Must I purchase 2 upgrades?

I have recently purchased a HP system that comes with Vista 32 home premium, to replace my old one (also an HP, running XP) which is now the kids. I want to upgrade the old one to Vista 32 and the new one to Vista 64. Can I avoid buying two upgrades by transfering the Vista 32 to the other?
The old computer can only handle 32 bits.
I have file transfer capabilities through my home network, and a large external HDD, if that can help.

 

Hi, and welcome to MajorGeeks. :major
We'll call the new computer "PCA" and the old computer will be "PCB" just to avoid confusion. Since you purchased PCA with Vista pre-installed, you also own the Vista license and you can use it on one PC. So, you can "transfer" it to the other PC, legally. But it's a bit more complicated than simply copying from one PC to the other. If you copy the hard drive from PCA to the hard drive in PCB, PCB most likely will not boot and will either crash to a BSOD or just restart over and over. This is because the OS is setup for PCA's hardware. You'll need to install a clean OS on PCB and since you have the product key on PCA, and will not be using that key on PCA anymore, you can legally use it on PCB to install a new Vista, but you'll need the install CDs or DVD. With that done, PCA no longer has an OS so you'd have to purchase a new Vista for it (you said you wanted Vista x64). And there you have it. Now, I'm pretty sure that it's almost impossible to legally acquire a Vista install disc without a product key (you already own the product key), but I could be wrong.
Good luck!

 

Yes, I did run 'Vista Upgrade Advisor' and the computer is compatible for Vista, barely. Before I attempt this, I will max the RAM (1G) and get a video card (PCI only). I will probably order those this week. A faster processor would be nice too, but I can't find any 'A' socket processors. Like I said, this is now the kids' computer. They can fit in with the other kids even if it isn't the fastest.

 

To dlb- thanks for the help. I do have my product key for PCA, how do I go about getting an install disc?

 

It's been my experience with Vista with the bare minimums provide an unacceptable experience (IMO). A minimum of 1gb RAM is highly recommended with at least a 2.4ghz CPU. You said the older PC has a socket A CPU (AthlonXP or Duron). This is an obsolete platform, and faster CPUs can probably only be found on EBay. I know kids, and if you run Vista on it, you'll be hearing alot of "it's too slow" and "can use your computer, mine takes too long"... you may be better off leaving XP on the older PC and not investing any more money in it. Save the money and eventually buy a newer PC to replace your current new one, and give it to the kids.... IMO, putting any more money into a socket A computer is a bit of a waste.... just my opinion though
As for the install disc... I think this post says it all.... if you want to upgrade your current new PC to Vista x64, go for it, but I think the older one (PCB) should stay with XP....

 

So, kids need Vista now to "fit in"? A peer pressure thing, right? LOL

 

Can you not simply give the XP a (free) makeover.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/Vista_Transformation_Pack_d4924.html

 

Thanks for the suggestions, both. My motives for wanting to do this are: to head off any peer pressure before it starts : ) and for features like parental controls, readyboost (due to limited RAM and a small, slow hard drive), and to avoid any network problems. And it seems like such a waste to just dump a perfectly good system.
I really do apprecitate the input though, thanks.