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    Upgrade options from XP to Vista

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by simonz, Aug 28, 2007.

  1. simonz

    simonz Notebook Enthusiast

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    I'm thinking ahead down the road when Vista bugs are all worked out and Vista has released Service Pack 2 or 3. I purchased my Vostro 1500 with XP Professional because of compatibility issues with Vista. But in a year or two I may want to upgrade to Vista Business (or whatever is similar to XP Professional). I thought that I would just go out and buy a Vista and install it. But then I read on here that Vista has a downgrade value to XP.

    Is there any upgrade value to XP Professional when upgrading to Vista?

    simonz
     
    simonz, Aug 28, 2007
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  2. frazell

    frazell Notebook Deity

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    Your upgrade value is to buy Windows Vista Pro Upgrage, but I wouldn't consider that a nice option. With Vista, unlike previous Windows releases, you have to upgrade from within Windows. That means no clean installs for Upgrade editions. Currently a working "hack" is to install Vista with no key then "upgrade" from Vista to Vista, but that is just nasty and time consuming (you need to install Vista twice).

    Shame you just didn't buy the machine with Vista pre-installed and purchased an OEM copy of XP online. Would have been your cheapest option and saved you all the headache down the road (as you'll end up shelling out the full retail cost of Vista Pro @ $399 unless you go through the mess I outlined earlier).

    People should mention this problem... As everyone is quick to say "don't go Vista; go XP!", but no one tells you the future implications of that decision on your TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).
     
    frazell, Aug 28, 2007
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