Microsoft Announces Vista Upgrade Plan: No Chance for Windows 2000

August 1st news - As the release date of the final test version, namely the preview edition, approaches before the official launch of Windows Vista, Microsoft has revealed more details about upgrading to this next-generation operating system. One of these details is: Windows 2000 cannot be upgraded to Vista.

According to Betanews, although users of Windows 2000 Professional can also purchase a lower-priced upgrade copy of Microsoft Vista, Vista must be "fully installed." This means that users will need to manually back up their original files and data and then move them to the appropriate location.

According to Microsoft, a normal upgrade will "retain applications, files, and settings from previous versions of Windows."

The requirements for the 64-bit version of Windows XP and Windows 2000 Professional are the same. Although the final version of Vista will be compatible with both 64-bit and 32-bit versions, Microsoft currently has not designed an upgrade path for the current 64-bit version.

Moreover, Windows XP Professional will only be able to upgrade to the Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista. This is because some features built into XP Professional have not been included in the Home Basic and Home Premium SKUs of Vista.

Microsoft said: "If you upgrade from your current version of Windows to Vista, some functionality may be lost..."