Getting Started

You may have three choices of installing Windows Vista™:

Upgrade current Windows® XP to Windows Vista™ (recommended)

New installation to replace your current Windows® XP

New installation to coexist with your current Windows® XP

Upgrade current Windows® XP to Windows Vista™ (recommended)

With this option, your original Windows® XP will be upgraded to Windows Vista™, and all your personal data, settings and applications will be migrated to Windows Vista™.

Please follow the steps below to complete the Windows® upgrade.

Preparation

If your computer is equipped with a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) or smartcard device, and you have enabled some security mechanisms powered by them, please disable those security mechanisms first. For more information, visit the Acer support website.

Internet access is recommended during the upgrade.

Download the upgrade packages for your PC. You will find 2 files in the download section. The Vista update.zip contains all necessary driver and BIOS updates, Application.zip contains update patches for additional applications that were preinstalled on your PC (i.e. NTI CD Maker, Power DVD, Acer Empowering tools).

Create a folder C:\VistaSW and unpack the files into this folder. Go to C:\VistaSW\Wizard, and run UpgradeKit.exe, this will install the Acer Upgrade Wizard. Once the installation is finished you can run the wizard from your desktop, it will guide you through the upgrade process.

Installing Windows Vista™

Insert the Windows Vista™ DVD into your DVD-ROM drive. On the start page of the DVD, click "Install now" to get started with the Windows Vista™ installation. If the start page doesn't launch automatically, please run "setup.exe" from the root folder of the DVD.

The Windows® installer will ask for your choice of installation. Please be sure to select "upgrade" instead of "custom."

We recommend that you upgrade your Norton product as directed during the Microsoft Vista™ upgrade process. If, however, you encounter a problem with your Norton subscription after your Vista upgrade, please visit: www.symantec.com/windowsvistasupport.

If you are using antivirus software from another vendor, please contact your vendor for the upgrade process.

During the Windows upgrade, you may see some potential issues in the “compatibility report.” You can click Next to continue, as the potential issues will not affect the Windows upgrade. After the Windows upgrade, the Acer Upgrade Wizard will upgrade Cyberlink® PowerDVD® or PowerProducer®, Acer Arcade™ and/or NTI CD/DVD Maker™ on your system. For other applications, please check with your vendor for an upgrade solution.

Updating drivers and applications

After you reach the Windows Vista™ desktop, you will see the Acer Upgrade Kit start page again If the wizard doesn‘t start automatically, please run it from your desktop. The Acer Upgrade Wizard will update your drivers and applications automatically.

If you find that some drivers or applications are not installed properly, you can click "manually" on the start page of the Acer Upgrade Kit DVD to select the packages you want to install.

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New installation to replace your current Windows® XP

With this option, your current operating system will be replaced with Windows Vista™, and all your current applications have to be reinstalled under Windows Vista™. Please note that NTI CD/DVD Maker, Cyberlink PowerDVD/PowerProducer and Acer Arcade will not be installed if you choose this option. Below are the steps for this option.

Installing Windows Vista™

Insert the Windows Vista™ DVD into your DVD-ROM drive. On the start page of the DVD, click "Install now" to get started with the Windows Vista™ installation. If the start page doesn't launch automatically, please run "setup.exe" from the root folder of the DVD.

The Windows® installer will ask for your choice of installation. Please be sure to select "custom" instead of "upgrade." Next, you have to select a disk volume to install Windows Vista™ to. Please select the current system volume (usually C:).

Installing drivers and applications

Download the upgrade packages for your PC. You will find 2 files in the download section. The Vista update.zip contains all necessary driver and BIOS updates, Application.zip contains update patches for additional applications that were preinstalled on your PC (i.e. NTI CD Maker, Power DVD, Acer Empowering tools).

Create a folder C:\VistaSW and unpack the files into this folder. Go to C:\VistaSW\Wizard, and run UpgradeKit.exe, this will install the Acer Upgrade Wizard. Once the installation is finished you can run the wizard from your desktop, it will guide you through the upgrade process.

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New installation to coexist with your current Windows® XP

With this option, your current operating system will be retained and coexist with Windows Vista™. Every time you start your computer, you can select to boot either Windows® XP or Windows Vista™. All your current applications have to be reinstalled under Windows Vista™. Please note that NTI CD/DVD Maker, Cyberlink PowerDVD/PowerProducer and Acer Arcade will not be installed if you choose this option. Below are the steps for this option.

Installing Windows Vista™

Insert the Windows Vista™ DVD into your DVD-ROM drive. On the start page of the DVD, click "Install now" to get started with the Windows Vista™ installation. If the start page doesn't launch automatically, please run "setup.exe" from the root folder of the DVD.

The Windows® installer will ask for your choice of installation. Please be sure to select "custom" instead of "upgrade." Next, you have to select a disk volume to install Windows Vista™ to. Please select a disk volume other than the current system volume. For example, if your current system volume is C:, you can select D: to install Windows Vista™.

Installing drivers and applications

Download the upgrade packages for your PC. You will find 2 files in the download section. The Vista update.zip contains all necessary driver and BIOS updates, Application.zip contains update patches for additional applications that were preinstalled on your PC (i.e. NTI CD Maker, Power DVD, Acer Empowering tools).

Create a folder C:\VistaSW and unpack the files into this folder. Go to C:\VistaSW\Wizard, and run UpgradeKit.exe, this will install the Acer Upgrade Wizard. Once the installation is finished you can run the wizard from your desktop, it will guide you through the upgrade process.