Installation choices for consumer versions of Windows Vista (32-bit only)

General information about how to install Windows Vista

Definitions

• Upgrade to Windows VistaAn upgrade to Windows Vista preserves the currently installed personal files, settings, and programs. You can upgrade only certain versions of Windows to certain versions of Windows Vista.
• Custom installation (clean installation) of Windows Vista A custom installation or clean installation of Windows Vista does not preserve the currently installed personal files, settings, and programs. Windows Vista is installed without third-party programs. You can perform a custom installation of Windows Vista by using either an upgrade license or a full product license. However, if you own an upgrade license, you must start the installation in the current version of Windows. At the installation choice menu, select Custom to perform this action.
  
  
• The upgrade version of Windows Vista An upgrade version of Windows Vista is a license that lets you install Windows Vista if you already own a compliant, licensed version of Windows. You can perform either an upgrade installation or a custom installation of Windows Vista by using an upgrade license. However, you must start the Windows Vista installation in the compliant version of Windows.
• 32-bit operating systemsWindows comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. This article discusses upgrade options when you are running a 32-bit operating system and you are trying to install a 32-bit version of Windows Vista.
• N versions of Windows Vista N versions of Windows XP and of Windows Vista do not include Windows Media Player. N versions are designed for customers in Europe. You cannot upgrade an N version of Windows. Instead, you must perform a custom installation.

Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2)

You must have Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 installed before you can upgrade a Windows XP-based computer to Windows Vista. To verify that you have Windows XP SP2 installed, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
   
2. On the General tab, verify that Service Pack 2 appears in the System area.

If Windows XP SP2 is not installed, install it before you start an upgrade to Windows Vista. To obtain Windows XP SP2, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

How to determine whether your computer is running a 32-bit version or a 64-bit version of Windows XP

For more information about how to determine whether you computer is running a 32-bit version or a 64-bit version of Windows XP, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

827218 How to determine whether your computer is running a 32-bit version or a 64-bit version of the Windows operating system

Installation choices

Your installation choices depend on the version of Windows that you have installed. This section describes the choices that are available for each version of Windows.

Upgrading is not supported for some language versions of Windows XP

Upgrading from the following language versions of Windows XP to the matching language of Windows Vista is not supported.

• Windows XP with the following Language Interface Packs installed:
  • Bulgarian
  • Croatian
  • Estonian
  • Latvian
  • Lithuanian
  • Romanian
  • Serbian-Latin
  • Slovak
  • Slovenian
  • Thai
  • Ukrainian
• Windows XP Media Center Edition with the following Language Interface Packs installed:
  • Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
  • Traditional Chinese (Taiwan)
  • Czech
  • Danish
  • Finnish
  • Norwegian (Bokmål)
  • Polish
  • Portuguese (Portugal)
  • Russian
  • Spanish
  • Swedish
  • Turkish
• Windows XP Tablet PC Edition with the following Language Interface Packs installed:
  • Czech
  • Danish
  • Finnish
  • Hungarian
  • Italian
  • Norwegian
  • Polish
  • Portuguese (Brazil)
  • Portuguese (Portugal)
  • Russian
  • Spanish
  • Swedish
  • Turkish

Installation choices for Windows XP Home and Windows XP Home N Edition

Upgrade

If you have Windows XP Home or Windows XP Home N Edition installed, you can upgrade to the following versions of Windows Vista:

• Windows Vista Home Basic
• Windows Vista Home Basic N
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Windows Vista Business
• Windows Vista Business N
• Windows Vista Ultimate

Note Make sure that you have Windows XP Service Pack 2 installed before you upgrade to Windows Vista.

After you purchase the retail store package or download Windows Vista from the Windows Marketplace Web site, follow these steps:

1. Insert the Windows Vista DVD.
2. Select Upgrade during the Setup process.

Custom installation

You can perform a custom installation of the following versions of Windows Vista in Windows XP Home or in Windows XP Home N Edition:

• Windows Vista Home Basic
• Windows Vista Home Basic N
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Windows Vista Business
• Windows Vista Business N
• Windows Vista Ultimate

The custom installation option is offered at the price of the upgrade DVD package.

After you purchase the retail store package or download Windows Vista from the Windows Marketplace Web site, follow these steps:

1. Back up all the data and settings by using Windows Easy Transfer or Windows XP Backup. Windows Easy Transfer is available on the Windows Vista DVD.
2. In Windows XP Home or Windows XP Home N, insert the Windows Vista DVD.
3. Select Custom during the Setup process.
4. After the installation is complete, you can restore the data that you backed up in step 1 from the backup media.

Installation choices for Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Professional N Editions

Upgrade

If you have Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Professional N Edition installed, you can upgrade to the following versions of Windows Vista:

• Windows Vista Business
• Windows Vista Ultimate

Note Make sure that you have Windows XP Service Pack 2 installed before you upgrade to Windows Vista.

After you purchase the retail store package or download Windows Vista from the Windows Marketplace Web site, follow these steps:

1. Insert the Windows Vista DVD.
2. Select Upgrade during the Setup process.

Custom installation

You can perform a custom installation of the following versions of Windows Vista in Windows XP Professional or in Windows XP Professional N Edition:

• Windows Vista Home Basic
• Windows Vista Home Basic N
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Windows Vista Business
• Windows Vista Business N
• Windows Vista Ultimate

After you purchase the retail store package or download Windows Vista from the Windows Marketplace Web site, follow these steps:

1. Back up all the data and settings by using Windows Easy Transfer or Windows XP Backup. Windows Easy Transfer is available on the Windows Vista DVD.
2. In Windows XP Professional or in Windows XP Professional N, insert the Windows Vista DVD.
3. Select Custom during the Setup process.
4. After the installation is complete, you can restore the data that you backed up in step 1 from the backup media.

Installation choices for Windows XP Tablet Edition

Upgrade

If you have Windows XP Tablet Edition installed, you can upgrade to the following versions of Windows Vista:

• Windows Vista Business
• Windows Vista Ultimate

Note Make sure that you have Windows XP Service Pack 2 installed before you upgrade to Windows Vista.

After you purchase the retail store package or download Windows Vista from the Windows Marketplace Web site, follow these steps:

• Insert the Windows Vista DVD.
• Select Upgrade during the Setup process.

Custom installation

You can perform a custom installation of the following versions of Windows Vista in Windows XP Tablet Edition:

• Windows Vista Home Basic
• Windows Vista Home Basic N
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Windows Vista Business
• Windows Business N
• Windows Vista Ultimate

After you purchase the retail store package or download Windows Vista from the Windows Marketplace Web site, follow these steps:

1. Back up all the data and settings by using Windows Easy Transfer or Windows XP Backup. Windows Easy Transfer is available on the Windows Vista DVD.
2. In Windows XP Tablet Edition, insert the Windows Vista DVD.
3. Select Custom during the Setup process.
4. After the installation is complete, you can restore the data that you backed up in step 1 from the backup media.
   

Installation choices for Windows XP Media Center Edition

Upgrade

If you have Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 or Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 installed, you can upgrade to the following versions of Windows Vista:

• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Windows Vista Ultimate

After you purchase the retail store package or download Windows Vista from the Windows Marketplace Web site, follow these steps:

1. Insert the Windows Vista DVD.
2. Select Upgrade during the Setup process.

Custom installation

You can perform a custom installation of the following versions of Windows Vista in Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002, in Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004, or in Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005:

• Windows Vista Home Basic
• Windows Basic N
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Windows Vista Business
• Windows Business N
• Windows Vista Ultimate

After you purchase the retail store package or download Windows Vista from the Windows Marketplace Web site, follow these steps:

1. Back up all the data and settings by using Windows Easy Transfer or Windows XP Backup. Windows Easy Transfer is available on the Windows Vista DVD.
2. In Windows XP Tablet Edition, insert the Windows Vista DVD.
3. Select Custom during the Setup process.
4. After the installation is complete, you can restore the data that you backed up in step 1 from the backup media.

Installation choices for Windows 2000

Custom installation

If you own Microsoft Windows 2000, no upgrade installation path is available. However, you can perform a custom installation that uses an upgrade license by starting the installation in Windows 2000.

If you have Windows 2000 installed, you can install the following versions of Windows Vista by performing a custom installation:

• Windows Vista Home Basic
• Windows Vista Home Basic N
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Windows Vista Business
• Windows Vista Business N
• Windows Vista Ultimate

After you purchase the retail store package or download Windows Vista from the Windows Marketplace Web site, follow these steps:

1. Back up all the data and settings by using Windows Easy Transfer or Windows XP Backup. Windows Easy Transfer is available on the Windows Vista DVD.
2. In Windows 2000, insert the Windows Vista DVD.
3. As you complete the steps on the Setup wizard pages, remember to select Custom.
4. After the installation is complete, you can restore the data that you backed up in step 1 from the backup media.

Upgrade paths between versions of Windows Vista

The following table shows the upgrade paths that you can use to upgrade to another version of Windows Vista.