[NeoBix]

That's right, folks.

I am doing it. I am going from XP to 64-bit Vista.

Anything I should know about first?

Thanks in advance!!

[Hughv]

Check for drivers, and run the Upgrade Advisor from MS.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...deadvisor.mspx
I installed 64 bit Vista this morning with no problems, but I had to search a bit for the Promise controller.
All's well at the moment.

[TechB]

Backup your system. Back it up again. Don't upgrade. Do a clean install.

[Rich-M]

I might advise you against it. Can you tell us your hardware?

[NeoBix]

Originally Posted by Hughv

Check for drivers, and run the Upgrade Advisor from MS.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...deadvisor.mspx
I installed 64 bit Vista this morning with no problems, but I had to search a bit for the Promise controller.
All's well at the moment.

Sounds good. Thank you.

Originally Posted by TechB

Backup your system. Back it up again. Don't upgrade. Do a clean install.

Thanks for the tips. I will definitely back my system up for sure.

I will do a clean install instead of an upgrade as you recommend, but just out of curiousity, why not upgrade instead of a clean install? Are there some notorious problems with upgrading as opposed to fresh installing?

Also, I am going to be buying the full RETAIL ultimate version (AKA the mega expensive version). Since I am buying this version, does that mean that I can only do a clean install anyway since it is not the "upgrade" version? If I can do either an upgrade or a clean install with this version, how exactly would I choose the clean install over the upgrade? It would probably prompt me prior to the installation; do I assume correctly?

Thanks again.

[TechB]

Actually if you are going to 64 bit you can't upgrade. The only option is a clean install.

Vista is generally much better at upgrades than previous versions of Windows but there is always the possibilty of some old application causing a problem down the road. Troubleshooting this can be very hard. If you start with a clean system then you generally see any problems as soon as you install an application so you know what app is causing the problem.

[skinnywhiteboy]

Hardware Specs please.............Ideally you want to be running with no less than 2 GB RAM. What version of Vista are you upgrading to, other than 64 bit. Ultimate, Home Premium, etc.

Also, after reading previous posts, I absolutely agree that a clean install would be best if you decide to do it.

[NeoBix]

Originally Posted by TechB

Actually if you are going to 64 bit you can't upgrade. The only option is a clean install.

Vista is generally much better at upgrades than previous versions of Windows but there is always the possibilty of some old application causing a problem down the road. Troubleshooting this can be very hard. If you start with a clean system then you generally see any problems as soon as you install an application so you know what app is causing the problem.

Understood.

Since I definitely plan on going all the way with the 64-bit version then I have no choice but to do a clean install.

I have a question, though. When you say "clean install" does this mean that when I install Vista I will have to start with my HDDs completely wiped of all data? Or does this mean that I will just need to start the installation with Windows XP completely wiped from my HDDs?

Originally Posted by skinnywhiteboy

Hardware Specs please.............Ideally you want to be running with no less than 2 GB RAM. What version of Vista are you upgrading to, other than 64 bit. Ultimate, Home Premium, etc.

Also, after reading previous posts, I absolutely agree that a clean install would be best if you decide to do it.

No problem at all.

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad CPU @ 2.40 GHz (Q6600 Kentsfield)
Memory: 2.75 GB of RAM (DDR2)
Video Card: GeForce 8800 Ultra
HDD: 320 gig WD (This is the drive Vista will be installed to) & 200 gig WD (I will no longer be using this HDD after the next month, though).

If you need any other specs lemme know please.

I'll be installing the Ultimate version.

And yeah from the look of things I guess I have no choice but to go with a clean install, lol. I just asked TechB this same question but I'll put it to you as well in case you missed it. With a clean install of Vista, will I need to start with completely wiped HDDs or just start with Windows XP completely wiped from my HDDs? OR... when I start to install Vista, will it simply give me the option to either do a clean install or an upgrade (so then I could just choose the clean install option and have XP uninstalled automatically and then Vista will just install)?

Thanks again guys.

[davehc]

A "clean install" would mean that you should reformat with the option which is on the installation DVD. However, not yet suggested for some reason. Why don't you do a dual boot with XP? This will give you the opportunity to test drive Vista and find your way around its new navigation etc. There is no extra effort involved. I don't know your current software situation, but set up a generous partition for Vista, I would suggest at least 30 gigs, or alternatively split the hard disk size down the middle. Leave XP intact.
When you install Vista on the (now) separate partition it will, without any extra input from you, set up a dual boot menu.

[Hughv]

I'm dual booting, which left all my XP data intact, and I'm gradually moving things as I go along.
Turning off UAC makes this a much simpler task.
When you make the final switch, just create a data partition, or install a second disk for your data.

[NeoBix]

Originally Posted by davehc

A "clean install" would mean that you should reformat with the option which is on the installation DVD. However, not yet suggested for some reason. Why don't you do a dual boot with XP? This will give you the opportunity to test drive Vista and find your way around its new navigation etc. There is no extra effort involved. I don't know your current software situation, but set up a generous partition for Vista, I would suggest at least 30 gigs, or alternatively split the hard disk size down the middle. Leave XP intact.
When you install Vista on the (now) separate partition it will, without any extra input from you, set up a dual boot menu.

Originally Posted by Hughv

I'm dual booting, which left all my XP data intact, and I'm gradually moving things as I go along.
Turning off UAC makes this a much simpler task.
When you make the final switch, just create a data partition, or install a second disk for your data.

Well, I appreciate the recommendation of doing a dual boot, but here's the thing.

I've used Vista quite a bit on my parents' computer and I've made up my decision to go with it. I won't be going back to XP once I make the switch, if that's the whole impetus behind doing a dual boot.

Basically, the reason I don't want to totally reformat my 320 gig drive is because I've got a lot of data on there that I want to keep. MP3s, movies, other media, etc.

XP isn't installed on my 320 gig drive, though. It is installed on my 200 gig drive.

So, this is, ideally, what I would like to do:

If I absolutely HAVE to reformat my 320 gig drive for a fresh install of Vista, then what I can do, temporarily, is move my MP3s, movies, etc. over to my 200 gig drive and then do the clean install of Vista on my 320 gig drive. XP and all of my other stuff will remain on my 200 gig drive while I can play around with Vista on my bigger drive. Then, what I would like to do after this is transfer all of my MP3s, movies, and other media from my 200 gig (which still has XP on it) over to my 320 gig (with Vista). Would this be possible for me to do? I figured that by transferring all of that stuff from XP to Vista there might be some sort of conflict or something, but I didn't know for sure. Furthermore, how would Vista even recognize, and allow me to transfer data from, my 200 gig drive if it still has XP installed on it instead of Vista(considering the fact that my boot drive would be the 320 gig with Vista on it)?

I also want to note here that my current boot drive is my 200 gig, which has XP installed on it. My 320 gig is my slave and it does NOT have XP installed on it. I'm simply using it for data storage right now, but it will become my new boot drive with Vista.

Hughv, I believe that I want to be in the same boat as you, almost. Like you said, you still have all of your XP data and whatnot intact. That's what I want to do as well.

The difference, though, is that I want to be able to keep all of the data from my XP drive intact but I also want to completely get rid of my XP installation. I am wondering if there is any way to do that and still transfer all of my data from that drive to my new Vista drive. Or would I only be able to get rid of XP on that drive AFTER I transfer everything from it onto my Vista drive?

[davehc]

By "data" do you mean your personal files?
Going back to my suggestion, you could, still partition the intended HD. Split or as you will, and copy the "data" to the second partition. It is useful, in any case, to have a separate partition.
You could then remove the XP drive, config the new drive as the master, and then, during installation, format the partition that you will be using for Vista. (or of course, copy the whole of the XP onto the second partition and bring the things you can use across to the Vista partition at your leisure - you would not be able to run XP as an OS under those circumstances)

[NeoBix]

Originally Posted by davehc

By "data" do you mean your personal files?

Yeah.

Originally Posted by davehc

Going back to my suggestion, you could, still partition the intended HD. Split or as you will, and copy the "data" to the second partition. It is useful, in any case, to have a separate partition.
You could then remove the XP drive, config the new drive as the master, and then, during installation, format the partition that you will be using for Vista. (or of course, copy the whole of the XP onto the second partition and bring the things you can use across to the Vista partition at your leisure - you would not be able to run XP as an OS under those circumstances)

I may end up doing it exactly as you suggest, but let me ask you something.

Can I just reassign my XP drive as the slave and my 320 gig as the master in my BIOS and then pop the Vista DVD in and install it on the 320 gig and then transfer all of my personal files from the 200 gig onto my 320 gig once I get Vista up and running?

When you say "remove" the XP drive, do you mean I have to physically remove (unplug) the HDD? Or simply make it so it is no longer the boot drive?

[davehc]

I had to have a quick read through the posts again ! I had grasped that you intended to remove the drive! I see now that all you say is "Get rid of XP" . Well, this is one of the litle tricks of Vista.There would be little need to change the order of you drives manually. Microsoft/Vista, have promoted the idea that letters (C. D. etc.) are a little meaningless and only good for legacy reference. When you install Vista, it will, you will find, assume, and call itself the C: drive. Your XP will be relegated to D: Don't get alarmed! This is a virtual situation. When and if you boot back into XP, you will find that XP appears unchanged, and residing on C: again, with Vista on D:. Weird huh! Somewhere in the Microsoft archives, I cannot spot it for the moment, they recommend that we get used to giving our drives and partitions names, rather then concerning ourselves too much with the æetter designations. A little of this argument is to support backward compatibility.
Should you follow my suggestion and arrange another partition, the situation will still be as outlined, with your second drive relegated now to, possibly, E:

[NeoBix]

Originally Posted by davehc

I had to have a quick read through the posts again ! I had grasped that you intended to remove the drive! I see now that all you say is "Get rid of XP" . Well, this is one of the litle tricks of Vista.There would be little need to change the order of you drives manually. Microsoft/Vista, have promoted the idea that letters (C. D. etc.) are a little meaningless and only good for legacy reference. When you install Vista, it will, you will find, assume, and call itself the C: drive. Your XP will be relegated to D: Don't get alarmed! This is a virtual situation. When and if you boot back into XP, you will find that XP appears unchanged, and residing on C: again, with Vista on D:. Weird huh! Somewhere in the Microsoft archives, I cannot spot it for the moment, they recommend that we get used to giving our drives and partitions names, rather then concerning ourselves too much with the æetter designations. A little of this argument is to support backward compatibility.
Should you follow my suggestion and arrange another partition, the situation will still be as outlined, with your second drive relegated now to, possibly, E:

Lol, understood. Yes that is weird but if you think about it though it actually makes a lot of sense. I like that it works that way.

Thanks a lot dave and the rest of you too.

I am going to give this a try then. If I run into any problems I will hop back on here and ask for some assistance.

Wish me luck!!