor performs a check
of your system's hardware. If the program finds discrepancies, it will display a list of the
required fixes for Vista. Figure 2.1 shows a typical report.
- Click Next. The upgrade advisor performs a check of all of the drivers and other low-level
software on your system. You'll see another report similar to the one shown in Figure 2.1,
but for software this time.
- Click Next. You'll see a final report window where you can choose to save the report to disk
as an HTML file or print it.
- Click Close. Windows closes the program.
Follow the Microsoft Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor advice to get your computer ready for
upgrading to Vista. In particular, you need to take care of any blocking issues that the Advisor has
identified. An example of a blocking issue is not having enough disk space to install Vista. You
might need to remove some existing files or reconfigure your partitions using the DiskPart utility
in order to resolve such an issue.
Figure 2.1
Use the Microsoft
Windows Upgrade
Advisor to check
whether your
computer will be
able to run Vista.
Continue to Preparing to install Windows Vista: The final steps toward installation.
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 Mark Minasi is a best-selling author, commentator and all-around alpha geek. Mark is best known for his books in the Mastering Windows series. What separates him from others is that he knows how to explain technical things to normal humans, and make them laugh while doing it. Mark's firm, MR&D, is based in Pungo, a town in Virginia's Tidewater area that is distinguished by having one -- and only one -- traffic light.
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