How to Upgrade From Windows 2000 Professional to Windows Vista
Since Microsoft has discontinued support for the Windows 2000 operating system, anyone using a PC running Windows 2000 should upgrade to a current version of the Windows operating system. Unfortunately, there is no direct path for Windows 2000 users to upgrade to Windows Vista. You could, theoretically, upgrade to Windows XP, then upgrade to Windows Vista; however, not many people would want to purchase an additional operating system. In that case, there is a workaround to upgrade your Windows 2000 Professional computer to Windows Vista.
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Things You'll Need
- PC with 1-gigahertz (GHz) processor, either 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64);1 GB of system memory (RAM);
- Windows Aero-capable graphics card
- 128 MB of graphics memory
- 40-GB hard drive, with at least 15 GB of free space
- Internal or external DVD drive
- Windows Vista installation DVD
Instructions
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Upgrading Windows 2000 to Windows Vista
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1
Insert your Windows Vista DVD. On a computer that is running Windows 2000, you will see that the option to upgrade your operating system is grayed out. Instead, the only option available is to run a clean installation of Windows Vista. Select this option, and follow the prompts to install Windows Vista.
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2
Copy all of your personal data files over to the new Windows Vista location. All Windows 2000 files will be stored in a folder called "Windows.old."
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3
Reinstall your programs and applications. Because of the many advances in the operating system architecture that have been made, all programs that were installed in Windows 2000 will have to be reinstalled under Windows Vista.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Before you begin, back up all of your important files and documents in case they need to be restored later. While this shouldn't be necessary, it is always a good practice as a cautionary measure.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit computer image by Orlando Florin Rosu from Fotolia.com
