Windows Vista Upgrade Editions - The Full Story


Recommended Posts

I wish I had an upgrade key!!

An upgrade is not always recommended... because some of your apps might not work after upgrading, and the users folders are differente in windows vista, and that would mean migrating from the old structure to the new one (although I think Vista has symbolic links from the old documents and settings to the new Users, for "legacy support"). There's always a chance you screw things up.

Antivirus in XP have different kernel privileges than in vista , right? Which would mean you can screw the antivirus up easily too!

And overall, a lot of useless files are kept when upgrading.

That's the main reason most of us don't like an upgrade.

Then, what happens when you format your computer for whatever reason? There HAS to be a clean install option (what happens when you run the installer from within VISTA?).

And lastly, Upgrade versions have always been the same as the retail ones, with a reduced price. You could only use an upgrade version if you could prove that you had purchased a previous version of windows before. This is, upgrade versions have THE SAME features, but you can only use that license if you meet that requirement.

A clean install is a feature to me, I don't think that has to change now in upgrade versions. If there's no way you can perform a clean install from an upgrade disc, it has to be written somewhere in the box, or the EULA, or whatever: "This upgrade version IS the same as the retail one, BUT you can not perform a clean install". I wouldn't buy it if I knew that beforehand.

I think that if everyone looks around on these forums they will find that this thread isn't really "news"

I announced how the upgrade discs would work months ago and everyone jumped on my ass saying I was wrong.

Now it looks like I was 100% exactly, dead on as for how it would work.

I agree 100% Morpheus Phreak - I read several weeks ago the entire thread where you explained how Vista would work and it's the best I've read anywhere as to how Vista will work on Full/Upgrades, etc. . I made a file from your posts, editing to just the questions and your answers.

I think it would be a great benefit to put a sticky on this site that can be referenced by all. The questions answered by you have been asked a billion time already and people are still give incorrect answers.

Great job Morpheus Phreak :yes: :yes:

I don't think that is the issue, perhaps I'm wrong but here is my take on it: the upgrade editions of Vista required a previous Windows OS installed and activated and while right now there is no real issue. But there will come a time when you will not be able to activate your copy of Windows XP, as it will no longer be supported, what happens then?

Create an image of an activated XP installation and you won't have that problem should it ever arise.

Hmmm, wonder what happens if I do a clean install of Vista Ultimate without providing a key and then later go in and give it a upgrade key...
Don't bother trying to install without a key and then entering the upgrade key when you have vista up and running either, the Licensing service gives an error which informs you that the key cannot be used for clean installs.

Damn

... which sucks. They could've at least allowed the licensing service to scan an older Windows XP license for upgrade eligibility.

I did preorder the Vista ultimate upgrade about a week ago. While I don't mind installing from XP (I'll just keep an image as others have suggested), I'm wondering if since that computer is not running vista, could I install the XP on another computer?? Or is that computer basically hogging a license for both XP and Vista at the same time??

Is there anywhere a person can find the EULA for OEM, upgrade, and retail?? I'm sorta curious to the wording MS uses for each of these.

I'm wondering if since that computer is not running vista, could I install the XP on another computer?? Or is that computer basically hogging a license for both XP and Vista at the same time??

An upgrade is exactly that... an addition to the original product. If you could use any old version of XP to install Vista and keep on using XP there wouldn't be any point in the upgrade edition being sold.

What I want to know is: say you have XP Pro. Can you buy the upgrade edition of Vista Home Premium and be eligible to use it? I mean, I don't think it would let you do an in-place upgrade over your current install judging by the upgrade matrix that I saw, but would it give you the option of a clean install if you start it from inside XP?

Or would you be required to by Vista Business or Ultimate if you wanted to use an Upgrade edition?

yes but you would have to do a clean install AKA windows.old. Anyone know what will happen to the program files directory? I was planning on getting windows vista ultimate upgrade but now i'm thinking of getting home premium full just to be able to do a clean install.

Question: If I did buy the home premium FULL and use the anytime upgrade to ultimate and I have to reinstall windows, would I be able to choose ultimate instead of home premium for the upgrade

This may have been mentioned, but there are so many threads concerning this that it is hard to keep up with what's already been stated. If you do purchase an upgrade edition, and you start the upgrade from within Windows as required, do you have the option to format the hard drive during setup so you can have a really clean install?

um has anyone noticed this:

APPLIES TO

? Windows Vista Home Premium

? Windows Vista Home Basic

? Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition

? Windows Vista Home Basic 64-bit edition

? Windows Vista Starter

Windows Vista Ultimate and Business don't appear any word if those versions can do a clean install/upgrade?

I agree 100% Morpheus Phreak - I read several weeks ago the entire thread where you explained how Vista would work and it's the best I've read anywhere as to how Vista will work on Full/Upgrades, etc. . I made a file from your posts, editing to just the questions and your answers.

I think it would be a great benefit to put a sticky on this site that can be referenced by all. The questions answered by you have been asked a billion time already and people are still give incorrect answers.

Great job Morpheus Phreak :yes: :yes:

Thanks peach :)

I'm always glad to be of use somewhere :)

Also for Xerxes, XP will be supported for quite a few years to come. By that time the next version of Windows will already be out so people won't really have to worry about it being supported for reinstalls.

yes but you would have to do a clean install AKA windows.old. Anyone know what will happen to the program files directory? I was planning on getting windows vista ultimate upgrade but now i'm thinking of getting home premium full just to be able to do a clean install.

Question: If I did buy the home premium FULL and use the anytime upgrade to ultimate and I have to reinstall windows, would I be able to choose ultimate instead of home premium for the upgrade

Yes, you are issues a new key when you do the AU and your old license is invalidated.

So that means from there on out when you reinstall you use the new key and choose Ultimate.

Neojoker check for my posts on this subject. I've outlined it exactly as to how it works quite some time ago.

Basically you can perform a clean install but it can be a pain.

1 method involves just doing an in place clean install and it renames all of the old windows files so you have to delete them afterwards.

The other method is installing XP on a 2nd partition/drive and then telling Vista to install to the first partition and then just formatting the 2nd partition/drive

1 method involves just doing an in place clean install and it renames all of the old windows files so you have to delete them afterwards.

The other method is installing XP on a 2nd partition/drive and then telling Vista to install to the first partition and then just formatting the 2nd partition/drive

I can't remember what I did now... I think I formatted everything and installed XP (with nothing else) and then ran the Vista Upgrade.

Turns out the problems we discussed here are more widespread than just the edition I have. And now it's confirmed;

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070128-8717.html

This well and truly sucks.

I have a new Mobo and gfx card here, and tomorrow morning I was gonna do a clean install of Vista Ultimate after I'd put my new PC together.

Now I have to reinstall and reactivate XP on my new hardware, then install Vista? I know this will give me a clean system, but still it's just an extra step I shouldn't have to take. Whats more I'll probably have to ring MS up to reactivate XP as all my hardware has completely changed.

Not sure if I should even bother now.

ffs.

q

I have no idea I sent an email to microsoft through that website and they will get back to me. But if you read closely it s tates: buy a licence that has this feature and neither ultimate nor business appear in this section. I'm still confused over these changes but I want X64 and ultimate is the only ed that includes this in the package.

IMHO this is unacceptable. There is no reason the installer couldn't just ask for your XP CD and/or product key, then even go online and verify it if they want. It works fine for now until you want to format. Then what? Sure you could backup your drive after you install it but then when you restore it a year later you will have to do a years worth of updates. You could slipstream the updates to the upgrade disc but then if you do that you still have to install XP or something first. Users are better off pirating. Nice job Microsoft! :rolleyes:

um has anyone noticed this:

APPLIES TO

? Windows Vista Home Premium

? Windows Vista Home Basic

? Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition

? Windows Vista Home Basic 64-bit edition

? Windows Vista Starter

Windows Vista Ultimate and Business don't appear any word if those versions can do a clean install/upgrade?

I have been trying to figure this out all day since I plan on buying the Ultimate Upgrade tonight. Can anyone confirm this?

I'm not sure that article is right, if you read the first post in this thread, the guy is saying he can't do a clean upgrade boot from a Business Upgrade disc.

So who's right?

q

The disks are the same, its the key! you cannot do a format, clean dvd boot install from a business upgrade key. Trust me i've tried all the possible ways

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • OpenClaw now has native mobile apps on iOS and Android by Karthik Mudaliar OpenClaw, the viral open-source personal AI agent, now has its own mobile app, available on both Android and iOS. Users can pair the app with an existing OpenClaw gateway and can start using new mobile-native features that are now available on the app. The app supports all the existing features you'd already have seen on OpenClaw's TUI, as well as some more, such as real-time and background Talk mode, action approvals, sharing from iOS, and optional access to device capabilities such as camera, screen, location, photos, contacts, calendar, and reminders. These features are available on both the Android and iOS versions of the app. What's important with these apps is that they don't run OpenClaw on your phone, but are actually just companion apps that require a running OpenClaw Gateway on an existing device, on macOS, Linux, or Windows via WSL2. To pair the app with your existing OpenClaw gateway, users need to run the command "/pair qr" on the TUI or existing chat interface, which brings up a QR code. Users can then scan this QR code to pair it up with the mobile app. There's also an option to manually pair the app by entering the host and a port. Previously, OpenClaw had been available on phones via WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams, Matrix, and others. Now, with a native mobile app, the interface is much cleaner and more focused on just the OpenClaw, of course, with the added support for camera, screen, location, and more. It's important to note that OpenClaw comes with its own security warnings. There's always a chance of prompt injection with these tools, so users are recommended to double-check authentication, tool policy, sandboxing, and execution approvals rather than prompts alone. For users well-versed with the AI harness, a native mobile app makes it easier to approve an automation, share a link, use voice, or let an agent react to phone-side context.
    • Google pitches Spanner as one database for all AI agents with these new featues by Karthik Mudaliar Google Cloud is introducing new features within Spanner, its distributed database, as a place where enterprises should keep their data, using which AI agents could make smarter and better decisions. In a detailed blog post, Google highlighted quite a few features coming to Spanner, including relational data, graph relationships, vector search, key-value access, full-text search, and operational analytics together in one database architecture. Google says that today's systems aren't well-made for AI agents. There could be data that is present in one system, search indexes in another, embeddings in a vector database, and relationship data in a graph database. This fragmentation isn't great for AI agents to do their jobs because they don't have access to all of this data in one place. This is where Google is positioning Spanner as a solution. Spanner is already a globally distributed relational database with strong consistency, and Google wants its customers to see it as a broader data layer for AI applications. The company introduced something called Spanner Graph, along with integrated vector search, full-text search, a Cassandra-compatible key-value endpoint, and a columnar engine for analytical queries on operational data. Google also added that its ScaNN-powered vector search can support indexes with more than 10 billion vectors, while the columnar engine can make some analytical scans up to 200 times faster. All of this isn't just exclusive to the Google Cloud Platform, and there's support for multi-cloud as well. This comes via Spanner Omni, which Google says is a downloadable, containerized version of Spanner that can run on Kubernetes and in environments outside Google Cloud, including Microsoft Azure and AWS, and even on-premises infrastructure as well as edge deployments. Google says that customers who are interested in the full-featured edition should contact the company, and there's no word on commercial availability or separate pricing. Those interested can read the full blog by Google Cloud, which details these features individually.
    • Kalmuri 4.2.5 by Razvan Serea Kalmuri is your all-in-one, portable screen capture and recording solution designed for speed, simplicity, and flexibility. Whether you need a full-screen snapshot, a custom area, a scrolling webpage, or smooth video recording, Kalmuri delivers with ease. Capture text instantly from images with built-in OCR, keep floating images on top for quick reference, and use the precise color picker for perfect design matching. Customize hotkeys to work your way and share results instantly with built-in upload options. Kalmuri runs without installation, making it ideal for USB use, and offers an intuitive interface that’s easy to learn. Kalmuri key features: Video recording support (designation of whole screen and area) Whole screen, active program, window control, area application Extract text from images using optical character recognition (OCR). Support for PNG, JPG, WEBP, BMP, GIF file formats MP4 video recording powered by FFmpeg for high-quality results Full web page capture Share the captured image on the web Color extraction function Printer output Hotkey settings Adjustable via keyboard for area capture (Arrow key, Ctrl+Arrow key, Shift+Arrow key) File name format (sequential, datetime) Free to use it at work, at home, in government offices, at school, etc. Using Kalmuri portable for video recording Kalmuri’s portable version doesn’t include FFmpeg, which is required for video recording. Without it, you’ll get an “error FFmpeg.exe not found” message. To fix this, download FFmpeg from the provided link, extract it, and place FFmpeg.exe in Kalmuri’s folder. Kalmuri will then recognize it automatically, allowing you to start recording in high quality instantly. Kalmuri 4.2.5 changelog: Fixed an intermittent crash when using Area Capture Improved stability for Area Capture and screen recording Resolved a capture issue that could occur right after startup Download: Kalmuri 4.2.5 | 24.2 MB (Freeware) Download: Kalmuri Portable 4.2.5 | 2.1 MB View: Kalmuri Website | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • They have lots of info on me, I have a facebook account and have done so for years, it was the thing to have then. My phone number is not on it. I don't have the Facebook app on my phone these days, just the messenger part, and only for a couple of people to contact me, most will text me via SMS or phone. I agree, Meta, like others, even without an account will know something about me. Just have to try and keep some things private Also, never saw the need for Whatsapp, people used to ask for me to join it, but as I said to them, I have SMS and a phone, use that, or email
  • Recent Achievements

    • First Post
      rosiecharles earned a badge
      First Post
    • Reacting Well
      Juan Dela earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Week One Done
      Collagen Project earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Reacting Well
      Wakeen1966 earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Rookie
      Almohandis went up a rank
      Rookie
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      516
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      273
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      143
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      98
    5. 5
      macoman
      54
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!