Windows Vista Upgrade story

As I have now gotten past my no-income college days (and into the almost-no-income grad school days) I thought I'd do the responsible thing, and ensure that ALL the software I use is legit.

Now, on the laptop I use for work, I have been using Ubuntu Linux for over 2 years now, with great success and satisfaction. However, my desktop, which gets used for games, was using Windows XP.

I was upgrading the desktop, and decided to purchase Windows Vista. I purchased the Windows Vista 64 bit Ultimate Upgrade directly from Microsoft via the student deal ($65). I moved my XP Home (licensed) from my laptop to my desktop, and decided to run the upgrade.

Alas, the upgrade refused to run, which prompted me to google the error... and came up with the following conclusion:

In order to run the Vista 64 upgrade, I had to already have Vista 64 installed (or Windows 2003 64 bit server, I guess).

No, I am not kidding.

After much research I realized that:
1. Microsoft is aware of the issue (hundreds of complaints)
2. They have absolutely no interest in resolving it.

After several hours of doing research, consulting the tech forums, downloading utilities, and modifying the installation files, I was finally able to get the install files into a bootable DVD that would let me run the installation (due to a faulty motherboard, I am not sure whether it will be successful yet, but we'll see in a couple of days).

As a conclusion, given what Microsoft is willing to put its paying customers through (and don't get me started on the quality of Vista itself), I would highly advocate that unless you absolutely MUST have Windows, you should really consider the fast, effortless and capable Linux systems that are now available from major manufacturers (and did I mention, cheaper...?) such as from www.dell.com/ubuntu.

I've been using Linux for a few years now and love it. I recently bought a new Dell Vostro (low-end laptop) for $399 and only loaded windows to insure that the PC worked. I next loaded/installed Linux.

Linux also has the unique ability to keep you from having to upgrade your hardware constantly to keep up with the OS.

I just celebrated my one year anniversary with Ubuntu Linux a few days ago. Have been really happy the entire time. I have used other distributions as well, but Ubuntu has certainly stuck on me. Others were a little more complicated to jump right into. This is given me the ability to now try a few others soon.

I still have XP installed on my main desktop, however haven't booted into it in months. I had to for my last Accounting class I was taking as the website they used was Winders only. I am receiving my new Eee1000 netbook tomorrow which comes with XP on it. I will gladly leave it on there, but will certainly be installing a distribution or two of Linux as well.

I bought a Japanese computer and had my OS in Japanese for the last year, then finally got the Vista Ultimate upgrade which allows you to choose any major language on earth and had to do a bunch of updates before finally getting all the menus to come up in English, but for the most part I'm happy with it. Just wish I could get it to save my preferences!

meuge said:

After much research I realized that:
1. Microsoft is aware of the issue (hundreds of complaints)
2. They have absolutely no interest in resolving it.

Click to expand...

If you care to share some of your research to support those statements, including the error message you got, I'll do what I can to get it resolved. I moderate one of the world's largest computer forums, and your experience is not typical, so try to keep it in perspective.

Also note that you can do a fresh install of Vista from the Upgrade disc. If you have a legit WinXP license to form the basis for the Vista Ultimate upgrade, it's not necessary to actually install WinXP first. For the how-to, see this page at Microsoft (scroll down to Clean Install).

MechBgon,
My computer keeps coming on full brightness regardless of the setting I turned it off at. With XP it always remembered the setting and I wish I could get Vista to do so as well. Also, is there a way to turn off the underlines until I point the mouse at them; I remember being able to do that with XP Professional but can't find it in Vista yet.

One last question about using a wireless mouse with my Bluetooth notebook. I can't get the computer to find the mouse and was wondering how to do that without having to use the redundant receiver in a USB port.

Thanks for any help you can give!

mechBgon said:

If you care to share some of your research to support those statements, including the error message you got, I'll do what I can to get it resolved. I moderate one of the world's largest computer forums, and your experience is not typical, so try to keep it in perspective.

Also note that you can do a fresh install of Vista from the Upgrade disc.

Click to expand...

I've already resolved it, having made a bootable DVD from the files that I downloaded.

The actual DVD I bought hasn't shipped yet (been about a week now), but what I was given were the .wim install files and my activation key.

I'm not really biased against Microsoft per se, which is what I tried to make clear in the beginning, because ultimately competition is good for the market. I am just really frustrated over the fact that the upgrade paths were not made clear at all, when I was purchasing this software, leaving me with this dilemma... and based on my research I am far from being the only one. We'll see if I can get the fresh install to work once my replacement motherboard arrives. If everything installs fine, I may chalk this up to rushing the purchase.

meuge said:

I've already resolved it, having made a bootable DVD from the files that I downloaded.

The actual DVD I bought hasn't shipped yet (been about a week now), but what I was given were the .wim install files and my activation key.

I'm not really biased against Microsoft per se, which is what I tried to make clear in the beginning, because ultimately competition is good for the market. I am just really frustrated over the fact that the upgrade paths were not made clear at all, when I was purchasing this software, leaving me with this dilemma... and based on my research I am far from being the only one. We'll see if I can get the fresh install to work once my replacement motherboard arrives. If everything installs fine, I may chalk this up to rushing the purchase.

Click to expand...

Oh, ok. I thought you had the DVD already. Hope it goes smoothly for you :tinfoil:

kaichu dento said:

MechBgon,
My computer keeps coming on full brightness regardless of the setting I turned it off at. With XP it always remembered the setting and I wish I could get Vista to do so as well. Also, is there a way to turn off the underlines until I point the mouse at them; I remember being able to do that with XP Professional but can't find it in Vista yet.

Click to expand...

If I understand correctly, Windows is highlighting anything you rest the mouse on, so that one click will launch them, instead of a double-click? I hate that! To change that setting on WinXP or Vista, you want to visit Folder Options. On Vista, just type folder options in the search box on the Start menu. On WinXP, open up any Explorer window (like, you're browsing the My Documents folder or whatever), and click Tools > Folder Options. Then you can toggle the behavior using this setting:


did I mention I love Vista's Snipping Tool?

One last question about using a wireless mouse with my Bluetooth notebook. I can't get the computer to find the mouse and was wondering how to do that without having to use the redundant receiver in a USB port.

Click to expand...

Oooo, I'm awful at Bluetooth :thinking: What brand/model of mouse and laptop are they? I'll see if I can find out.

I have not met one serious computer user truly happy with their vista experience. My old system still runs XP even though it could be upgraded to vista at anytime. But we have several new computers at work and they all run vista cause that's what it came with. But suffice to say it's a nightmare to get them to network properly, you get way too many security warnings even though it's all on an intranet and it forgets printers on an almost daily basis. Personally I don't see where windows found all the happy people for the mojave experiment. Maybe took them off the streets and said how do you like how pretty this new OS is? Isn't it great? Hurrah it's Vista! Just don't work with it on a daily basis and you'll be impressed.

qwertyydude said:

I have not met one serious computer user truly happy with their vista experience. My old system still runs XP even though it could be upgraded to vista at anytime. But we have several new computers at work and they all run vista cause that's what it came with. But suffice to say it's a nightmare to get them to network properly, you get way too many security warnings even though it's all on an intranet and it forgets printers on an almost daily basis. Personally I don't see where windows found all the happy people for the mojave experiment. Maybe took them off the streets and said how do you like how pretty this new OS is? Isn't it great? Hurrah it's Vista! Just don't work with it on a daily basis and you'll be impressed.

Click to expand...

Hmm. I'm quite happy with Vista x64 myself. Coming from a security-focused background, I really like what they did with Vista versus WinXP or Win2000.

What security warnings are you getting regarding your network connections? What's your Network & Sharing setup like? What are you trying to share among the computers?


my standalone system's config, not what you'd want for intranet work

I take it your PC supports x64?

Either way...it's an upgrade.

Download a trial of Vista and then use the upgrade.

"you get way too many security warnings even though it's all on an intranet "

This probably refers to the Vista 'User Account Control'.

Turn it off and there are less pop-ups.

grateful1 said:

"you get way too many security warnings even though it's all on an intranet "

This probably refers to the Vista 'User Account Control'.

Turn it off and there are less pop-ups.

Click to expand...

Turn it off and you lose more than just the UAC prompts, unfortunately. Say goodbye to file-system and Registry virtualization goodies (that help old software be Vista-compatible), say goodbye to Protected Mode on IE7, and say goodbye to a major safeguard against exploits. I see very few people who understand the full ramifications of disabling UAC... they just think they're getting rid of the Continue / Cancel prompts, which they generally resent as some kind of nanny feature aimed at noObs

At my other hangout, every serious computer-security guy I've seen, including a chief software architect at Symantec, views UAC as beneficial and useful. People who've never run any version of Windows in a secure fashion (low-rights account, elevating as needed) don't get it. But I think it was a necessary move to shed the "Administrator-by-default" mode of operation, in light of the dangers in today's world. And it is working, even if it seems a bit ruthless... software makers are letting go of their "my program MUST be run on an Administrator account OR ELSE" attitude. Interesting blog entry

I have read articles stating the introduction of Vista was similar to the introduction of Windows XP. People (home users) were comfortable with Win98 despite it's problems and were reluctant to change. Then as the XP hardware compatibility grew and new systems were packaged with XP, it became more ingrained on the computer world and people started to first accept it and then prefer it over Win98. These articles predicted that the same would happen with Vista and it was just a matter of time. Let's see Vista has been out for close to two years now and I have yet to see the embracement begin. I see companies like Dell go out of there way to advertise that they still sell systems "downgraded" with XP. I don't ever recall seeing systems advertised as being "downgraded" to win98 I know of very few buddies in my computer circle that put Vista on their systems. Most of the home users I know of that use Vista do so because they have bought new systems that came packaged with it. I don't read about businesses which switched from either Windows NT or 2000 to XP doing the same with Vista. I work in a medium sized company of about 1200 employees and our IT department says they have no plans at all to switch from XP to Vista. I read about the increased security of Vista but I follow safe habits and have a good security setup on my XP system and I feel pretty safe. Other then adware cookies, I haven't at least knowingly had a virus on my system or even an attempt to install malware that got caught by the security system in a few years now.

I like the compatibility of a MS Windows OS and the fact all my favorite software and games will run on it along with all my work programs but I sure hope Windows 7 will be a different story.

I have to agree with the UAC, the programmers we talk to say to never mess with it since it's been set by him to begin with. But I didn't realize the ramifications were as bad if UAC was disabled. And I have to agree I don't remember people downgrading from XP back to NT. Plus going from XP to vista, there's hardly any familiarity. It took me forever to find out how to use the new office, unlike from NT to XP where it was a natural transition. The new mac like interface is just dumb, pretty soon they'll be doing stuff like putting the minimize close and maximize button on the right side just to be cool like mac. But then just to make windows mad apple will release their new OS functions on the right. If I recall the old mac OS used to have those functions on the right side but switched just to differentiate themselves from windows. Windows should be windows, and should evolve and make a natural UI transition, not as radical an overhaul like this one.

you "upgraded" vista?
:shrug:

Crenshaw

Crenshaw said:

you "upgraded" vista?
:shrug:

Crenshaw

Click to expand...

I upgraded so that I could change my computer from Japanese to English, while retaining the Japanese keyboard with dedicated keys for switching languages and changing kanji display modes. :twothumbs

mechBgon said:

If I understand correctly, Windows is highlighting anything you rest the mouse on, so that one click will launch them, instead of a double-click? I hate that! To change that setting on WinXP or Vista, you want to visit Folder Options. On Vista, just type folder options in the search box on the Start menu. On WinXP, open up any Explorer window (like, you're browsing the My Documents folder or whatever), and click Tools > Folder Options. Then you can toggle the behavior using this setting:

did I mention I love Vista's Snipping Tool?



Oooo, I'm awful at Bluetooth :thinking: What brand/model of mouse and laptop are they? I'll see if I can find out.

Click to expand...

Wow, I feel dumb! I was at that window several times and just didn't read that particular option. Now the lines are gone!

The mouse I have is a Logitech VX Nano and I'm using it with a Fujitsu Loox R/A70 which has built-in Bluetooth and is now upgraded to Vista Ultimate.

Thanks for that great explanation of the reasons to keep the user interface intact.

kaichu dento said:

The mouse I have is a Logitech VX Nano and I'm using it with a Fujitsu Loox R/A70 which has built-in Bluetooth and is now upgraded to Vista Ultimate.

Click to expand...

According to Logitech's info, the only Bluetooth mouse they make is the V470. The VX Nano is garden-variety 2.4GHz wireless, so I think it's going to need its specific USB nano-reciever, unless I'm totally missing something.