[nalds18]

i have a hp notebook which is windows vista compatible, can i upgrade it to windows vista ultimate instead of windows vista home premium? i downloaded windoes vista advisor and it says that it has to be windows vista home premium that i need to use for upgrading.

[Elvandil]

Why did it specify that upgrade? What were the compatibility problems?

[nalds18]

i just downloaded the windows vista upgrade advisor at microsoft.com to identify which vista is best for my notebook and it says that the best one is vista home premium but i'm planning to get the vista ultimate. do you think theres gonna be a compatibility issues if i get the vista ultimate instead of home premium

[Rich-M]

You can use Ultimate if you prefer. Advisor tries to find you equivalent of what you had is all.

[nalds18]

ok thanks ;-)

[melink14]

Rich, I haven't done testing on the upgrade advisor in awhile, but doesn't it also determine which version you computer will be able to run the best as well?

[kiwiguy]

You need to consider that the term "upgrade" applies differently to versions of the OS that you are upgrading from, depending on the Vista version.

Some will do an "in place" upgrade, others require a "clean install".

That is highly likely to be the advice that is being given by the upgrade advisor, the exact map for what is possible is here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...radepaths.mspx

Ultimate will need a clean install over most common versions of XP.

[Rich-M]

Originally Posted by melink14

Rich, I haven't done testing on the upgrade advisor in awhile, but doesn't it also determine which version you computer will be able to run the best as well?

Honestly if it does, I don't remember that.

[Rich-M]

Kiwi,
I can't imagine why Ultimate would require clean install vs any other version, the core is no different.

[Elvandil]

Originally Posted by Rich-M

Kiwi,
I can't imagine why Ultimate would require clean install vs any other version, the core is no different.

It shouldn't require a complete re-installation. The only differences compatibility-wise are the enhanced graphics used in Ultimate. But it will still run on any machine that will run Home--it just may need a video upgrade for all the features to be available.

[Danltn]

"Ultimate will need a clean install over most common versions of XP."

This is not true, I recently upgraded my Windows XP Home and Pro (2 seperate computers) to Windows Vista Ultimate, neither required a clean install. All old Windows Documents (Windows, Program Files and Document and Settings) are placed within a old.windows folder within the installation drive.

A clean install for Ultimate is not required.

[kiwiguy]

Originally Posted by Rich-M

Kiwi,
I can't imagine why Ultimate would require clean install vs any other version, the core is no different.

Not arguing with you there, the map in the link shows the case is that Ultimate requires a clean install only over XP Pro x64 and Win 2000.

It does not help when one is colour-blind, I mis-read the colour codes!