Vista Upgrades: In Place vs. Clean

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2089952,00.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2089952,00.asp</a><br /><br /></div><i>"That means, at least in theory, a system upgraded from XP to Vista shouldn't end up as bloated and sluggish as a PC upgrade from, say, Windows 98 to Windows XP (notwithstanding the bloat that Vista may or may not come with, depending on your opinion of the new Windows). Could that be true? Has Microsoft invented an upgrade process that doesn't hopelessly clog your system's arteries with virtual cholesterol? To find out, we chose an innocent system that's led an unassuming life as the main machine belonging to a former freelance journalist, a part-time game reviewer. Then we pretty much beat it over the head with Windows Vista Ultimate. In the process, we took a chunky batch of performance tests to see how the computer reacted to a Vista upgrade, and compared that to its experience with a fresh Vista installation."</i><br /><br />To a geek like me, the idea of an in-place upgrade (installing one OS over another) is possibly the worst idea possible for a computer. A clean install is the only type of OS upgrade that I've ever performed. It seems, however, that with Vista Microsoft has taken steps to essentially eliminate the problem. The article is a must-read if you're concerned about the whole upgrade/full version issue.

[Vincent Ferrari]

It may be fine to start with, but frankly, if you decide later on to reformat, you're f'ed. In that case, you have to use Paul Thurott's method of installing Vista and not putting in your product key (or not activating it) and then installing Vista over itself.

They really screwed the pooch on this one.

Although the process they use does sound like the Apple Archive and Install option, the results of which are unpredictable. Who knows. Maybe they really got this one right and we're all paranoid nutso geeks.

[Tim Williamson]

One reason I probably wouldn't do an upgrade on my main PC is that I like to really clean-up my PC every few years. So by starting out with a clean version of Windows I only install the software that I absolutely need and use regularly.

The disadvantage of this is it can take a day or so to get my main programs installed and tweaked, and up to a few weeks (as I come across programs I don't use as regularly) to get everything installed.

[Jason Dunn]

So by starting out with a clean version of Windows I only install the software that I absolutely need and use regularly. The disadvantage of this is it can take a day or so to get my main programs installed and tweaked, and up to a few weeks (as I come across programs I don't use as regularly) to get everything installed.

Here's a suggestion for you: once you have your machine all cleaned up and tweaked, image it with Acronis True Image (www.acronis.com). Their program is AWESOME and I use it all the time - I can restore back to my "clean" state in about 10 minutes, and it's so beautiful I nearly weep with joy when I do it. :lol:

[Tim Williamson]

So by starting out with a clean version of Windows I only install the software that I absolutely need and use regularly. The disadvantage of this is it can take a day or so to get my main programs installed and tweaked, and up to a few weeks (as I come across programs I don't use as regularly) to get everything installed.

Here's a suggestion for you: once you have your machine all cleaned up and tweaked, image it with Acronis True Image (www.acronis.com). Their program is AWESOME and I use it all the time - I can restore back to my "clean" state in about 10 minutes, and it's so beautiful I nearly weep with joy when I do it. :lol:

Good idea, I'll probably do that once I make the jump to Vista...the problem is since I don't need to reformat every 6 months anymore (I've been using the same installation of XP since I bought the PC a couple years ago), every piece of software would most likely be out of date (or require updates). But I guess it's easier to install updates rather than trying to find serial numbers and mess around with setting up all the options.

[myrampar]

Hi Jason-

I use Acronis and I love it also! That's a great suggestion. I don't want to get off topic but how do you use Acronis after you've created an image of your 'pristine' install? Do you create periodic incremental backups as you use your PC or do you create a new full image?

I'm probably anal in this regard, but I create a full image with Acronis after a clean install that really only contains the OS and Office Products and the latest updates. I find that if I need to restore the image 6 months down the road, this works great.

I don't mind reinstalling some of my favorite apps again as they may have been upgraded since the last image or another program has become my favorite and replaced it. :)

BTW- I just ordered the full retail version of Vista Ultimate and will take advantage of the discounts offered on addtional licenses of Vista Home Premium.

Cheers!

[Gordo]

A few days back I attempted an upgrade to Vista Business. The MS Upgrade adviser indicated that my system was capable, so I went ahead and started the process. After the first re-boot I had a hardware error, which resulted in a core dump and a re-boot. This cycle continues for hours, as I had left the computer while it upgraded. I then attempted a number of options to use safe mode, or to restore my old version of windows, neither worked. I pulled out my trusty Acronis backup boot disk to restore the old version of windows, and it failed to boot. I thought I was screwed.

As a last resort I selected Roll Back to a previous restore point from the boot menu. This successfully discovered that Vista install had failed and restored my previous version XP.

All of this to say is that the Acronis restore disks may not work if you have a problem in the middle of the upgrade/install process.

[Jason Dunn]

I use Acronis and I love it also! That's a great suggestion. I don't want to get off topic but how do you use Acronis after you've created an image of your 'pristine' install? Do you create periodic incremental backups as you use your PC or do you create a new full image?

Well, I use the Acronis boot CD to create pristine images of my machines after they've been updated and patched, usually with just what I consider to be the basics: OS, drivers, patches. I then install the Acronis Windows client on my main (most critical) computer and do full nightly backups. That system has served me well so far. Oh, and using Foldershare and hosted Exchange as well of course. ;-)

[Jason Dunn]

I pulled out my trusty Acronis backup boot disk to restore the old version of windows, and it failed to boot. I thought I was screwed...All of this to say is that the Acronis restore disks may not work if you have a problem in the middle of the upgrade/install process.

Something very strange was happening there - Acronis is a "bare metal restore" solution, meaning you can wipe the hard drive and it will restore it. There should have been no trace of anything on the drive after the Acronis restore, so Windows wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. Perhaps your Acronis image was corrupt somehow?

[Tim Williamson]

Or maybe there was a hardware malfunction somewhere?

[Gordo]

It was giving me a message about not recognizing the hard drive.

Remember I had to power down in the middle of an upgrade, so windows might have done something to impact the disk system while upgrading.

Fortunately it was able to restore the computer.