Editor's Note

Guy Thomas is a consultant living in England who focuses on development under Windows. Like any good programmer, Guy takes a very methodical approach to everything he does, including planning for an upgrade from Windows XP to Vista.

If you have read the articles about Windows Vista published on Tom's Hardware since early January, you know that there are problems with some drivers for Vista, especially in the area of graphics. You also know that the Vista interface is popular with some while not a favorite of others, and that the performance of some applications is not as good under Vista as under XP. You've also probably read the many negative Vista upgrade/installation stories published on TG Daily and other websites.

I urge you to keep all of this and Guy's careful approach to Vista upgrades in mind as you move forward. Try hard to avoid just throwing a Vista DVD into your computer and running an upgrade. Yes, Microsoft might have made the Vista installation/upgrade process easier to use and more reliable, and we've all been able to get away with a lot of program installations and even operating system upgrades/installations in the past by just running the installation program. Still, in the end, running a Vista installation or upgrade without the planning and precautions Guy recommends here is tantamount to opening a virus infected file without any anti-virus software on your computer.

It's your computer, so it's your responsibility to decide when you're ready to jump off the cliff. When you do, make sure you've strapped on the best parachute you can put together - this article can help you build a better parachute for Vista.

- Barry Gerber

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