How to install Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 (918884)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 2 English (United States)

Beta Information

This article discusses a Beta release of a Microsoft product. The information in this article is provided as-is and is subject to change without notice.

No formal product support is available from Microsoft for this Beta product. For information about how to obtain support for a Beta release, see the documentation that is included with the Beta product files, or check the Web location where you downloaded the release.

SUMMARY

This article describes how to upgrade to Microsoft Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 from an earlier version of Microsoft Windows and how to perform a clean installation of Microsoft Windows Vista Release Candidate 1. To upgrade to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1, the operating system that is currently installed on the computer must be supported in the upgrade path to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1. This article lists the operating system requirements to upgrade to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1. This article also lists some methods that you can use to troubleshoot scenarios where you receive an "Upgrade has been disabled" message when you try to upgrade to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1. Additionally, this article describes two methods that you can use to start the Setup program to perform a clean installation of Windows Vista Release Candidate 1.

INTRODUCTION

This article contains information about how to upgrade to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 from an earlier version of Windows and how to perform a clean installation of Windows Vista Release Candidate 1. The information in this article applies only to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 and does not apply to other versions of Windows Vista.

MORE INFORMATION

Upgrade to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1

Important To make sure that you have the best possible experience when you upgrade to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1, follow these steps:
  1. Exit all applications that are open before you upgrade to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1. This includes browsers and media players.
  2. Make sure that you are connected to the Internet when you start the upgrade process.
  3. When you are prompted, Get important updates for installation, click Go Online.

Operating system requirements to upgrade to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1

The operating system requirements to upgrade to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 are listed as follows. These requirements are based on retail licenses of Windows Vista.
  • Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic and Windows Vista Home Basic N

    You can upgrade to Windows Vista Home Basic and to Windows Vista Home Basic N from the following operating systems:
    • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2 (SP2)
    • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition N with SP2
  • Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

    You can upgrade to Windows Vista Home Premium from the following operating systems:
    • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with SP2
    • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition N with SP2
    • Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition with SP2
    • Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic
    • Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic N
  • Microsoft Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Business N

    You can upgrade to Windows Vista Business and to Windows Vista Business N from the following operating systems:
    • Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition with SP2
    • Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition N with SP2
  • Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise

    Upgrades to Windows Vista Enterprise are not offered by using retail licenses.
  • Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate

    You can upgrade to Windows Vista Ultimate from the following operating systems:
    • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with SP2
    • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition N with SP2
    • Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition with SP2
    • Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition N with SP2
    • Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition with SP2
    • Microsoft Windows XP Tablet Edition with SP2
    • Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic
    • Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic N
    • Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
    • Microsoft Windows Vista Business
    • Microsoft Windows Vista Business N
    • Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise

Operating systems from which an upgrade to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 is not supported

You cannot upgrade to Windows Vista from the following operating systems:
  • Microsoft Windows XP Starter Edition
  • Microsoft Windows 2000
  • Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
  • Microsoft Windows 98
  • Microsoft Windows 95
  • Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11
  • Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.1

Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor

A release candidate version of Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor is now available. The release candidate version of Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor provides information about hardware compatibility issues and makes performance recommendations. However, it does not provide information about application compatibility issues. To obtain the release candidate version of Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=60497

Upgrade procedure

To upgrade your computer to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1, follow these steps:
  1. 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 Release Candidate 1.
  2. Insert the Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 DVD in the computer's DVD drive.
  3. Use one of the following procedures, as appropriate:
    • If Windows automatically detects the DVD, the Install now screen appears. Click Install now.
    • If Windows does not automatically detect the DVD, follow these steps:
      1. Click Start, click Run, type Drive:\setup.exe, and then click OK.

        Note Drive is the drive letter of the computer's DVD drive.
      2. Click Install now.
  4. When you reach the Which type of installation to you want? screen, click Upgrade to upgrade the current operating system to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1.

The Upgrade option is unavailable, and you receive an "Upgrade has been disabled" message

When you try to upgrade to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1, 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:
  • The operating system that is currently installed on the computer is not supported in the upgrade path to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1.
  • You did not start the computer by using the current operating system. Instead, you started the computer from the Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 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.
  • 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 How to convert a FAT16 volume or a FAT32 volume to an NTFS file system in Windows XP

  • The partition on which you want to upgrade to Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 has insufficient free hard disk space. To resolve this issue, free additional space on the hard disk. For more information about how to use the Disk Cleanup tool to free hard disk space, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    310312 Description of the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP

Perform a clean installation of Windows Vista Release Candidate 1

Warning In a clean installation, existing data is removed. This data includes personal data and settings. After you install the operating system, you must also reinstall all programs. Make sure that you back up personal data before you perform a clean installation.

To perform a clean installation of Windows Vista Release Candidate 1, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Run the Setup program after you start the computer by using the current operating system

  1. Start the computer by using the current operating system.
  2. Insert the Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 DVD in the computer's DVD drive.
  3. Use one of the following procedures, as appropriate:
    • If Windows automatically detects the DVD, the Install now screen appears. Click Install now.
    • If Windows does not automatically detect the DVD, follow these steps:
      1. Click Start, click Run, type Drive:\setup.exe, and then click OK.

        Note Drive is the drive letter of the computer's DVD drive.
      2. Click Install now.
  4. When you reach the Which type of installation do you want? screen, click Custom (advanced), and then follow the instructions that are displayed on the screen to install Windows Vista Release Candidate 1.

Method 2: Run the Setup program after you start the computer by using the Windows Vista DVD

  1. Start the computer by using the Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 DVD. To do this, insert the Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 DVD in the computer's DVD drive, and then restart the computer.

    Note To start the computer from the Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 DVD, the computer must be configured to start from the DVD drive. For more information about how to configure the computer to start from the DVD drive, see the documentation that is included with the computer, or contact the computer manufacturer.
  2. When the "Press any key to boot from CD" message is displayed on the screen, press a key.
  3. Follow the instructions that are displayed on the screen to install Windows Vista Release Candidate 1.

REFERENCES

For more information about the system requirements for Windows Vista, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

919183 System requirements for Windows Vista

For more information about Windows Vista, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:9/13/2006
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