HOW TO UPGRADE A COMPUTER TO RUN MS WINDOWS VISTA HOME PREMIUM EDITION by J.

PART 1:  LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR THE AERO INTERFACE

Microsoft Windows Vista is the most eagerly anticipated operating system in history. Coming more than 10 years after Windows 95, it is the biggest revolution in home computing in many years. Most people will get Vista on new computers from Dell or HP, but a number of people will attempt to update their old systems to run the new operating system.

But there are many changes that people may not be aware of that may make that upgrade experience somewhat less than optimal. So, here is Part 1 in a series to show you how I (J.) upgraded my system, using Windows XP Home Service Pack 2, to run the new operating system, including new hardware.  This SnortyHow series will let you know all of the pitfalls and problems of being on the bleeding edge of technology.

What You Will Need:

• the Vista Upgrade Advisor tool, which you download from Microsoft (see below)
• an Athlon 64 Processor chip (see below)
• An ECS KN1 Extreme motherboard (see below)

Step 1: Download the Vista Upgrade Advisor tool. Windows Vista will require much more computing power than XP, especially for the desktop presentation. The new interface, called Aero, will only work on a system with a modern 3D graphics card and enough horsepower to push those pixels. Not only that, but only Vista Home Premium and above can run the Aero interface, Home Basic does not include it.

To assist would-be upgraders, Microsoft has provided the Vista Upgrade Advisor. Go to http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeadvisor/default.mspx to download the tool. I did that for the system I am going to upgrade, and this is the result:

Step 2:  Diagnose the situation. Unfortunately, it’s telling me I should run Vista Home Basic, which is not what I want. Clicking the button under the “Devices” icon lets me know something is wrong:

Step 3.  Decide what new hardware you need. What it’s telling me is that my video card, an All-In-Wonder Radeon 7500, will not work in Windows Vista, due to the fact it only supports DirectX 7 and above. So before I can even run the Home Basic version, I’d have to upgrade my video card. And what’s the use of running it if you’re not going to get the whole experience? So, it’s time for a major upgrade. The advisor said the chip I was running (an Athlon running at 1.3 GHz) was ok, as was my memory (640MB). But that’s not going to cut it if I want to do anything like video editing or gaming on the machine while running the new operating system. So here’s what I’m going to be putting in the system to start with:

In the next installment, I’ll talk about what memory and video card I’m going to use with the system, as well as getting the case ready for the new motherboard and chip.J.

See also
Part 2:  Selecting The Right Hardware
Part 3:  Installation And First Look
Part 4:  The Start Menu

Disclaimer:  SnortyHow is intended for entertainment purposes only and has NOT been reviewed by professionals for accuracy, reliability, legality, or safety. Whatever you read in SnortyHow, you must try at your own risk, preferably after seeking advice from licensed professionals.