Step 1: GIVE VISTA THE BOOT
At the very start of your PC's boot process, you'll see instructions for entering its setup utility, or Basic Input/Output System (BIOS). It's usually a key press, such as F2. If you're using a full-version DVD of Vista, follow the instructions to reach the BIOS, and navigate to the BIOS's boot-drive-order option. You'll want to designate that the system should boot to your DVD optical drive first. (In the case of our system BIOS, pictured here, we could prioritize the drive types to be checked for a boot disc or OS—optical drive, hard drive, floppy, and so on—as well as the specific order in which the hard drives are checked.)
Before you save changes in the BIOS, which will trigger a restart, insert your Vista DVD into that optical drive. Then save and exit. Your PC should reboot—let the upgrade begin.
If you're using an upgrade-version Vista DVD, the process will be different here—and diverge slightly from the steps that follow, at times. Most notably: You'll need to launch the install process from within a qualifying version of Windows, not by booting from the DVD.
Step 2: NOW YOU'RE SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE
For all the talk of Vista's stunning Aero interface, the first thing you'll see is a remarkably prosaic black prep screen with all the flair of, oh, MS-DOS 6:
Feel free to grab a beverage and/or snack of your choice, since you'll be treated to that slowly growing white bar for the next 5 to 10 minutes. Once it fills, and after a brief Microsoft splash screen, you'll be treated to your first dialog, for choosing your operating language, time/currency format, and keyboard or input method. Make your selections from the drop-downs. We left ours set to the English/United States defaults.
Then hit the Next button. You'll be taken to the Install Now screen, shown here.
On this screen, the "What to know before installing Windows link" is worth a visit if you want to revisit your pre-install options—decisions that, presumably, you've already made with our help. And at some future point, you might begin an attempt to repair a corrupted Vista installation from this screen, by booting to the Vista DVD-ROM and clicking the "Repair your computer" link. For now, though, you'll want to click the Install Now button and move on.
Step 3: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
The next step is the hardest task of the whole install—which indicates what a pain-free process you'll likely find the rest of it to be. Examine your Vista DVD's packaging to locate the Microsoft product key, and type in the code. It's a 25-character alphanumeric key, broken into five groups of five characters each. Don't worry about the hyphens—Vista thoughtfully inserts them for you.
Below the product key is a checkbox labeled "Automatically activate Windows when I'm online." Leaving it checked will enable your PC to "activate" your installation of Vista with Microsoft, automatically, starting three days after the install is complete.
Activation is mandatory. Like with Windows XP, keying in the product code isn't enough to validate the OS—you need to authenticate the installation with Microsoft via the Net or by phone. Doing so matches up the product key with your particular hardware configuration. Also, you may need to re-activate Vista in the future, if you make substantial hardware changes to the PC.
If you uncheck the box here, you'll need to manually activate your Vista install with Microsoft within 30 days. (Go to Control Panel > System and Maintenance > System, and check under the "Windows activation" area); otherwise, Vista will dial back to a "reduced functionality" mode, though it will certainly give you ample warning before doing so. (For more details on the Windows activation process, you can click "What is activation?" on this screen.) When you're done, click Next.
Step 4: LICENSE RENEWED
Ah, the Windows Vista license agreement. If you're a concerned cybercitizen with time on your hands, spend some time scanning the entire length of the document. Indeed, it does make for interesting reading in parts—especially the in-depth disclosures about Vista's authentication and periodic auto-validation processes. But, we admit, we also skipped great swaths of it and clicked "I accept the license terms," followed by the Next button.
Step 5: TWO FLAVORS OF INSTALL
Had you run the installer from within your current version of Windows, you might have been allowed a choice here: between an Upgrade ("in-place") install, which would retain your apps, settings, and data, and a Custom ("clean") install. But, since you booted from the DVD, your only choice here will be Custom. Select it. Hopefully you've backed up your essentials, as mentioned earlier, because we're nearing the point of no return. Hit Next.
Step 6: HEY, WHERE DO YOU WANT THIS THING?
On this screen, you'll choose a target drive or partition for your Vista install. Depending on the number of hard drives you have installed, as well as their current partitioning, the number of entries you see here will vary.
If your aim is a clean install over an earlier version of Windows, writing over the full contents of that drive or partition, click the "Drive options (advanced)" link to access disk-formatting options. You might, for example, wish to reformat the partition that will host Vista, leaving intact a data-only partition on the same drive. Clearing off a drive or partition for the install is always the wisest move for achieving a
Windows install that's stable and offers the best possible performance. But the sternest of warnings, lit up with Roman candles and shouted by 20 supermodels waving red flags: Make triple certain you know which drive or partition you are formatting before you commit to doing so. It's not unheard-of that the partition you thought was disposable was the one that hosted all your vacation photos and MP3s. In our case, we did a quick format of our entire 160GB Western Digital drive (ultimately to be our Vista boot drive), which was configured as one large partition.
Once you've performed any drive-formatting tasks, and highlighted the target location for the Vista install, click Next.
Ready for a break? Good—so are we. Luckily, Vista's installer will run on autopilot for a while now.
Step 7: REGULAR OR DECAF?
Now's the time to fetch more coffee, while the bulk of the Vista install runs. Vista will take a solid 15 minutes or more "expanding files" and "installing features," keeping you apprised of its progress along the way, before you need to do anything, so make yours a double.
After completing four of the five steps, your PC will reboot and launch into a teaser screen that says, "Please wait a moment while Windows prepares to start for the first time."
Keep sipping, though, since the next thing you'll see is the same install-in-progress screen that you saw before, which will stall on the "Completing installation" entry for another few minutes. After that clears out, expect another auto-reboot.
Soon, you'll see the same brief Microsoft splash screen you saw several times before, after which the setup process will begin in earnest. Back to work.
Step 8: I.D. ME
Your first action on the next screen ("Choose a user name and picture") will be to create an administrator account for your Vista install. Give the user account a name of your choice, and, optionally, an administrator password. If you decide to password-protect the account, the screen will change slightly, indicating that you need to verify the password by typing it again, and prompting you to enter a password hint. You can create additional user accounts (of the less-privileged "standard" and "guest" variety) later within the OS.
Next, choose a logo for this account. This step might seem frivolous, but you'll see this logo at the top of the Start menu, reminding you which account you're logged into. If none of the logos truly speaks to who you are (we weren't overly enamored with the robot, really), no worries—you can exchange it later for your headshot from your modeling days, or a candid of your chihuahua. (Once the dust settles, go to Control Panel > User Accounts and Family Safety > User Accounts > Change Your Picture, and click the "Browse for more pictures" link.)
Step 9: I.D. THE PC
Give your PC a name—preferably a readily identifiable one, if it'll be important to distinguish it from among several others on your network. (Use of certain characters is verboten—click the "computer name" link for details.) Then choose among the six desktop backgrounds. With so few choices on offer, we're not sure why Microsoft even bothered with this step, since you're almost certain to want to customize this immediately. Regardless, don't dwell too much on that—make your Hobson's choice, and click Next.
Step 10: BEST DEFENSE
The next step is brief but important. The screen "Help protect Windows automatically" appears, with three choices: "Use recommended settings," "Install important updates only," and "Ask me later." We chose—and highly recommend you choose, too—the first option. Doing so will turn on a variety of protective measures, including Windows Update (for automated updates and patches for the OS itself); Windows Defender (Vista's built-in spyware app); and the Phishing Filter in Internet Explorer 7 (highly recommended). Choosing this option will also okay Vista to perform an initial automated check for hardware drivers. You can turn all of these options on and off yourself within the OS later on, of course, but unless you've got specific objections to any of these features, we suggest going the safe route.
Step 11: CONTROL TIME AND SPACE
Next up is the "Review your time and date settings" dialog. Unless you live on the West Coast of the United States or Canada, you'll probably need to do more than just review these settings. Change the time zone if needed (and uncheck the "Automatically adjust..." box if you live in one of the few spots in the States that don't abide by Daylight Savings Time). Then set the date and time. The easiest way to set the time (the analog clock's hands aren't draggable): Use the Tab key to advance to the different time fields (clicking and highlighting in these fields is a bit awkward), and use the up and down directional arrows to change the parameters.
After clicking Next, you'll reach the "Select your computer's current location" screen. You'll choose among three options: Home, Work, or Public Location. Which you choose will auto-set several networking parameters governing whether your PC can see and be seen by other networked PCs and certain peripherals. We chose Home.
Clicking the appropriate location will bring you to the end of the scripted Vista install process. At the Thank You screen, hit Start.
Step 12: ONE LAST CHECK
Your PC will launch into a brief "performance check," spiced up by an assortment of splash screens detailing the features and functionality Vista adds.
Once you see the Windows Vista logo on a black background, the real first launch of the OS is imminent.
Step 13: FINALLY, LOGIN
Vista will now log you in to the OS under your administrator account. If you set up the account with password protection, a login screen will pop up now, asking you for your password. No need to click in the password field to do so—just type it in and click the blue arrow. Two wait screens will go by before Vista extends its official welcome.
Step 14: MICROSOFT'S WELCOME MAT
Then the Vista Desktop appears, topped by Vista's Welcome Center. Now's the time to reattach your PC's Ethernet cable (or other means of accessing the Net), since you may wish to test the state of your Net connection from here. If you have a Vista-compatible version of your antivirus software, installing it first is an excellent idea.
Click the Connect to the Internet link to check the status of your Net connection. We plugged in the Ethernet cable connecting our Vista PC to our home network's router, and did so—our connection was live immediately.
You can perform a variety of tasks from the Welcome Center. An important one, if your PC will be used by multiple family members, is to create accounts for members who will need them. Hit Add Users to start the process. This is especially important if you don't want to grant administrator rights to everyone (or, for that matter, if you'd prefer to create a "working" account for yourself that keeps admin access at arm's length—never a bad idea). Vista is very forthright about alerting you to processes that will require admin rights, and makes it easy to escalate a process to the admin level if needed.
Other tabs in the Welcome Center point you to various customization and basic function screens. A great place to start getting oriented, once you're done with the entire install, is with Vista's built-in video demos. (In the Welcome Center, expand the "Get started with Windows" field by double-clicking on it, and choose "Windows Vista Demos.") Some of the content is extremely basic, but it's worth a quick browse.
If you don't want to see the Welcome Center every time you boot up, dismiss it by unchecking the "Run at startup" box at the bottom of the window. But we suggest letting it hang around for a while as you get acclimated to Vista. Many familiar items are in new places, and the Welcome Center can make it easier to find them.
Step 15: HERE'S THE DESKTOP
Once you close the Welcome Center, you'll get your first good look at the Vista Desktop. One important word of warning: Your installation may or may not have installed the proper graphics drivers for your graphics card or PC's motherboard-based graphics. (In our case, the RTM install we performed did not install the drivers for our Radeon X1950 Pro card. Your mileage may vary.) As a result, even if your system is compliant with the Vista Aero specifications, you may not be seeing the Aero interface yet. The easiest way to tell: Hover over the close ("X") or minimize ("-") buttons in the upper-right corner of a standard window. If they don't glow, no Aero. You don't have to manually activate Aero; once the correct graphics driver is installed, and if your PC is up to spec, it'll show itself.
Along the right-hand side of the desktop you'll see the new Sidebar, a dedicated area for hosting Gadgets, which are mini-apps that bring certain functionality straight to the desktop. Vista provides a few choices of Gadget (right-click the Sidebar and choose Add Gadgets), and you can expect plenty more downloadable possibilities from Microsoft, third parties, and enthusiasts as Vista gains steam. For some new ones to try beside the defaults, start at the Windows Live Gallery. Out of the box, you can set up real-time stock tickers, RSS feeds, a local-weather feed, and more in the Sidebar. To be used to the best effect, though, some of these require an always-on Net connection.
Step 16: DRIVER MANIA
On our initial boot, we didn't see the Aero interface, so our next step was to install our graphics card's driver. Indeed, you'll certainly have to download and install some drivers for hardware that Vista couldn't auto-install. To see which drivers you'll need, go to Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Device Manager. Hardware with an exclamation point (!) next to it likely needs a driver—double-click on the item to confirm this is so.
Incidentally, on your way to Device Manager for the first time, you'll be confronted by a User Access Control pop-up window—the first of many of these you will face as you putter around in your new OS. It's Vista's controversial way of limiting access to sensitive areas of the OS, or of double-checking that you indeed want to take a potentially risky action. Here, it's okay to authorize it.
In our case, we learned in Device Manager that we needed to track down drivers for our ATI graphics card, Creative Audigy sound card, and the RAID controller on our Intel motherboard.
We scouted out these drivers at the various manufacturer Web sites and downloaded the versions for 32-bit Vista. Then we ran the install routine for our graphics card only, and chose Restart from the Start menu. (Hover over the right-pointing arrow at the lower right of the Start menu to see this and other shutdown-related commands.) Installing only that one driver for now was intentional. We recommend that you install only one driver at a time, and reboot between installs, checking the functionality of that component before moving on to the next. That way, it's easier to diagnose any glitches along the way.
At the initial bootup screen, we sidetracked the boot process into the BIOS again, like we did in Step 1. Go again to the bootup-order options, and redirect the system to boot first from your Vista drive. Save this change, which will trigger a quick exit from the BIOS and yet another reboot.
Once you've gotten over the initial oooohs and ahhhhs, continue installing your hardware drivers, one at a time. When you're done, restore your backed-up files and reinstall your Vista-compatible apps. (If you used Windows Easy Transfer, go to Start > Programs > All Accessories > System Tools > Windows Easy Transfer to begin the import process.) After that, relax and enjoy: You're free to explore all that Microsoft's new OS has to offer.
