Before you start
Objectives: learn which Windows versions can be upgraded to Vista
Prerequisites: you should know about different ways to install Windows.
Key terms: upgrade, in-place, vista, windows editions, version
In-place Upgrade
An in-place upgrade keeps all user applications, settings, files and other user settings. To do in-place upgrade we can use a Vista DVD or do an install across the network. It is important to know which previous versions of Windows can upgrade to Vista. Any version prior to Windows 2000 cannot be upgraded to Vista. Windows 2000 can only be migrated to Vista and cannot be upgraded. That means that we can only upgrade Windows XP which has to be Service Pack 2 at minimum.
Different XP Editions
Different editions of XP can only upgrade to certain Vista editions. XP Home can upgrade to all Vista editions. XP Professional only upgrades to Vista Business, Enterprise or Ultimate edition. XP Media Center only upgrades to Vista Home Premium or Vista Ultimate because only those two editions of Vista contain Windows Media Center. XP Tablet PC only upgrades to Business, Enterprise or Ultimate. Any 64-bit edition of Windows XP can not be upgraded at all.
Upgrade from Vista to Vista
There are two ways to upgrade from one edition of Vista to another. One is to simply insert the Vista DVD of the higher edition and upgrade. The second is to go the Control Panel where we can find Windows Anytime Upgrade applet trough which we can do an upgrade. When doing an upgrade for one edition of Vista to another, we also have to be careful about which editions can upgrade to which other edition . First of all we can not downgrade editions . For example, if we have the Windows Vista Ultimate we can not downgrade to Vista Enterprise without doing a clean installation. All editions can upgrade to higher versions in the hierarchy, and the hierarchy being Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate. The one exception to that is that Vista Home Premium can only be upgraded to Vista Ultimate. The reason for that is that it contains Windows Media Center and DVD authoring and burning capabilities.
Remember
Windows 2000 can only be migrated to Vista and cannot be upgraded. We can only upgrade Windows XP which has to be Service Pack 2 at minimum. XP Home can upgrade to all Vista editions. XP Professional only upgrades to Vista Business, Enterprise or Ultimate. XP Media Center only upgrades to Vista Home Premium or Vista Ultimate. Any 64-bit edition of Windows XP can not be upgraded at all. We can not downgrade versions. When talking about Vista to Vista upgrade, all editions can upgrade to higher edition in the hierarchy. The hierarchy is Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate. The one exception to that is that Vista Home Premium can only be upgraded to Vista Ultimate.