Vista Installation

I have Xp Service Pack 2. Then I downloaded the Vista trial. I like it and want to install Vista. Can I just stick it in and follow the directions, or are there some gatyas?

Rebecca

 

You would actually have to purchase a copy of vista.

 

Best bet is to make a new partition of about 40GB and install it clean on to that new partition, do not upgrade as you will lose your XP. You will then get a boot screen asking which OS you want to boot into. HTH for a simple answer. BTW, run the Vista Advisor first to see if your system is upto the task, if you haven't already done so.

 

Lots of gotchas if you don't do your homework before starting.
Check out the Vista threads here on MG, especially the comments by Halo.
Also, DO NOT PROCEED until you have a full backup of your existing XP system and have verified that the backup will work if you need it.
This backup could save lots of grief later on if you change your mind about Vista.
Bazza

 

I have purchased a copy. My DVD/CD drive didn't want to read it so I sent for a CD version. I haven't received it yet, but I just got a message saying that the trial had expired and asking for a product key. I typed the one on the software I bought and it won't take it. I don't know how to make a partition and am not sure I know how to do a full back up. I did run the Vista Advisor when I downloaded the trial. I did the things it said to do, but I'm not sure I like the results. I will check out the threads. (I didn't see any when I put the question here, but I didn't do a search.) I hope there is one for the complete idiot.

Rebecca

 

Just a few recent Vista posts, for your consideration

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=120772
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=120746
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=120860
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=120830
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=120797
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=120821
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=121060
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=121251
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=121284
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=120860
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=121543
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=121838
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=121779
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=119074
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=121869 (your post )

And these in the last 2 weeks, only. Bazza

 

OK, so you already have/had a Vista install so this really simplifies things. Don't worry about the key as the versions are probably different. If you want to have Vista again, re-install over your current Vista but you will lose any data and programs that you had on the Vista partition. Make sure you choose the right partition. This will give you another 30 days while you wait for the mail.

All backup up means is to write the files you want to keep onto media such as CD/DVD incase something goes wrong.

What did the Advisor tell you?

BTW, there is no trial as far as I know, unless you got it from p2p like bittorent etc. or a friend.

BTW, the only idiot is the one who never asks questions.

I see Bazza has been as busy as a beaver, oh that's right no beavers in OZ.

 

for god sakes make sure your internet will work before you upgrade (ie vista cable modem/modem drivers/usb/Ethernet drivers-have them on a disk) the rest can be taken care of later. if you have another computer with internet access you should have no problems, just remember you may have to upgrade some of your hardware, unless you want to wait for driver updates.
-so do the upgrade adviser get all the latest drivers you can, make sure you'll have internet access, do a clean install, you should do the file and settings transfer program since you already have a vista version installed, -just remember to reinstall your programs before you transfer everything back to your new installation.

good luck

later.

 

I keep an Excel spreadsheet of MG threads, in the various Forums, that interest me.
Around 4000 entries so far. I usually pick up around 10 entries per day, of stuff that interests me. It is easily sorted, or searched for particular keywords. Bazza

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That's a great idea bigbazza! I was thinking of having a page of FAQ ( not here) on a web page but I'm not good at that. I'll have to fire up OO's spreadsheet and brush up on it. Now back to the regularly scheduled program.

 

It's a pretty simple spreadsheet. From Left to Right. an ID number that starts at 1 and increments, Date, Post # (ie the MG thread number), Description, Link Y/N (whether the thread contains a link for further reading), Subject, and BWM (that is Yes if I originated the thread so I can sort to the threads I originated, if need be).

I enter the details, daily, in a small spiral bound notebook (pocket size) and enter them into the spreadsheet (mg.xls) when offline. Damn, I'm getting too far behind again.

I also add 2 more worksheets, so have 3 altogether. MG (the basic one, numerical thread sequence), Subject and Alpha. I copy the contents of MG into Subject and Alpha periodically and sort them to their criteria. Various additional sort criteria in each worksheet.

I can switch between the 3 quickly if I want them alphabetically or by Subject.

Hope this exercises your grey matter. Bazza

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Sounds like we got a hard core forum poster