Windows Vista Upgrade and Migration

  • Article

Below are some key messages and positioning regarding Windows Vista upgrades and migration.

·         
Don't plan to offer in-place upgrades from Windows XP x64 or Windows 2000 to Windows Vista. That means that while customers with these versions of Windows will qualify for upgrade pricing, they will have to perform a clean install of Windows Vista after backing up their files and settings.

·         Upgrades from Windows XP x64 to Windows Vista x64 will not be supported. Kernel security enhancements in Windows Vista require that we put in place more stringent guidelines for 64-bit drivers than we required for Windows XP. This necessitates a clean install of Windows Vista. As a result Users will need to perform a clean install and transfer documents and settings from Windows XP x64 using Windows Easy Transfer.

·         Upgrades from Windows 2000 Professional to Windows Vista will not be available. On examining the current Windows 2000 installed base, Microsoft have determined that the machines running Windows 2000 do not have the appropriate hardware to run Windows Vista and/or belong to businesses that do not usually upgrade systems with retail boxed product