Can You Upgrade to Windows Vista?

So you want to upgrade to Windows Vista, eh? I have some advice for you: Don't. Even though Microsoft does support various upgrade paths to Windows Vista, you're going to get the absolute best experience acquiring Windows Vista with a new PC. If you can't stomach that, then install Windows Vista in a clean install scenario on your existing PC, after being sure to completely back up all of your existing data first. (Or, you could dual boot between Windows XP and Windows Vista on the same hardware.)

I'll be writing a lot about the various ways you can install Windows Vista in the months ahead. Today, we're focusing on the licensing end of upgrading. That is, we're going to take a look at the operating systems which are eligible for obtaining an Upgrade version (as opposed to a Full version) of Windows Vista. Upgrade versions are less expensive, and should be purchased by those who qualify.

There's a second issue. Even if you do qualify for an Upgrade version of Windows Vista, only certain Windows versions can be upgraded in-place to Windows Vista (which, again, I don't recommend at all). If you qualify for an Upgrade version of Windows Vista, but cannot upgrade in-place to the Windows Vista version you purchased, you will still need to do a clean install of Windows Vista, using that Upgrade media.

Confused? Let's clear it all up.

Who doesn't qualify at all

If you are running any DOS-based version of Windows--including Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, or Windows Millennium Edition--or Windows NT (any version), you don't qualify. That means you cannot purchase an Upgrade version of Windows Vista at all, and you will need to grab a more expensive Full version instead. The Full versions of Windows Vista cannot be used to perform an in-place upgrade to Windows Vista, so you'll need to back up all your documents and other data, and your application settings, and find all your application install disks or executables so you can reinstall them after Vista is up and running.

Who qualifies for an Upgrade version of Windows Vista

If you are running Windows 2000 or any mainstream desktop version of Windows XP --including Windows XP Home Edition, Professional Edition, Media Center Edition (any version), Tablet PC Edition (any version), or XP Professional x64 Edition--you qualify for an Upgrade version of Windows Vista.

That said, there are some limitations, depending on which Windows version you might be running. Windows 2000 and XP x64 users cannot upgrade to any Windows Vista version in-place. These users will instead need perform a clean install instead.

Who qualifies for an Upgrade version of Windows Vista and an in-place upgrade (sometimes)

OK, so let's say you're running Windows XP (any version except for x64) and you want to upgrade in-place to Windows Vista, despite my repeated warnings. Depending on which version of XP you currently use, and which product version of Windows Vista you'd like to upgrade to, such a thing is quite possible. However, some upgrade scenarios are still unsupported. For example, you cannot upgrade from Windows XP Professional Edition to Windows Vista Home Basic or Home Premium. And you can't upgrade from Windows XP Media Center Edition (any version) to Windows Vista Business. The following table clarifies the in-place upgrade story.

What about Windows Vista Enterprise and Starter?

Windows Vista Enterprise Edition is available only through the Software Assurance (SA) volume licensing program and can only be clean installed on new hardware. Windows Vista Starter is only available prebundled on new PCs sold in emerging markets and does not support upgrades.

Final thoughts

In the odd event that I haven't mentioned this yet, I don't recommend in-place Windows upgrades at all. That said, many users prefer them because it's all too easy to forget to back up some crucial bit of data (like email) when doing a clean install on an existing PC. One might make arguments about installing a new system like Vista on dated PC hardware, but whatever: I know you're going to want to do it. Hopefully, this article will help clear up what's possible.

--Paul Thurrott
July 28, 2006