[HDMI]

Is it easy to upgrade from vista to windows 8 is it just a question of putting in the disk and that's all or will all kinds of computer know how also be required?

[John259]

I've seen very varying reports, all the way from dead easy no probs to horrendous tales of woe and misery. UEFI/Secure Boot tends to cause pain. Some older hardware lacks drivers in Win8. All-in-one PC's with wireless keyboards and mice are often reported as giving trouble.

It might help to Google for your computer's make and model and "windows 8" to see if anyone's commented.

[Stig]

Originally Posted by HDMI

Is it easy to upgrade from vista to windows 8 is it just a question of putting in the disk and that's all or will all kinds of computer know how also be required?

Knowing the kind of problems you get yourself into HDMI, I suggest you do several types of backup before you even think of starting.

Do you have:
A Vista install DVD?
A backup of your data?
Preferably, a system image backup and a recovery disk?

[IvanIV]

Coming from Vista you will have to reinstall all your programmes, I think. First thing running will be an upgrade advisor that will check for any incompatibilities and propose solutions. The installation process is rather trivial in standard cases.

[mac2708]

This will tell you what's compatible and what's not

Can my PC run Windows 8? http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/w...hopHP_FPP_Null


It's to be hoped that you took advantage of the £24.99 download which ended 31/01/2013 as the price (as you'll see on the above link) has rocketed

If your PC is currently running Windows 7, your files, apps, and settings will easily transfer toWindows 8. If your PC is running Windows XP or Windows Vista, you'll need to reinstall your apps after you upgrade.

[c00kiemonster72]

Originally Posted by mac2708

It's to be hoped that you took advantage of the £24.99 download which ended 31/01/2013 as the price (as you'll see on the above link) has rocketed

Blimey that price has rocketed

[mac2708]

Prices are confusing and vary wildly and some of these are listed as OEM e.g.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_...+8%2Caps%2C213

http://www.ebuyer.com/store/Software...rosoft-Windows

http://www.dabs.com/category/computi...?q=windows%208

[psionic]

I purchased two extra licenses before the price went up. Which I will no doubt find a use for eventually.

[max99]

Sorry to be blunt, but after reading your Kaspersky thread, I'd have to advise that you don't consider it any further.

[TheBigM]

I would use the web-based installer instead of the disc.

[John259]

If you decide to go ahead:

Backup all your data files, including old email messages, email address books, saved web pages, web browser favourites/bookmarks, passwords, music, photographs, videos, documents, spreadsheets etc. Also backup all your device drivers, just in case. Make at least three copies to three different systems, for example USB memory stick, writable CD or DVD, and the cloud (i.e. a web server).

Make at least two image copies of each of your hard discs, so you can restore back to Vista if you wish to or need to. Make sure you know your Vista licence code.

Make sure you can install all your old programs either using discs they were sold on or the files you downloaded, or that you can download new copies (for example, Firefox and Chrome which are free of charge).

If you're even slightly lacking confidence in doing all that with 100% reliability then I would advise following the old rule - if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[HDMI]

Going by what I've read on these threads I think I will leave well alone