Design Sojourn | Strategic Industrial Design Blog

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We take a short break from design blogging today to dive into some extreme geek blogging. Apparently you can buy a Windows Vista upgrade for your Windows XP, COOL! But in typical Microsoft manner they actually literally put the upgrade OVER your existing install, BOO!

If any of you have tinkered around with your OS, you would know how Windows suddenly behaves like a mutated beast under radiation when that happens, big, green, heavy, and moves damn slow. Somehow Microsoft’s customer service people don’t seem to talk to R&D, and we have this issue all over again.

Salvation is here though, the UNEASYsilence blog shows us how to install your Vista upgrade and remove your old Windows XP at the same time, legally of cause. Why would it not be as we all bought the original Windows XP in the first place?

Just follow these steps:

* Boot from the Windows Vista Upgrade DVD and start the setup program.
* When prompted to enter your product key, DO NOT enter it. Click “Next” and proceed with setup. This will install Windows Vista as a 30-day trial.
* When prompted, select the edition of Vista which you have purchased and continue with setup.
* Once setup has been completed and you have been brought to the desktop for the first time, run the install program from within Windows Vista.
* This time, type in your product key when prompted.
* When asked whether to perform an Upgrade or Custom (advanced) install, choose Custom (advanced) to perform a clean install of Vista. Yes, this means that you will have to install Vista for a second time.

Annoying that you have to install Vista twice, but it’s not fair that Microsoft restricts the ability to do a clean install.

I don’t mind if I can avoid taming the beast! But note there is some argument on whether you lose your Windows XP activation key as this is an upgrade purchase, so regardless I would wait for 6 months for Microsoft to iron out all the bugs that they usually forget to take out.