This is a document on performing an orderly upgrade to Vista from Windows XP or any prior OS. There have been a number of postings from people asking how to do this; also, a number of postings asking how to fix the computers after they have started and encountered problems.

Most of the problems in installing Windows Vista (any version) onto any machine can be summed up in one word - DRIVERS. (If you have a machine that qualified for the free Vista upgrade from your computer manufacturer, you got the drivers with the upgrade). The remaining problems are hardware and software incompatibilities.

UPGRADE ADVISOR

Microsoft has a free downloadable upgrade advisor. Before you do anything, even to buying the upgrade, download and run the upgrade advisor. It will check the installed hardware and software on your machine to see if it will support Vista. It will not check for or supply drivers. Example – when run on my HP laptop it says that the video card must be replaced. That is a showstopper, as the video card is integrated into the MB, and not replaceable. Not taking “No” for an answer, I installed Vista on a second drive anyway. The results were not pretty, it would run, but it used a generic video driver at 800x600 resolution. I went back to XP on this machine.

DRIVERS

Every modern PC has a myriad of drivers to handle the coordination of the Operating System and the hardware. While we have all become accustomed to plug-n-play, it has also cushioned us from the need to insert an installation disc when we add a new monitor. We no longer have to worry about drivers when we install a new DVD burner or other similar device. Windows has taken care of that for us with the drivers that are included on the Windows installation disc. In those cases where the device is newer than our version of Windows, then the driver disc from the device manufacturer will be needed. Most often the driver disc is needed more for the nice add-in programs, like special features for the mouse (the basic mouse itself will never need a separate driver disc) and print managers that are more utility programs than drivers. Windows comes with the basic drivers for most widely used devices in existence when the CD or DVD was produced.

CAUTION

For this reason, I STONGLY suggest you not burn your bridges. Sometimes we get frustrated at computers and do rash things in the heat of the moment. How many times have we pounded the poor keyboard in frustration that this piece of plastic and wires won’t do what we want it to do. We decide to blow it away; insert the CD and start the install, and part way through have a problem. Now were hung. We can't go forward and we can't go back.

So in the interest of caution, and taking a page from the physicians, first do no harm. Let’s take a breath and plan the upgrade from XP or whatever to Vista.

PREPARE

First, I would purchase a new HD or at least use a second drive that may be available. You will also have to order the upgrade version of Vista. You can order it at the same time as you order the new HD. While some may say to simply pop the upgrade disc into the machine a upgrade over the top of XP, do so at your own risk. At best you will have problems, at worst a machine that won’t boot. There is a comfort factor in being able to go back to a functional bootable HD if you encounter any problems. After the fact, if you are sure you are not going to go back to XP, you can erase the drive and use it for storage or for backup. If unsure, you can install it back into the machine with the Vista drive and dual boot. Depending on the particular machine, the dual boot menu will be different. You should only keep on set of data, but you can have the same programs on both drives. Vista and XP will be able to see all that’s on both drives.

Before you attempt to install Vista, you need to go into device manager and make a list of every installed item in the list. Especially the video card, the modem, the ethernet port, the wireless adapter, etc.

Then you need to go onto the website of your computer manufacturer, look for the support section, and then for the drivers and downloads section. The site will probably ask for your model number, and maybe the product number that is on the white sticker on the bottom of a laptop or the top or side of a desktop. When your products listing comes up the section should ask which OS, XP or Vista.

If you have a custom built computer, the task is the same but the steps are a bit trickier. Since you do not have one central place to get all of your drivers, you will have to go to each of your installed hardware manufacturers websites and download the latest driver version for each component.

If you have a manufactured computer, but one which the manufacture did not provide Vista as an option, their website may just take the position that they will not support Vista, which is a short way of saying they do not intend to provide drivers for their installed equipment. In this case you will be in a similar position to the custom built computer. You need to go through those steps.

Download all the drivers you have identified and save in a separate folder. I have a download folder in my system that has all the downloaded programs and drivers in it. That way if I ever have to reinstall, I have it available and don't have to go hunting for it. You may want to rename some of the drivers for what they are, for HP for example uses a non-descriptive naming convention on its drivers. Once you have the drivers downloaded you are almost ready. If this is a laptop, you need to either copy the drivers to a flash drive, or burn a CD for them.

BEGIN

From this point forward, we will assume that you are removing XP from the machine in a non-permanent manner by installing Vista on a second drive.

If you have data on the second drive, you need to move it to the primary drive or again, if a laptop, onto a CD so the second drive is cleared. Then turn off the computer, remove the primary drive and move the second drive into the primary position. If these are SATA drives, then they are keyed to drive0 and drive1 by which connector they use. In a desktop we just can swap cables. In a laptop you need to physically swap drives. When that is done, and you are ready with the Vista upgrade installation disc, you will need to turn the PC on and hit the key to enter setup. This key varies by computer manufacturer, but is typically either <F1>, <F2>, <F10>, <Tab>, or <Delete>. Once in the BIOS setup, you need to change the boot order to the optical drive first and then the HD. Note: Windows uses the letter assignment to a volume, and a drive may have more than one volume. Some use the term partition to refer to a volume.

Then while the machine is on and paused, insert the CD into the optical drive. Exit the BIOS setup by pressing <F10> and the machine will continue. Once the computer restarts, you will get a message to hit any key to boot from CD, do so and then the installation will begin. As you install the OS, it will reach a point where you are given the option to install with a full install or an upgrade. The upgrade option will be greyed out if you do not have an installation of Windows XP on your HD. You will be forced to the clean install, but the next window will want your Product ID (COA). When you enter the upgrade COA, it will be rejected. The following procedure for a clean install was first documented on Paul Thurrott’s Supersite for Windows.

Leave the COA field blank and uncheck the “Automatically Activate” option at the bottom, and then continue with the installation. When you are done, you will have a fully functional Vista installation that is good for 30 days, but cannot be activated, nor can it be updated for security purposes. So, immediately start the process over and this time, when you reach the clean install/upgrade window, the upgrade option is available as, Vista can be upgraded on top of Vista. Choose the upgrade option and when you go to the next window enter your Product ID (COA). You can leave the “Automatically Activate” checked or not at your choice. If you choose not to activate now, you will be nagged for 30 days by Windows until either you activate it or it stops functioning. For those who want to research the detail and logic behind this process, here is the Process as described with the logic and discussion on Paul Thurrott's website.

FINISH

Restart the machine, start Windows Explorer and go to the downloads folder and if the driver download is a compressed softpak like HP uses, you will need to double click on it to expand it. This is determined if it is an .EXE file. Then go into device manager, and one by one, double click on the devices and in the dialog box, click on update driver. In the next dialog box it will ask if you want to connect to the internet to search for better drivers, for all updates at this point, check the "not at this time box", and click on next. In the next dialog box, check on Install from specific location (Advanced). Then click on next. In the next dialog box (if the drivers are on the HD) uncheck update from removable media (CD) and check include this location and click on browse. Now point the computer to the exact folder with the driver for this device and click next. XP will do the rest.

Then reinstall the programs you intend to use and you should be ready. It is not a difficult process, just long and involved with a lot of steps to do. You may want to store a CD containing the drivers with your Vista Upgrade Disc.

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This document was create by RGreen4 as a corollary to from XP to Vista