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

9 Tips To Keep Windows XP Running Smooth

According to my clients Microsoft Windows XP was the worst operating system ever releasd..That is until Vista made it's debut.  So here is some XP tips.

9 Tips To Keep Windows XP Running Smooth

There are many things that cause a computer to be sluggish from software to hardware.  It can be too small a hard drive or not enough RAM. It can be anything from BIOS and/or Operating System Settings to programs that are eating up your CPU and RAM (no matter how much you have). Or it can be your network.

Personally, I work my computer like a young mother with a house full of kids 12 to 18 hours a day. 

That mother needs to unwind at the end of the day and so does my computer and probably yours too.

Here are 9 Tips in the order they should be completed that can help keep your computer happy and working without complaining:

1.  This is so basic I shouldn't need to say it, Keep Which Ever E-Mail Program You Use Cleaned Out. I have clients who are always complaining, but who refuse to dump years and years of accumulated e-mail.

2.  Make sure you have a good anti virus program (Only one per computer please), have it up to date, and auto monitoring.

3.  Make sure you have a good anti spy ware program (Only one per computer), have it up to date, and auto monitoring.

4.  Run Disk Clean Up Daily (Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Clean Up - a box opens - make sure each box is checked, click 'OK' - a box pops up - Click Yes).

5.  Delete Cookies and Cached Files Daily (Start, Control Panel -if you have not done it yet, click 'Switch To Classic View', Internet Options - a pop up box will appear - Delete Cookies, Click OK, Click Delete Files - check 'Delete All Offline Content' - Click OK, Now Set Your Clear History to no more than 7 Days - if you haven't used it for a week you probably won't miss it - Click OK)

6.  A very important step almost everyone misses:  Empty The Prefetch Folder (Start, My Computer, 'C' , Windows, Prefetch Folder, Edit, Select All, File, Delete - pop up box appears - Click Yes, Close Windows Window)

7.  Empty Recycle Bin. For the sake of brevity, I am assuming everyone knows where it is and how to empty it.

8.  Scan Hard Drive 'C' (Start, My Computer, Right Click 'C' - box opens - Click Properties at the bottom - another box opens - Click Tools,  Click Check Now, Make sure both 'Automatically fix file system errors' and 'Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors' are checked, Click Start.  Get a cup of java (oh, black, thank you) and Wait !

9.  Defrag Computer (Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter - window opens - Select 'C' Drive, Click Defragment). Pop a top and Wait !

The last two steps (8 and 9) can take awhile if they have not been done recently.  I complete this entire routine on my computer just before I stop work for the day everyday and the entire sequence takes no longer than 20 minutes and often much less.

You can find more help with free download links at http://www.remotehelpdesk1.com

tmm