Upgrading To Microsoft Windows Vista Tips

The holidays are almost here and a lot of folk want Windows Vista. Here are some tips to help you upgrade. New install will follow next week.

Upgrading To Microsoft Windows Vista Tips

The traditional annual days of giving are at hand. Some people will want to upgrade (if it can be called that) to Windows Vista.
Here are some tips to help keep you out of trouble.
Recommended minimum hardware requirements for Windows Vista
Windows Vista Home Basic
•800-megahertz (MHz) 32-bit (x86) processor or 800-MHz 64-bit (x64) processor
•512 megabytes (MB) of system memory
Note On system configurations that use system memory as graphics memory, at least 448 MB of system memory must be available to the operating system after some memory is allocated for graphics.
•DirectX 9-class graphics card
•32 MB of graphics memory
•20-gigabyte (GB) hard disk that has 15 GB of free hard disk space
•Internal or external DVD drive
•Internet access capability

Audio output capability

Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, and Windows Vista Ultimate

1-gigahertz (GHz) 32-bit (x86) processor or 1-GHz 64-bit (x64) processor
1 GB of system memory
Windows Aero-capable graphics card
Note This includes a DirectX 9-class graphics card that supports the following:
•A WDDM driver
•Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware
•32 bits per pixel
128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)
40-GB hard disk that has 15 GB of free hard disk space (the 15GB of free space provides room for temporary file storage during the install or upgrade.)
Internal or external DVD drive
Internet access capability
Audio output capability

Note A Windows Aero-capable graphics card is a graphics card that meets the following requirements:
•Supports a Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) driver
•Has a DirectX 9-class graphics processor unit (GPU) that supports Pixel Shader 2.0
•Supports 32 bits per pixel
•Passes the Windows Aero acceptance test in the Windows Driver Kit (WDK)

Operating system requirements to upgrade to Windows Vista

There is a table which outlines the upgrade options mapped to the different Windows Vista editions listed below:

Home Basic
Home Premium
Business
Ultimate

Upgrading from the OS listed below:
Windows XP Professional


Windows XP Home


Windows XP Media Center


Windows XP Tablet PC


Windows XP Professional x64


Windows 2000

You will find much more information at http://remotehelpdesk1.com/articles.htm

Notes:
If you are currently using Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional x64, you are eligible for an upgrade copy to a corresponding or better edition of Windows Vista, but a clean install is required.

Upgrade copies are not available for versions of Windows earlier than Windows 2000. These earlier versions of Windows require you to install a full copy of Windows Vista.

If the edition of Windows Vista that you choose to install will result in a loss of functionality over your current edition of Windows, you will need to do a clean install, or install Windows Vista to a new partition on your PC.

Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor

Before you begin
Before you run the Upgrade Advisor, be sure to plug in any USB devices or other devices such as printers, external hard drives, or scanners that are regularly used with the PC you're evaluating.

Download Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor

Ready to upgrade? Check out these special offers from Microsoft partners.
The Upgrade Advisor works with 32-bit versions of Windows XP and Windows Vista. Review the upgrade options available for earlier versions of Windows.

Make sure your computer is ready for the edition of Windows Vista you want.
The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor will help you to determine if your Windows XP-based PC can run Windows Vista. You can also use the Upgrade Advisor to determine if your Windows Vista-based PC is ready for an upgrade to a more powerful edition of Windows Vista.

This small software tool will scan your computer and create an easy-to-understand report of all known system, device, and program compatibility issues, and recommend ways to resolve them. Upgrade Advisor can also help you to choose the edition of Windows Vista that best fits the way you want to use your computer.

Just download, install, and run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor.

Please Note:
The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor works with 32-bit versions of Windows XP and Windows Vista, except Windows Vista Enterprise edition. It will not work with other editions of Windows.

The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor does not collect or send any personal, identifiable data to Microsoft Corporation or third parties.
Upgrade procedure

To upgrade your computer to Windows Vista, follow these steps:
1.Start the computer by using the current operating system. Verify that the Microsoft Windows operating system that is currently installed on the computer is eligible for upgrade to Windows Vista.

2.Insert the Windows Vista DVD in the computer's DVD drive.

3.Use one of the following procedures, as appropriate:

If Windows automatically detects the DVD, the Install now screen appears. Click Install now.

If Windows does not automatically detect the DVD, follow these steps:
a. Click Start, click Run, type Drive:\setup.exe, and then click OK.

Note Drive is the drive letter of the computer's DVD drive.

b. Click Install now.

4.When you reach the Which type of installation to you want? screen, click Upgrade to upgrade the current operating system to Windows Vista.
The Upgrade option is unavailable, and you receive an "Upgrade has been disabled" message

When you try to upgrade to Windows Vista, the Upgrade option is unavailable.

Additionally, you receive the following message:

Upgrade has been disabled
This issue may occur if one of the following conditions is true:
•The operating system that is currently installed on the computer is not supported in the upgrade path to Windows Vista.

•You did not start the computer by using the current operating system. Instead, you started the computer from the Windows Vista DVD. To resolve this issue, start the computer by using the current operating system, and then run the Setup program from the current operating system.

•The operating system is installed to a partition that uses the FAT32 file system. To resolve this issue, convert the file system on the partition to use the NTFS file system. For more information about how to resolve this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 307881 ( http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307881/ ) How to convert a FAT16 volume or a FAT32 volume to an NTFS file system in Windows XP

•The partition on which you want to upgrade to Windows Vista has insufficient free hard disk space. To resolve this issue, free additional space on the hard disk.
tmm

Windows Vista - Which Version Do You Need?

After deciding to shift to a Windows Vista OS, you need to decide on which Windows Vista version you should pick.

After deciding to shift to a Windows Vista OS, you need to decide on which Windows Vista version you should pick. Before you consider shelling out $400 for a Windows Vista Ultimate license, you really should ask yourself exactly what features you need and want so you can decide whether the price is right.

Windows Vista Home Basic

This is the most rudimentary version of Vista available. It has the more secure IE 7, the firewall, the quick search functionality, and easier connectivity. When it comes to the features that distinguish Vista from previous versions of the Windows OS, though, Home Basic is somewhat lacking, though it does offer parental control.

Windows Vista Home Basic is a good choice only if you use your computer solely for web surfing and basic document processing, or if your computer is just barely powerful enough to run Windows Vista.

Windows Vista Home Premium

For an extra $40, you can get much more out of Windows Vista. Aside from including all the features of the Home Basic version, Home Premium offers all of the window-dressing that makes Vista look like Vista. You will have pre-packaged games and Aero interface capability. Aero gives your windows and icons a 3D appearance and smoother transitions, as well as allowing you to add transparency effects to window borders. Home Premium offers tablet PC functionality, document collaboration, and scheduled backups. Home Premium also offers the fully integrated Windows Media Center for all your home entertainment needs, plus a moviemaker which is HD format-capable.

Windows Vista Home Premium is designed for the user who uses the computer for PC and network gaming, since Premium supports DirectX 10, with its advanced graphics technologies incredible graphics rendering. Premium is also designed for watching High Definition movie, editing/making video clips, burning DVD copies, and interfacing with the Xbox 360, which Home Premium edition automatically detects to allow for Video, Audio, and Picture sharing.

Windows Vista Business

Windows Vista Business drops Parental controls, Media Center features, and pre-installed games for obvious reasons. Vista Business does have the rest of the Home Premium features plus support for business applications and business data security (fax, remote desktop connectivity, file encryption, and complete shadow incremental backup). This version of Windows Vista is, as the name implies, strictly for business purposes.

Windows Vista Enterprise

Windows Vista Enterprise adds Microsoft’s BitLocker encryption technology to the feature set found in Windows Vista Business, but this version of Windows is only offered to businesses participating in Microsoft’s Software Assurance program.

Windows Vista Ultimate

This edition has everything that is included in the Home Premium and Business editions. Vista Ultimate also adds Enterprise’s BitLocker encryption technology for the computer’s hard drives, protecting the drives so that only authorized users can boot up the OS or view the files contained in the drives.

Because of its full complement of features, Vista Ultimate is perfect for people who use the PC for fun and business in equal parts, as well as users who want to be protected from data loss and PC theft.

This article may be republished freely as long as this copyright notice and box of resource links are included at the bottom.

Copyright © 2007 MALIBAL, lLc

Apple Tiger vs Windows Vista

Microsoft’s next-generation operating system is coming in early 2007, offering improvements that are both impressive and unprecedented in the Windows world. On Apple’s side of the world, Tiger, the 5th incarnation of Apple’s legendary OS X operating system is still up to challenge as to what Vista has to offer, even if it’s already two years old.

Although Vista and Tiger are almost playing in the same field in terms of features and technology, there’s a major difference in...

Microsoft’s next-generation operating system is coming in early 2007, offering improvements that are both impressive and unprecedented in the Windows world. On Apple’s side of the world, Tiger, the 5th incarnation of Apple’s legendary OS X operating system is still up to challenge as to what Vista has to offer, even if it’s already two years old.

Although Vista and Tiger are almost playing in the same field in terms of features and technology, there’s a major difference in the strategy that the two companies made in delivering their next-generation operating systems. Microsoft wanted to bring everything new and shiny to the table all in one big package, while Apple slowly built and perfected a world-class operating system by frequent, less dramatic, major upgrades. This explains why while Windows XP stayed for 5 years without a major upgrade, OS X had 3 major upgrades to its original incarnation in roughly the same time frame.

User Interface

The most noticeable improvements happen here, and rightfully so, since improvements in the user interface are the ones that affect the users first and foremost. Vista seems to have taken many pages from the Tiger book of slick features but also has some features of its own that’s missing from the Apple operating system. I think it’s fair to say that some similarities are really just inevitable end results of improving the current state of the UI in both platforms.

Vista’s icons are now as slick as its Tiger counterparts, supporting icon sizes of up to 256 by 256 pixels. Tiger on the other hand, currently supports only up to 128 by 128 pixel icons. But Vista takes it even further, using what is called as live icons. A live icon visually resembles the actual contents of the document it represent so that a folder’s live icon is shown as a folder icon padded with the thumbnails of the actual files that you’ll see inside the folder. This is very helpful in skimming through your files and folders without opening them. Tiger can only show previews of graphic files.

In Vista, the “My” way of naming user folders such as My Documents, My Music, etc. has been dropped. Now you will only have user folders named Documents, Music and Pictures. Not unlike what Tiger has.

Aero, the user interface of Vista brings to the Windows world lots of transparencies. Application windows in Vista show a translucent border that lets you see through it. This is a feature that OS X once had, but was taken out in Tiger.

Expose, which is perhaps the most innovative UI feature of Tiger, elegantly addressed the window-management problem most users had, especially those who work with lots of windows open. At the touch of a button or at a flick of the mouse, all your windows are miniaturized and smartly tiled across the screen. Vista offers its own take, with a feature called Flip 3D. In Vista’s version, windows are miniaturized and stacked on top of each other, and angled such that you can see enough of each window’s content distinctively, and you use the scroll wheel to go through all the stacked windows. Tiger’s implementation is more usable and convenient than its Vista counterpart.

Widgets vs Gadgets

In Tiger, the days of opening full-blown applications for simple, specific tasks have long been gone. Thanks to Dashboard. With Dashboard, you can install and run mini-applications called widgets that are specially designed (using a relatively easy language) for certain tasks. Widgets include calculator, stocks, dictionary, yellow pages and many others. At the touch of a button, all these can auto-magically appear when you need them, and as quickly, disappear to let you go back to what you’re doing.

Vista sports the same feature, only the mini-applications are called Gadgets, and the Vista version promises more integration with Microsoft’s online service http://Live.com.

Desktop Search

When Vista was first announced many years ago under the code name Longhorn, one of the most impressive promises that Microsoft made about the new operating system is its desktop search capability. However, Apple beat them to the punch in implementing the much needed search technology (and interface).

Tiger’s spotlight search won the hearts of analysts and reviewers when it debuted in October 2004. Both in the main OS’s shell and in the individual applications, Spotlight brought lightning-fast desktop search to the Apple users. The system-wide Spotlight item on Tiger’s menu bar provided a quick way of opening files and applications. With Spotlight, users didn’t need to know exactly where their files are since they can find and open them using a simple and single user interface – the spotlight search field. Vista’s desktop search also promises all the things that Spotlight has, including its integration with Windows Explorer and Control Panel, in the same way that Spotlight integrates with the Finder and the Preferences. In Vista, the desktop search has been placed in the improved Start Menu. Saved searches (in Vista) or Smart Folders (in Tiger) are different implementation of the same kind of innovative feature that both systems have – a way for creating folders that are defined by a certain search criteria, and the contents of which are files that match that certain criteria. Both are live-z.

Security

This is where Tiger has long beaten Windows, but with Vista, Microsoft want to change that, and perhaps even leapfrog what OS X is offering.

In Vista, Internet Explorer (the source of many security headaches) will run in a low rights mode to prevent malicious software entering through the browser from illegally writing files or changing the registry. Vista will also support computers with TPM (Trusted Platform Module) Chips which starts a computer in a secure way such that the hardware and applications are protected from being run by unauthorized users. One of Tiger’s security strengths, the feature that asks for the administrator password when changing critical preferences, has also found its way to Vista. When changing important settings or files, Vista now warns the users and asks for the administrator password. Both Tiger and Vista has support encrypting data on users’ hard disk.

Conclusion

This article tried to compare some of the different aspects of Windows Vista and OS X Tiger, wherever it made sense, since each has its own way of doing things. Tiger has been out for almost two years now, but still holds up its own against Vista. It’s no doubt that some of the features that Vista is promising are better than its Tiger counterpart, but Vista won’t be out until 2007, and by the same time Apple probably would no doubt have at least shown its latest weapon, the upcoming Apple OS X Leopard.