information vista

I will try Vista Beta 2, I did order the cd. but I would like to know if something is not working ok, after the installation, can I go back to Windows XP SP2.
System: Microsoft Windows XP, Home Edition, Version 2002, Service Pack 2 Computer AMD Athlom (tm) XP 2000+ 1.66 GHz, 512 MB of Ram -- Don

Don; Upgrading to Vista is a one way trip, there is no going back. Other options: Dual boot if you have an adequate spare partition/hard drive. Use another hard drive and swap drives.
-- Jupiter Jones [MVP] http://www3.telus.net/dandemar http://www.dts-l.org
"Donaldo" wrote in message

I will try Vista Beta 2, I did order the cd. but I would like to know if something is not working ok, after the installation, can I go back to Windows XP SP2.
System: Microsoft Windows XP, Home Edition, Version 2002, Service Pack 2 Computer AMD Athlom (tm) XP 2000+ 1.66 GHz, 512 MB of Ram -- Don

Concur with Jupiter Jones... dual boot or separate HD. Do NOT upgrade your existing XP drive as you will not be able to "go back" to XP. I'd also recommend trying the Vista Upgrade Advisor, available on the MS website (Windows-Vista-Get Ready). The upgrade advisor will tell you whether your PC can handle Vista and, if it can, what features your PC will support. I suspect that your PC may not be "Aero Ready", meaning you won't see the fancy UI with transparent window borders, etc.
Good luck!
Lang
"Donaldo" wrote in message

I will try Vista Beta 2, I did order the cd. but I would like to know if something is not working ok, after the installation, can I go back to Windows XP SP2.
System: Microsoft Windows XP, Home Edition, Version 2002, Service Pack 2 Computer AMD Athlom (tm) XP 2000+ 1.66 GHz, 512 MB of Ram -- Don

If you upgrade your Windows XP system to Vista, the answer to your question is No, you cannot go back. You cannot uninstall Vista, or Restore Windows XP.
Are you considering upgrading your production or main home machine?
Don't do it!
Microsoft says the following about Vista Beta 2:
[Begin Microsoft warning] Note: This is beta code and should not be used in a production environment or on a main machine in the home. Beta 2 is intended for developers, IT professionals and technology experts to continue or begin their testing of Windows Vista. Before you decide to use Beta 2, you should feel comfortable with installing operating systems, updating drivers, and general PC troubleshooting. Some risks of using beta operating systems include hardware and software incompatibility and system instability. If you have concerns about installing this beta software on your computer, we encourage you to obtain the final release version of Windows Vista when it is available in 2007. [End Microsoft warning]
You should not upgrade a production or main home machine. If you do decide to upgrade a Windows XP installation with Vista Beta 2, you must, at a minimum, back-up all data, and it would be better to image your drive. And if you image your hard drive, ask your self if you know how to make an image and restore it. In many cases computers cannot be restored from images, because the images were not made correctly. I blame the imaging software for this. If someone sells imaging software, it should not depend on a first time user intuiting the exact correct procedure. But it does. So even if you make an image, copy the data too.
And backups must not be stored on the same partition that you are going to install Vista on. At a minimum they must be on another partition, and really they shouldn't be on the same computer. Put the backups on DVDs, tapes, external hard drives, or on other computers.
Better than upgrading your XP operating system is doing a clean install to another partition (dual booting), and better than that, is getting a new hard drive, and putting your old hard drive with your data on it in a drawer where it will be safe. If you want to upgrade your system, you could use the copy utility that most drive manufacturers supply, to copy your operating system from your old disk to the new disk. Then you would have all your data for testing, and when Vista ate your data, you could just pull the old drive out of the drawer, and be back in business.
If you do a clean install to another partition, you are still not out of the woods. Vista does not use boot.sys. It installs its own boot manager to your XP partition. To go back to XP, you will have to either edit the boot manager to remove Vista and point it to XP, or delete it and restore the XP boot.sys.
A number of people have reported that they could not find the boot.sys file. So before upgrading, backup your XP boot.sys file.
If you are still considering upgrading your XP system to Vista go through some of the other posts from people who have lost all their data.
To summarize
Don't upgrade a production or main home machine. Do a clean install to another partition.
If you decide to upgrade a production or main home machine back it up first. Back up the data, and then do an image.
A new hard drive is better. Remove your old hard drive from the system to protect it.
"Donaldo" wrote in message

I will try Vista Beta 2, I did order the cd. but I would like to know if something is not working ok, after the installation, can I go back to Windows XP SP2.
System: Microsoft Windows XP, Home Edition, Version 2002, Service Pack 2 Computer AMD Athlom (tm) XP 2000+ 1.66 GHz, 512 MB of Ram -- Don

Many things are not working. That is why it is called Beta 2 and not the final release. Do not install it in place of your current OS. Install it on a test machine or at least on a separate drive or partition on your current machine. If this is not possible do not use Vista until it is final early next year.
"Donaldo" wrote in message

I will try Vista Beta 2, I did order the cd. but I would like to know if something is not working ok, after the installation, can I go back to Windows XP SP2.
System: Microsoft Windows XP, Home Edition, Version 2002, Service Pack 2 Computer AMD Athlom (tm) XP 2000+ 1.66 GHz, 512 MB of Ram -- Don

THANKS.....! I think in my case is better to keep my current OS. Windows XP and Explorer 7.0 Beta 2, both work great for me. -- Don
"Colin Barnhorst" wrote:

Many things are not working. That is why it is called Beta 2 and not the final release. Do not install it in place of your current OS. Install it on a test machine or at least on a separate drive or partition on your current machine. If this is not possible do not use Vista until it is final early next year.
"Donaldo" wrote in message I will try Vista Beta 2, I did order the cd. but I would like to know if something is not working ok, after the installation, can I go back to Windows XP SP2.
System: Microsoft Windows XP, Home Edition, Version 2002, Service Pack 2 Computer AMD Athlom (tm) XP 2000+ 1.66 GHz, 512 MB of Ram -- Don

Good decision. Vista will be worth the wait!
"Donaldo" wrote in message

THANKS.....! I think in my case is better to keep my current OS. Windows XP and Explorer 7.0 Beta 2, both work great for me. -- Don
"Colin Barnhorst" wrote:
Many things are not working. That is why it is called Beta 2 and not the final release. Do not install it in place of your current OS. Install it on a test machine or at least on a separate drive or partition on your current machine. If this is not possible do not use Vista until it is final early next year.
"Donaldo" wrote in message I will try Vista Beta 2, I did order the cd. but I would like to know if something is not working ok, after the installation, can I go back to Windows XP SP2.
System: Microsoft Windows XP, Home Edition, Version 2002, Service Pack 2 Computer AMD Athlom (tm) XP 2000+ 1.66 GHz, 512 MB of Ram -- Don