Burk Pendergrass, The Tennessee Mountain Man, a Cherokee Indian owns this blog. He is a Viet Nam Veteran who runs http://remotehelpdesk1.com a company for remote and outsourced 'IT' services for repairing and maintaining computers over the internet. He also builds and maintains web sites.
First there was MS DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System), a great little program! Then there was Windows 3 making it possible for any novice to use the computer to some advantage even if they had never seen one before. And, the maintenance on these old machines sure was easy enough though some hardware could break anyone's piggy bank.
Then there was Windows NT (New Technology...notice we deliberately side stepped the OS/2 issue with Big Blue who had enough sense to run but not enough to prevent them from eventually selling their PC division to China in 2005 becoming known as Lenovo) followed by Windows 95 and NT4... still decent.
Then came Windows 98 which would force the retirement of all those Win 95s everyone had spent a fortune and a lifetime updating. And, oh, by the way, the only change of any difference was the FAT32 replacing the FAT16.
Then came all the fixes dubbed Windows 98 Second Edition an interim way to squeeze money from Microsoft's enamored public while it readied Windows Millennium (Win ME) and Windows 2000. The Windows 98SE claim to fame appeared to be more drivers and Windows ME was but the final edition of Windows 98 dubbed Win9x.
The Windows 2000 editions built on NT4 was little more than a stop gap before all the Windows XP trials and errors. XP turned out to be little more than a fix for Windows 2000.
Likewise, Windows ME was but a harbinger of things to come. In our humble opinion Microsoft had at last all but perfected the DOS based 9x windows system when they decided to dump all things DOS and stop supporting it forcing the upgrades of millions of customers.
Then came Windows Server Edition followed by XP and all their editions, updates, releases and service packs followed by VISTA. VISTA despite requiring extra hardware to run it at any speed has the dubious distinction of being Microsoft's most bulky and slowest operating system to date. Now you have the basics. Can you say cha ching?
Are you ready for VISTA yet? Maybe Microsoft will give us a grace period until their next worse operating is unleashed, but I wouldn't hold my breath. In this environment stock holders are in a surly mood and want annual profits bigger and better than the year before.
Do you know what Microsoft has in store for you in 2010? Are you ready for Blackcomb? Even sounds ominous. For more go to http://remotehelpdesk1.com and click on Articles Category. See article "Biggest Tech Disappointment of 2007".
The traditional annual days of giving are at hand. Some people will want to upgrade (if it can be called that) to Windows Vista.
Here are some tips to help keep you out of trouble.
Recommended minimum hardware requirements for Windows Vista
Windows Vista Home Basic
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800-megahertz (MHz) 32-bit (x86) processor or 800-MHz 64-bit (x64) processor
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512 megabytes (MB) of system memory Note On system configurations that use system memory as graphics memory, at least 448 MB of system memory must be available to the operating system after some memory is allocated for graphics.
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DirectX 9-class graphics card
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32 MB of graphics memory
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20-gigabyte (GB) hard disk that has 15 GB of free hard disk space
Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, and Windows Vista Ultimate
1-gigahertz (GHz) 32-bit (x86) processor or 1-GHz 64-bit (x64) processor
1 GB of system memory
Windows Aero-capable graphics card Note This includes a DirectX 9-class graphics card that supports the following:
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A WDDM driver
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Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware
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32 bits per pixel
128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)
40-GB hard disk that has 15 GB of free hard disk space (the 15GB of free space provides room for temporary file storage during the install or upgrade.)
Internal or external DVD drive
Internet access capability
Audio output capability
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Note A Windows Aero-capable graphics card is a graphics card that meets the following requirements:
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Supports a Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) driver
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Has a DirectX 9-class graphics processor unit (GPU) that supports Pixel Shader 2.0
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Supports 32 bits per pixel
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Passes the Windows Aero acceptance test in the Windows Driver Kit (WDK)
Operating system requirements to upgrade to Windows Vista
The table below outlines the upgrade options mapped to the different Windows Vista editions.
If you are currently using Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional x64, you are eligible for an upgrade copy to a corresponding or better edition of Windows Vista, but a clean install is required.
Upgrade copies are not available for versions of Windows earlier than Windows 2000. These earlier versions of Windows require you to install a full copy of Windows Vista.
If the edition of Windows Vista that you choose to install will result in a loss of functionality over your current edition of Windows, you will need to do a clean install, or install Windows Vista to a new partition on your PC.
Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor
Before you begin
Before you run the Upgrade Advisor, be sure to plug in any USB devices or other devices such as printers, external hard drives, or scanners that are regularly used with the PC you're evaluating.
The Upgrade Advisor works with 32-bit versions of Windows XP and Windows Vista. Review the upgrade options available for earlier versions of Windows.
Make sure your computer is ready for the edition of Windows Vista you want.
The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor will help you to determine if your Windows XP-based PC can run Windows Vista. You can also use the Upgrade Advisor to determine if your Windows Vista-based PC is ready for an upgrade to a more powerful edition of Windows Vista.
This small software tool will scan your computer and create an easy-to-understand report of all known system, device, and program compatibility issues, and recommend ways to resolve them. Upgrade Advisor can also help you to choose the edition of Windows Vista that best fits the way you want to use your computer.
Just download, install, and run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor.
Please Note:
The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor works with 32-bit versions of Windows XP and Windows Vista, except Windows Vista Enterprise edition. It will not work with other editions of Windows.
The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor does not collect or send any personal, identifiable data to Microsoft Corporation or third parties.
Upgrade procedure
To upgrade your computer to Windows Vista, follow these steps:
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Start the computer by using the current operating system. Verify that the Microsoft Windows operating system that is currently installed on the computer is eligible for upgrade to Windows Vista.
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Insert the Windows Vista DVD in the computer's DVD drive.
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Use one of the following procedures, as appropriate:
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If Windows automatically detects the DVD, the Install now screen appears. Click Install now.
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If Windows does not automatically detect the DVD, follow these steps:
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Click Start, click Run, type Drive:\setup.exe, and then click OK.
Note Drive is the drive letter of the computer's DVD drive.
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Click Install now.
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When you reach the Which type of installation to you want? screen, click Upgrade to upgrade the current operating system to Windows Vista.
The Upgrade option is unavailable, and you receive an "Upgrade has been disabled" message
When you try to upgrade to Windows Vista, the Upgrade option is unavailable.
Additionally, you receive the following message:
Upgrade has been disabled
This issue may occur if one of the following conditions is true:
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The operating system that is currently installed on the computer is not supported in the upgrade path to Windows Vista.
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You did not start the computer by using the current operating system. Instead, you started the computer from the Windows Vista DVD. To resolve this issue, start the computer by using the current operating system, and then run the Setup program from the current operating system.
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The operating system is installed to a partition that uses the FAT32 file system. To resolve this issue, convert the file system on the partition to use the NTFS file system. For more information about how to resolve this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
307881 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307881/) How to convert a FAT16 volume or a FAT32 volume to an NTFS file system in Windows XP
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The partition on which you want to upgrade to Windows Vista has insufficient free hard disk space. To resolve this issue, free additional space on the hard disk.
Requires clean install.
In-place installation option available.
Before you begin
Download Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor
Ready to upgrade? Check out these 