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Windows Vista Installation and Upgrading - Can My Machine Run Windows Vista? Download the Upgrade Advisor

SUMMARY: Use Microsoft's free Upgrade Advisor to see if your computer can be upgraded to Windows Vista.

Even if your computer meets Windows Vista's basic hardware requirements, you may still run into trouble if you decide to upgrade to Windows Vista:

* Older hardware may not have supported device drivers.

* Older software may not be supported by Windows Vista, or costly upgrades may be required. This is especially true for utilities, backup applications, anti-virus software, and CD/DVD burning applications.

* Computers barely matching the minimum hardware requirements may not be able to take advantage of the updated Windows Aero interface.

To assist in determining whether your machine can support Windows Vista or if you may want to instead purchase a new machine to support Windows Vista, as well as what types of problems you may encounter during/after the upgrade, Microsoft has released a Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor Tool for Windows XP users.

	Screenshot of the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor tool on a machine stated to be able to run Windows Vista.

The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor tool displays information such as:

* System requirement deficiencies

* Device drivers that may not be compatible with Windows Vista, or drivers that should be upgraded after installing Vista. Note that I said may not be compatible. One machine stated that no Windows Vista sound card driver was available, yet the upgraded machine now plays perfect sound.

* Program issues such as software that is completely incompatible with Windows Vista that should be uninstalled before upgrading, and software that should be upgraded before or after the install.

This tool cannot provide 100% guaranteed results, and a few hardware devices may not have informational available via the tool. Sometimes finding out whether or not a device driver is supported is hit-or-miss.

After displaying the report you have the option of saving it to a file or printing out a task list.

Download the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor