Preparing for an Upgrade to Windows Vista
Published: September 5, 2006
Having been on the Windows Vista beta team for half a year now, I've downloaded and installed the operating system my fair share of times. As we speak, I'm downloading the newest build and am once again preparing for another installation. I made a few mistakes along the way (I lost an entire folder full of data that I forgot to back up once), but for the most part, I've been quite successful in preparing for each new build.
Because the majority of you will eventually install Windows Vista, and some of you have expressed concerns about the upgrade in the Expert Zone newsgroups, this article aims to help you prepare for the upgrade ahead of time. Even if you don't plan to upgrade, the tips provided here are still best practices. You'd have to do much of this to adequately prepare for a natural disaster like a flood, hurricane, earthquake, or fire; to prepare for an upgrade; or to move to a new Media Center PC or Ultra-Mobile PC. To help you through this process, Windows Vista contains a new feature, appropriately named Windows Easy Transfer.
In this article, I'll cover several tasks you should complete prior to upgrading to Windows Vista.
| • | Organize CDs and locate product IDs. |
| • | Back up downloaded software and media. |
| • | Use Windows Easy Transfer to back up personal data. |
Organizing CDs and locating product IDs
Think about how many programs you've purchased from your local computer retailer. You probably have CDs for Windows XP, Microsoft Office, a graphic imaging program, software to create DVDs, business and accounting software, and more. Each of these likely requires a unique product ID or activation code to install it.
You'll find that you also have CDs for fonts and clip art; software related to hobbies like gardening, genealogy, or scrap booking; games; and anti-virus, anti-spyware, and anti-adware disks. There are driver and installation disks for the hardware you own, such as scanners, cameras, printers, video cards, motherboards, and more. You probably even have a ton of software for hardware you no longer own. Once you get started, you'll wonder where they all came from!
Organizing these items should be a top priority before performing any upgrade and when preparing for a disaster. The best way to organize your CDs is by going through them and getting rid of what you don't need. Then, incorporate an organizational tool such as a CD notebook, designated bookshelf, or CD tree.
To successfully organize your CDs
1. | Gather up every CD or computer DVD you can find. |
2. | Set aside the software for hardware you no longer own, including computer recovery disks, driver disks, and any software you no longer use. You may be able to sell the disks on eBay or donate them to your favorite charity. |
3. | Separate the remaining CDs into categories: hardware drivers and hardware installation, operating systems, office applications, graphics applications, games, hobbies, and miscellaneous. |
4. | Purchase a CD notebook, set aside a shelf in a bookcase, or purchase a CD tree capable of holding all of your disks. If you decide on a CD notebook, purchase page separators to keep the sections divided. For a shelf, use a label maker to create sections on it. For a CD tree, create physical separations by keeping one open slot between each CD type. |
5. | If you're using a CD notebook, use a permanent marker to write the product IDs from the CD cases onto the respective disks. Next, remove the disk insert, fold it, and include it with the CD. Copying product ID numbers onto the CD itself is a good practice in and of itself. If the CD case ever gets lost, you'll still have the product ID. While some people will say writing on a disk can damage it, I've never actually known anyone to have a problem because they wrote on the front side of a CD. |
6. | If you end up with CDs that you do not have product IDs for, open the associated program on your computer, click Help, and select About <product name>. You'll almost always find the product ID there. In the image below, you can see the product ID for Microsoft Office.  Figure 1: If you've lost your product ID, open the program, click Help, and choose About <product name>. |
Backing up downloaded software and media
Anytime you download software or media from the Internet, you should create a backup copy of it onto a CD, DVD, or external drive. If you have those kinds of backups, that's fine. Store CDs and DVDs (with their product IDs written on them) in your notebook, bookshelf, or CD tree. If you have a backup on an external drive, verify the programs work by starting their installation programs (cancel once you know they're valid copies).
If you have not created a backup of your downloaded software, I suggest you start by creating backups to CDs. Creating backup CDs is a traditional way to back up, even though you could back up to almost anything, including a small flash drive. However, backing up to a CD forces you to remember to include the Product ID on the CD while backing up to an external drive does not.
Most of what needs to be backed up for downloaded software can be found in the Program Files folder. You'll want to locate and copy the installation program (the program you downloaded), or if you're not sure what to back up, copy the entire folder.
To locate the Programs folder
1. | Right-click Start, and select Explore All Users. |
2. | In the left pane, select your local hard drive (the drive you install programs to). You may only have one drive. The Program Files folder appears there.  Figure 2: The Program Files folder appears in the root drive. You may also find stray program folders for other software there as well. Note: Not all program folders will be in the Programs File folder where they should be. In Figure 2, Express Office is the folder for a graphic editing program and PhSP_CS2_UE_Ret is the folder for Photoshop CS2. While they should be in the Program Files folder, they are not. You'll want to look around for programs like this that are misplaced. |
3. | Click the Program Files folder to see additional program folders. Back up any downloaded software you find that you want to keep. |
If you think you're still missing some downloaded programs, click Start, select Search, and in the Search window type "*.exe". The results will display a list of all programs. Click View, and then click Details. You can then follow the path given to locate the originating folder. The details will appear as in the following figure.
Figure 3: Misplaced program files and folders can be located by searching.
Tip: You can locate many installation programs in the unzipped folder. The files you download are unzipped to this folder by default. The unzipped folder appears in Figure 2. You can delete anything you find in this folder that you don't need.
Using Windows Easy Transfer to back up personal data
Once you have your program CDs and DVDs in order, included their product IDs and activation codes, and burned copies of the applications you downloaded, you can now focus on backing up your personal data. Backing up personal data used to be a bit more complex than it is now. In the past, you'd have to manually save your Favorites, cookies, mail settings, and other personal data to CDs or DVDs, and then later manually transfer that data back to the computer after a disaster recovery task or clean installation of a new operating system. With the new Windows Easy Transfer, that type of backup is a thing of the past.
The Windows Easy Transfer guides you through the process of gathering your personal data and saving it to a temporary storage area. With personal information, settings, user accounts, and other data safely stored somewhere else, you now have the option of performing a clean installation versus an upgrade (if that's what you prefer).
To use Windows Easy Transfer
1. | In the first installation screen for Windows Vista (see Figure 4), click Transfer files and settings from another computer to gather the data. This data includes: | • | User accounts | | • | Folders and files | | • | Program settings | | • | Internet settings and favorites | | • | E-mail settings, contacts, and messages |
 Figure 4: Transferring data is simple with Windows Easy Transfer. Windows Vista does all the work for you. |
2. | On the welcome page, click Next. |
3. | If you have programs open and are prompted to close them, click OK. |
4. | Under How do you want to transfer files and settings to your new computer?, select Use a Type of Removable Storage or Use a Network. |
5. | Under How to transfer files and settings, select the location that suits your needs. If you are saving to a network, select Use a Shared Network Location. If you are saving to removable storage, choose CD or DVD, USB Flash Drive, or External Hard Disk. |
6. | Under Where do you want to save your files?, click Browse to navigate to the desired location on an external storage location. You can assign a password if you'd like. Tip: It is also possible to save the package of personal data on the main hard drive of your PC. Select Use a CD, DVD, or other removable media, and then select External hard disk or to a network location. For a network location, choose to save the file to your desktop. During the upgrade process, the data will be saved to a directory named Windows.old. After the upgrade is complete, the SaveData.mig file will be available under the Windows.old directory on your primary hard drive. If you use this method, be sure to make a complete backup before beginning the upgrade in case an error occurs. |
7. | Under What do you want to transfer to your new computer?, select one of the following: | • | All user accounts, files, and settings (Recommended) | | • | My user accounts, files, and settings only | | • | Advanced options |
 Figure 5: You can select the amount of data to transfer. "All user accounts, files, and settings" is recommended. Note: In this example, I've selected "All user accounts, files, and settings." |
8. | After Windows Easy Transfer gathers all of the data, the folders and files are displayed (see Figure 6). Verify the list and click Transfer.  Figure 6: Before transferring the files back to your computer, you will have the option to review and customize the folder and file list. |
9. | When the data transfer is complete, click Close. |
Tip: For more step-by-step upgrade instructions, see Microsoft TechNet.
Once the data is transferred to your external source, you're ready to complete the installation of Windows Vista.
To install Windows Vista
1. | On the Install Windows page (see Figure 4), click Install now. |
2. | When prompted, click Go online to get the latest updates (Recommended). |
3. | Type your Product Key, and then click Next. |
4. | Accept the terms of the License Agreement, and then click Next. |
Installation options vary, depending if you are performing a clean installation or an upgrade. Continue with the installation as required or preferred. Once installation and setup are complete, you can restart Windows Easy Transfer.
To transfer your data to the computer
1. | On the Start menu, select All Programs, select Accessories, select System Tools, and then select Windows Easy Transfer. |
2. | Click Continue to allow the program access. |
3. | Click Next to start the wizard. |
4. | If you have programs open and are prompted to close them, click OK. |
5. | Under Do you want to start a new transfer or continue one in progress?, select Continue a transfer in progress. |
6. | Under Are you using a local network?, select one of the following: | • | Yes, I'm using my local network to connect my two machines | | • | No, I've already saved my files to CD, DVD, or removable storage |
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7. | If prompted to allow an exception for Windows Firewall, click Yes. |
8. | If prompted to input a Windows Easy Transfer key, type the key, and then click Next. |
9. | Browse to the location of the transferred data. (If you've selected a network drive or network connection, you may have to work through some additional steps to connect to the network. You'll be prompted if this is the case.) |
10. | Locate the file you saved, generally with a name like SaveData.mig, and click Open. Click Next. |
11. | Type your user name or choose one from the list, and then click Next. |
12. | Click Transfer to begin the transfer process. |
Even if you aren't planning an upgrade anytime soon, you should perform the organization and backup tasks detailed in this article. If you don't have Windows Vista and Windows Easy Transfer yet, using Windows XP Backup will certainly suffice, as will burning CDs and DVDs. Backing up your software, media, and personal data is not only a good way to prepare for a clean installation of a new operating system, but is also imperative in case your computer stops responding or you experience a natural disaster.
 | Joli Ballew is a technology trainer and writer in the Dallas area. She holds several certifications including MCSE, A+, and MCDST. Joli has almost 20 books available, including Degunking Windows (Paraglyph Press), Hardcore Windows XP (McGraw-Hill), and Windows XP: Do Amazing Things (Microsoft Press). Joli is also a regular Microsoft Expert Zone columnist. Joli can be contacted at Joli_Ballew@hotmail.com.
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