install vista beta 2 oem xp

Hi, Bit new to this so bare with me please, I downloaded Vista Beta 2 today but before install could someone tell me if I install Vista as upgrade on a hard drive with XP SP2 factory installed and I have the restore disc to take back to factory settings could I still use the restore disc or would it become unusable after Vista?
If the restore disc will not work after Vista I would have no option but to carry on using Vista. The operating system i.e. Xp is stored within Norton Ghost on the Hard drive. Any helpfull advice would be appreciated
Regards Johnboy

Yes, you can upgrade OEM versions of XP SP2 with Vista, no problems at all. I personally would install Vista on a logical partition though, since it has been reported so many times here that the upgrade experience isn't all that worth it. -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"johnboy" wrote in message

Hi, Bit new to this so bare with me please, I downloaded Vista Beta 2 today but before install could someone tell me if I install Vista as upgrade on a hard drive with XP SP2 factory installed and I have the restore disc to take back to factory settings could I still use the restore disc or would it become unusable after Vista?
If the restore disc will not work after Vista I would have no option but to carry on using Vista. The operating system i.e. Xp is stored within Norton Ghost on the Hard drive. Any helpfull advice would be appreciated
Regards Johnboy

Well, if your manufacturer used Norton Ghost, then the restore disc is going to work, but it's going to take your computer back to its state at delivery, isn't it? All your installed apps, email, data files, etc. would be gone. Before you install the beta as an upgrade to your present operating system, you really should make sure that you have a CURRENT Ghost (or True-Image) image, so you can restore to that when you're done with the Vista Beta. Even then, you'd have to make provisions for restoring important data files, such as saved emails, that you accumulate while using Vista.
The "option" to carry on using Vista is not really an option because it's time-limited. After 5/31/07, you'd need to install a released version of Vista, and you wouldn't want to upgrade a beta version to the final version, even if that were possible. You'd therefore be in the position of having to reformat and start from scratch again.
This beta is NOT recommended to be the only OS on a production machine or on the main computer in a home (Microsoft's recommendation). I'll tell you that it's really NOT that stable, nor is it yet compatible with all hardware devices. For example, many users of the most common sound cards cannot get them to work under Vista. If you install Vista with no other operating system to fall back on, you're almost surely going to wish you hadn't done it.
-- Ron
"johnboy" wrote in message

Hi, Bit new to this so bare with me please, I downloaded Vista Beta 2 today but before install could someone tell me if I install Vista as upgrade on a hard drive with XP SP2 factory installed and I have the restore disc to take back to factory settings could I still use the restore disc or would it become unusable after Vista?
If the restore disc will not work after Vista I would have no option but to carry on using Vista. The operating system i.e. Xp is stored within Norton Ghost on the Hard drive. Any helpfull advice would be appreciated
Regards Johnboy

Thanks, I have a second hard drive which has three partitions and I use to run MY documents from, any back ups I do through Nero Backit up and so on. I was woried that once I installed Vista and didnt like it or had prblems that i couldnt take my computer back top day one, I do take it back to factory settings on a 6-8 monthly basis and have done for some time, it helps get rid of all the rubbish.
Thanks Johnboy
"milleron" wrote:

Well, if your manufacturer used Norton Ghost, then the restore disc is going to work, but it's going to take your computer back to its state at delivery, isn't it? All your installed apps, email, data files, etc. would be gone. Before you install the beta as an upgrade to your present operating system, you really should make sure that you have a CURRENT Ghost (or True-Image) image, so you can restore to that when you're done with the Vista Beta. Even then, you'd have to make provisions for restoring important data files, such as saved emails, that you accumulate while using Vista.
The "option" to carry on using Vista is not really an option because it's time-limited. After 5/31/07, you'd need to install a released version of Vista, and you wouldn't want to upgrade a beta version to the final version, even if that were possible. You'd therefore be in the position of having to reformat and start from scratch again.
This beta is NOT recommended to be the only OS on a production machine or on the main computer in a home (Microsoft's recommendation). I'll tell you that it's really NOT that stable, nor is it yet compatible with all hardware devices. For example, many users of the most common sound cards cannot get them to work under Vista. If you install Vista with no other operating system to fall back on, you're almost surely going to wish you hadn't done it.
-- Ron
"johnboy" wrote in message Hi, Bit new to this so bare with me please, I downloaded Vista Beta 2 today but before install could someone tell me if I install Vista as upgrade on a hard drive with XP SP2 factory installed and I have the restore disc to take back to factory settings could I still use the restore disc or would it become unusable after Vista?
If the restore disc will not work after Vista I would have no option but to carry on using Vista. The operating system i.e. Xp is stored within Norton Ghost on the Hard drive. Any helpfull advice would be appreciated
Regards Johnboy

johnboy wrote:

Hi, Bit new to this so bare with me please, I downloaded Vista Beta 2 today but before install could someone tell me if I install Vista as upgrade on a hard drive with XP SP2 factory installed and I have the restore disc to take back to factory settings could I still use the restore disc or would it become unusable after Vista?
If the restore disc will not work after Vista I would have no option but to carry on using Vista. The operating system i.e. Xp is stored within Norton Ghost on the Hard drive. Any helpfull advice would be appreciated
Regards Johnboy

It depends on the restore procedure. If it's totally CD/DVD based it should work fine but you will lose all your data, programs, settings etc when you do the factory restore. If it's based on a hidden partition on the hard drive then it may or may not work. Some OEM restore procedures use a non-standard boot sector with a hidden partition. Installing Vista shouldn't mess this up bit it is possible the Vista boot loader could do something so that this setup won't work anymore. You would be best to either install another hard drive for Visa or use a disk imaging program to clone/image your current setup before installing Vista.
-- Kerry MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

johnboy wrote:

Thanks, I have a second hard drive which has three partitions and I use to run MY documents from, any back ups I do through Nero Backit up and so on. I was woried that once I installed Vista and didnt like it or had prblems that i couldnt take my computer back top day one, I do take it back to factory settings on a 6-8 monthly basis and have done for some time, it helps get rid of all the rubbish.
Thanks Johnboy

A partition on that second hard drive is exactly where you want to install Vista. The basic installation of the 32-bit version takes up a full 9GB, so plan the size of the new partition accordingly.
snip
Ron