VistaJuice

There are many ways for you to determine if you are ready for Vista. One part of it is by saying yes, and second one is checking if your computer would say "yes" to Vista.

This is not that hard to check as Microsoft provides you with a nice tool for it, called Vista Update advisor, which you may get from the link below:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=65926&clcid=0x409

This software will inspect your computer and inform you if you can upgrade. It will give you a nice detailed report about any hardware or software component of your system that may give you trouble.

If everything seems more-less OK, then your computer is ready for Vista. If not, you will know exactly what has to be done in order for everything to go smooth. Remember, Vista is a powerful new OS which will make a good use of a nice and fast machine, therefore there may be some hardware upgrades you will need to overcome before installing - if you are looking for the optimum experience.

Below you will find hardware requirements nicely compiled by leading tech site Engadget.com, which besides Microsoft's specs also shows you their recommendation for the best experience:

click to zoom

Now, if your PC falls into "Vista Capable" category rather than "Premium Ready", you should consider getting a hardware upgrade. I'd recommend a minimum of 1GB of RAM, a fast CPU - one of the new dual core ones, and definitely a graphics card with at least 128MB of RAM.

My computer is Sony Vaio SZ370 notebook, with 2GB of RAM, 120GB Hard Drive, not too shabby Nvidia GeForce Go 7400 graphics card with 128MB RAM - and a nice and fast Core 2 Duo T7200 CPU @ 2GHz (per core).

I must admit - Vista runs REALLY smooth on this. It actually performs a lot better than XP did. Macromedia Dreamweaver and Photoshop open up really quick - and the whole experience since I'm on Vista really makes me feel more productive.

Therefore, if you got those hardware requirements out of the way - it is definitely time to install Vista (finally).

You have a lot of choices here, but one important decision to make is - Should you upgrade, or Clean Install?

Most of these pretty-box Retail versions are Update Only - and these two words mean a lot. If you choose the Update Only path - you must have XP already installed on your PC. Vista will validate that your copy of XP is Genuine and if you follow the instructions everything should go smoothly; but remember: If you ever want to reinstall Vista "clean", you will have to install the XP back again, and then update it to Vista (again!).

My advice though is not to go this route. Even though Microsoft says that the update process is really smooth (and I believe them) - not like XP was 5 years ago, when you clean install an OS on your computer it's simply the nicest thing. Think about it this way, would you rather have your furniture reupholstered or would you rather have it brand new? It's almost like that ... Dust mites may stay.

In order to Clean Install - you will need to do couple of things:

1) Get a Full Version of your choice of Vista
2) Backup all of your files somewhere
3) Run the installation and install Vista.

Sure Vista costs a lot, but you may save a buck or $100 by getting an OEM version which comes at a really good price of about $200 bucks for a full Ultimate version, which beats the Retail version at $390. With OEM, you do not get a pretty box, you cannot transfer Vista from one computer to another - the one you install it on it's tied to it forever, and you do not get Microsoft phone support - but if you think you can live without that - then you're in luck.

This would complete the step #1 from the above quote. Step two consists in backing up your files. You can do this manually or using the software provided to you on Vista DVD itself.

One suggestion, something I found really useful since years ago even while I was testing the Longhorn versions, make a copy of your current Windows and Program Files directories form XP. Put them on a DVD or something and have them ready (I'll explain in a moment).

I will not go through the Installation process, it is really simple that a 7 year old could probably follow it through. You insert the DVD, start the process, enter your Serial Key, and that's it ... Next thing you know - Windows will ask you for your name and you can log in ... Simple as that!

People say, a picture is worth a thousand words, therefore, here you can see the full installation process in pictures and know exactly what to expect:

http://flickr.com/photos/freeed/sets/72157594490796701/

Tip, tip, tip:

Once you log in to Vista, even though it comes with over 1.5 million drivers out of the box, there is always a chance something you have may not be detected. Here come in play the Program Files and Windows folders from the old XP installation I told you to back-up. If Vista complains about a device - insert a DVD and point it to Windows folder on it. From my experience I found that 99.9% of times - Vista will find the driver from either one of those folders and make a really good use of it. Do not worry since if the driver is NOT compatible with Vista, it will complain and let you know. Therefore no harm can be done.

This way I got all of my devices running on Sony before Sony even shipped the updates. All I am waiting now for is Sony specific software since they include some of their proprietary apps which don't work on Vista yet.

Last thing left is for you to copy all those personal files of yours you backed up and install all of the software you may need. Surely, there are some apps which may not work (yet) - but pretty much all of the important ones seem to be ok. I had no trouble with Photoshop, AVG Free Antivirus from Grisoft, Adobe Reader, Google Talk, Skype, Azureus, Google Earth, Zen Cast Organizer, Flickr Uploader, AI RoboForm IE Add-in, Alcohol 120%, Counter Strike Source, etc ...

Also, the server software I run on the same machine works just fine: Apache 2 Web Server together with MySQL Database Server work like a charm.

So, I hope this quite-long of a read can help you decide if you are ready for Vista. Maybe it's a time for a computer upgrade, maybe even for a new computer. If you choose the latter route, you may even get Vista with the computer so - the choice is entirely yours.

If you are going to get a computer though, please, either wait until you can, or cash in immediately for a good machine that will make you happy - 1GB of RAM is OK, 2GB is really good, Single Core CPU is OK, Dual Core will rock your world... Also, make sure not to cheap out on the graphics card since this version of Windows will really make a good use of it - so if you can afford a nice 256MB card or even 512MB card - do so. You won't regret it.

If you are getting a laptop, you may want to wait just a little bit longer and see what comes out. As you may know, Vista supports SideShow (something I'll write about tomorrow), and many of the new laptops like ASUS come with integrated second screen with SideShow capabilities. This would be the way to go, so check it out:

Read about Asus W5Fe on Engadget.com