Upgrade to Windows Vista

Posted on 18 Jan 2007 at 13:08

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After all the waiting, Vista finally arrives this month. If you're upgrading from Windows XP, we show you everything from the upgrade itself to making use of Vista's new features.

If Microsoft has made good on its promise, Windows Vista should now be the hands of PC owners across the country at the end of January. If your copy came courtesy of a Vista upgrade voucher, or you bought your own upgrade version, your first task is to install it on your PC, over the top of Windows XP. Our step-by-step guide to upgrading to Vista shows you everything you need to know for a trouble-free upgrade, and we've also got some advice on how to get started with Vista, plus a few handy tips and tweaks, too.

Before you start

Before you begin the upgrade to Windows Vista, there are a couple of checks you need to carry out on your PC. If you've received a voucher copy of Vista with a new Vista-ready PC, you probably don't need to run the Vista Compatibility Wizard to check for incompatibilities on your PC, but you may have installed software that won't run under Vista and the Wizard will detect this. If you've bought an upgrade copy of Vista for an older PC, then you really should have run the wizard to have found out if your PC is up to running it before buying, but the same advice applies.

Incompatible software isn't a major issue, but incompatible hardware may be and it's worth checking the appropriate manufacturer's website for updated Vista drivers for any affected hardware before upgrading. This is particularly important for broadband modems and network cards, which may not work once the upgrade is complete - which means you can't get online.

You'll also need to ensure that the hard disk that you want to install Vista on uses the NTFS file system. Vista won't install as an upgrade to Windows XP if it's currently installed on a FAT32 disk and will instead offer a 'Custom' option that erases your files and installed programs. Fortunately, you can quickly convert a FAT32 hard disk to NTFS without affecting your data.