Sometimes, I swear that Microsoft is declaring war on its customers. As if their DRM debacle wasn’t enough proof, now it appears that Microsoft has made it impossible to install a clean version of Vista with an upgrade license.

Ken Fisher over on Ars Technica has written an excellent article on this topic:

From: Vista “upgrade” drops compliance checking, requires old OS to install
Upgrade versions of Windows Vista Home Basic, Premium, and Starter Edition will not install on any PC unless Windows XP or Windows 2000 is already on the machine in question…
KB930985 clearly states: “you cannot use an upgrade key to perform a clean installation of Windows Vista.” According to Microsoft, this happens because Windows Vista does not check for upgrade compliance. If you do not have a previous installation of Windows available, Microsoft recommends that you “purchase a license that lets you perform a clean installation of Windows Vista.”

What does this mean in practical terms? Wiping the drive and installing a clean copy of the OS–something that is necessary about once every 6 months or so–using an upgrade license is impossible. Instead, you’ll have to go through the 45 minute install for XP and then install Vista via the upgrade option directly from the XP desktop.

Anyone who has ever tried to upgrade to one Windows OS directly from another knows that this is problematic and not recommended. It is far more preferable to start with a virgin drive and install the OS from scratch. Microsoft has once again made a draconian license decision without considering–or more to the point, caring about–the needs of their most savvy and technical customers. It is almost as if the folks at Microsoft who dreamed up this inane restriction don’t use their own product. The thought of installing Vista directly from XP makes my brain hurt.

This is yet another reason I am recommending to all of my friends, family, or clients to stay away from Vista. If Microsoft is trying so hard to make us upgrade to Vista, then why put up so many obstacles? First, the ridiculously high retail pricing. Second, a nauseating array of product choices. Third, onerous and invasive DRM. Now this. I fear to ask, “What next?”

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 28th, 2007 at 4:46 pm and is filed under Opinion . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.