Republished with permission of the Times of SWLA

This coming December, Microsoft is due to release the next version of Windows to the world, titled: "Windows Vista". This article covers different aspects of the upgrade process that a usual consumer might consider as an upgrade path for their existing system.

This upgrade is a long time in coming as Windows XP was released five years ago. This marks the longest period of time between full version upgrades. In previous releases of Microsoft's Windows, users have lined up, waiting overnight in front of stores to be the first ones to get the latest and greatest version.

Perhaps the most amusing occasion among previous releases was the fanfare introduction of Windows 98. The machine running the then new operating system booted up the now familiar Win 98 logo, loaded the GUI (graphic user interface, a.k.a. "Windows"), and then the system promptly collapsed to the now infamous "Blue Screen of Death" as one of Bill Gates assistants plugged in an external peripheral. The crowd went wild as Microsoft CEO, Bill Gates stood there at the podium smiling at his assistant who appeared to have the look in his eyes as if he'd just seen his life, his job, his reputation and his career just flash before them.

Don't count on such things to occur this time around. Windows Vista is built upon the long standing NT kernel that is approaching sixteen or so years in the development process and nothing at all to do with Windows 98. As many people may remember previous windows upgrades are often problematic at best and frustrating 99.9% of the time. I'll cite Windows Millennium edition as a prime example. Maybe the title of this article should have been "Are we sure we're ready for the next version of Windows? - What is so wrong with XP?"

All jokes aside, "Are you going to need to upgrade?" should be your first question. Answer: No not immediately. Not unless you just have to have the latest and greatest thing on the market to keep up with proverbial Jones family. There are still plenty of people around that still use Windows 98 as their everyday computer. The point is that you don't need to upgrade if what you currently have suits your needs.

That said, there are a few things you will need to consider before running out and buying a copy of the upgrade disk. There are currently five planned editions of Windows Vista for release in the US: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate. Each version will be available in 32 and 64 bit editions. More on that in a bit. If you plan to keep your existing hardware make sure that what you have will support running Vista. Windows XP Service Pack 2 is the heaviest version of Windows that Microsoft has ever released for the consumer. Vista will probably be twice as heavy. A "heavy" operating system provides for a sluggish response and a not-so very enjoyable user experience.

Microsoft's website states that there are two different classes of Vista capable computers.

"A Vista Capable or equivalent PC needs to have at least 800 MHz processor, 512 MB RAM and a DirectX 9 class graphics card, and will not be capable of supporting the high end Vista graphics, including the Aero user interface. A Vista Premium Ready PC will take advantage of Vista's "high-end" features but will need at least a 1 GHz processor, 1 GB main memory, and an Aero-compatible graphics card with at least 128 MB graphics memory and supporting the new Windows Display Driver Model."

Are you confused yet? Don't worry. Allow me to wade through all of it to say what needs to be said about the true minimum requirements for Vista. I say that because Microsoft's goal is to sell as many copies of Vista as possible, even if you've bought an upgrade for your computer, and install only to discover that your computer is now half the speed it used to be under Windows XP. Too late to go back! Go get a new computer, problem solved and your money wasted on an upgrade. Do it right the first time.

If your computer has the following components or better, then you will be able to enjoy Windows Vista with a lot less pain.

2 GHz or better processor
1 GB of System Memory
Direct X v9 compatible GPU with 512MB of graphics memory
120 GB hard drive

Since 2003, 64-bit processors have been available to custom system builders and are now reaching a fever pitch in sales on new brand-name computers. The catch for most people is that if you buy a computer that has a 64-bit CPU you usually only get a 32-bit version of Windows. This is done because all current software is designed to run on the 32-bit version. Not as many work on the 64-bit version. This will slowly change. If you decide to buy a full version of Vista for your 64-bit computer make sure you realize that there will be some 32-bit software that will not run on it. As time goes by, 32-bit software will fall to the wayside and newer versions will take advantage of the 64-bit platform. The 64-bit version of Windows actually is cleaner and, therefore, faster but for the time being has it's limitations because of software compatibility.

If Vista is anywhere near as reliable as Windows XP has been then we should be able to foresee many more years of Microsoft's dominion in the home and business markets.


Richard Horvath, Infinity Prime Media, LLC or the Times SWLA are in no way responsible and do not accept any responsibility for errors, accidents, or computer or data failure or malfunction that may occur with the use of any of the software mentioned in the preceding article.