Vista Upgrade: No more rumors

LincLinc OwnerDetroit Icrontian
edited February 2007 in Science & Tech
Brian debunks common misconceptions about a Vista upgrade from XP.
If you really want a truly "clean" upgrade, you can do what I did on a test computer: install Windows XP however you want. I took a blank HD, used a retail Windows XP Pro disk to format and partition the drive, installed the bare minimum XP install which only took about 10 minutes, and then immediately ran the Vista upgade. When finished, I deleted the "windows.old" folder. Problem solved. Clean install. Certainly clean enough to be worth almost $200 of savings.

Comments

  • KentigernKentigern Milton Keynes UK
    edited February 2007
    Interesting read Brian - gonna save us a lot of pounds (bucks) Thank you :)
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited February 2007
    Solid, informative, and to the point. Good. That's makes a difference for my future purchase decisions.

    Thanks, Prime.
  • PterocarpousPterocarpous Rosie the Riveter Lives On in CA, USA! New
    edited February 2007
    Fannnnnntastic!! That seals it for me!! :bigggrin: Thanx Brian!! You rock!! :thumbsup:
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited February 2007
    Great info Prime! Nice to know about the XP license!
  • JonseyJonsey Microsoft Corporation
    edited February 2007
    Remember folks, doing that will invalidate the XP key you used. In fact, that XP key has a good chance of not re-activating.

    The trick is, you accept the terms that you cannot re-use that XP key. Keep it in mind.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited February 2007
    Jonsey, that conflicts directly with my experience. I re-activated my XP license after upgrading it to Vista. I called Microsoft, explained my situation, they gave me a new activation key, and it passed Windows Genuine Advantage validation.

    Is it still technically an "illegal" license now? :confused:
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited February 2007
    primesuspect wrote: »
    Jonsey, that conflicts directly with my experience. I re-activated my XP license after upgrading it to Vista. I called Microsoft, explained my situation, they gave me a new activation key, and it passed Windows Genuine Advantage validation.

    Is it still technically an "illegal" license now? :confused:
    It can't be illegal. What if you need to reinstall Vista onto your new drive after the old one dies or whatever the circumstance? Then you need to use the valid XP all over again to repeat the process.
    I think it would be illegal to run that particular XP on another system after you've used it to activate Vista. That's my interpretation.
  • JonseyJonsey Microsoft Corporation
    edited February 2007
    What you get approved by the WGA folks is always allowed to float. Per the reading of the EULA that I was given by a MS LCA person (Legal & other stuff) during her down-time, the EULA only supports an upgrade, once you've upgraded, that's game over for the license on the other/older copy.

    Now, I'm not a legal expert, no matter what any of my degrees may mention, so do not take this as legal advice.

    Per my read of the Vista Upgrade EULA, once you upgrade, you voluntarily give up your old license, which MS revokes.

    There will likely be a technical provision enacted to enforce that giving up of your prior license in future prime, but for now, just run it by the WGA folks on the phone, and if they OK it, you know you're on the right side of the license.

    CSI -- Yes, you would need to use it, however, per the EULA of the UPGRADE version of Vista, you cannot do such, as it supports the upgrade exactly once.

    Now, I can't talk to the legality of shrink-wrap licenses, even though it was a pet project of mine while going through college....

    The point stands that MS can enact provisions to make your old key show up fully non-legit, within the bounds of their license, and it should not actually be technically difficult to implement.

    To sum up, and save you a lot of potential trouble:

    If you're buying just to go from XP to Vista once, buy UPGRADE

    If you're buying to be able to transfer the license to that software to another computer later, or if you're planning on needing a clean install, or a re-install... Buy the full copy.

    (Also, not that I expect any of you to do it, but watch out for Staple or Best-Buy doing "upgrades" for you.)
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited February 2007
    csimon wrote: »
    valid XP all over again to repeat the process.

    Actually Chris, when I did my upgrade test for my article, I did not activate XP in order to run the upgrade. The upgrade went fine without activating XP beforehand.
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited February 2007
    primesuspect wrote: »
    Actually Chris, when I did my upgrade test for my article, I did not activate XP in order to run the upgrade. The upgrade went fine without activating XP beforehand.
    Ah ...so if it doesn't have to be an activated copy that takes that part out of the equation. But you can only do the upgrade once right?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited February 2007
    I love the Vista EULA. It's the biggest piece of **** ever. It should just slap you in the wang, give you a pair of handcuffs, and sodomize you on the spot.
  • JonseyJonsey Microsoft Corporation
    edited February 2007
    Thrax, it's actually much less restrictive on most topics than the XP EULA + SP2 EULA.

    Be Happy, it will save you from a lot of bunk later.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited February 2007
    It's why I run Windows 2000. ;D
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