How to install Windows Vista

This article describes how to install Windows Vista. You can upgrade to Windows Vista from an earlier version of Microsoft Windows or you can perform a "clean installation" of Windows Vista. When you perform a clean installation, files that were part of the previous installation are deleted before you install Windows Vista. This article also provides tools to help you determine which kind of installation is right for your computer.

This article is intended for a beginning to intermediate computer user.

You may find it easier to follow the steps if you print this article first.

Before you get started

Before you begin to install Windows Vista, make sure that you have everything that you need for the installation. Make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements to install and run Windows Vista. Also, determine whether you must perform an upgrade or a clean installation of Windows Vista. Use the information in this section to help you make these determinations.

Internet Connection

Make sure that you can connect to the Internet.

System requirements

The following list describes the recommended minimum hardware requirements for basic functionality of the different editions of Windows Vista. Actual hardware requirements vary, depending on system configuration and on the programs and the features that you install. If you install Windows Vista over a network, additional hard disk space may be required.

Windows Vista Home Basic

• 800-megahertz (MHz) 32-bit (x86) processor or 800-MHz 64-bit (x64) processor
• 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.
• DirectX 9-class graphics card
• 32 MB of graphics memory
• 20-gigabyte (GB) hard disk that has 15 GB of free hard disk space
• Internal or external DVD drive
• Internet access capability
• Audio output capability

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:
  • A WDDM driver
  • Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware
  • 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

Note A Windows Aero-capable graphics card is a graphics card that meets the following requirements:

• Supports a Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) driver
• Has a DirectX 9-class graphics processor unit (GPU) that supports Pixel Shader 2.0
• Supports 32 bits per pixel
• Passes the Windows Aero acceptance test in the Windows Driver Kit (WDK)

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

Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor

If your computer is running Windows XP, use the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor to help you determine if your computer can run Windows Vista. To run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, visit the following Web site:

Upgrade paths from earlier versions

The following Web site explains the installation options to help you decide whether to perform an upgrade or a clean install when you are you upgrade to Windows Vista from Windows XP or from Microsoft Windows 2000:

Upgrade to Windows Vista from an earlier version of Windows

To upgrade the current Windows operating system on your computer to Windows Vista, follow these steps:

1. Start the computer and make sure that the current version of Windows has started.
2. Insert the Windows Vista DVD into the DVD drive and then close the drive tray. Wait a moment for the Setup program to start automatically.
3. If the Setup program does not start automatically, follow these steps:
   1. Click Start and then click Run.
   2. Type Drive:\setup.exe and then click OK.
      
      Note Drive is the drive letter of the computer’s DVD drive.
4. When the Setup program starts and the Install now screen appears, click Install now.
   
   Note When you receive with the Get important updates for installation message, click Go Online.
5. Click Upgrade when the Which type of installation do you want? screen appears.
   
   If you cannot click Upgrade and you receive an error message, go to the "Troubleshooting" section if you are comfortable trying to troubleshoot, or go to the "Next Steps" section to determine your next steps.
6. Follow the instructions to install Windows Vista.

If Windows Vista is now running on your computer, you have completed the upgrade to Windows Vista.

If the installation does not finish or you receive an error message, and you are comfortable trying to troubleshoot the problem, go to the "Troubleshooting" section for more information about common issues and their resolutions. If you are not comfortable trying to troubleshoot the issue, go to the "Next Steps" section.

Perform a clean installation

There are two ways to perform a clean installation of Windows Vista. The first method is to install Windows Vista by running the Setup program from the current version of Windows on your computer. The second method is to start the computer from the Windows Vista DVD. First, try method 1. If it does not work, try method 2.

Warning In a clean installation, existing data on your computer is deleted. This data includes personal data, settings, hardware driver information, and software programs. After you install the operating system, you must also reinstall all programs. Make sure that you back up personal data to disks or other external storage devices before you perform a clean installation.

Method 1: Perform a clean installation of Windows Vista by running Setup from the current version of Windows

To perform a clean installation of Windows Vista from the current version of Windows on the computer, follow these steps:

1. Start the computer and make sure that the current version of Windows has started.
2. Insert the Windows Vista DVD into the DVD drive and then close the drive tray. Wait a moment for the Setup program to start automatically.
3. If the Setup program does not start automatically, follow these steps:
   1. Click Start and then click Run.
   2. Type Drive:\setup.exe and then click OK.
      
      Note Drive is the drive letter of the computer’s DVD drive.
4. When the Setup program starts and the Install now screen appears, click Install now.
5. When the Which type of installation do you want? screen appears, click Custom (advanced). The follow the instructions to install Windows Vista.

If Windows Vista is now running on your computer, you have completed the installation successfully.

If the installation does not finish or you receive an error message, and you are comfortable trying to troubleshoot the problem, go to the "Troubleshooting" section for more information about common issues and their resolutions. If you are not comfortable trying to troubleshoot the issue, go to the "Next Steps" section.

Method 2: Perform a clean installation of Windows Vista by starting the computer from the Windows Vista DVD

Note The computer must be configured to start from the DVD drive. For 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.

To perform a clean installation of Windows Vista by starting the computer from the Windows Vista DVD, follow these steps:

1. Start the computer.
2. Insert the Windows Vista DVD into the DVD drive and then close the drive tray.
3. Restart the computer.
4. When you receive the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, press a key.
5. Follow the instructions to install Windows Vista.

If Windows Vista is now running on your computer, you have completed the installation successfully.

If the installation does not finish or you receive an error message, and you are comfortable trying to troubleshoot the problem, go to the "Troubleshooting" section. If you are not comfortable trying to troubleshoot the issue, go to the “Next Steps” section.

"Upgrade has been disabled" error message

When you try to upgrade to Windows Vista, the Upgrade option may be unavailable. If this issue occurs, you receive the following message: This issue may occur if one or more of the following conditions are true:

• You cannot upgrade the operating system to Windows Vista. (Not every Windows operating system can be upgraded to Windows Vista.) Go to the "Next Steps" section.
• 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. Then, run the Setup program.
• The operating system is installed on 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
• The partition on which you want to install the upgrade to Windows Vista has insufficient space on the hard disk. 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  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312/ ) Description of the Disk Cleanup tool in Windows XP

More error messages

For a list of other common Windows Vista upgrade issues and their resolutions, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

If you cannot complete the Windows Vista installation or you have received an error message, unfortunately this content is unable to help you further. For your next steps, you might want to ask someone for help, or you might want to contact Support. For information about how to contact Support, please visit the following Microsoft Web site:

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