Is My System Ready?

Microsoft Vista will require more stringent hardware requirements than Windows XP. In addition, not all software that you currently own may work on Vista. Therefore, it is recommended that before you upgrade to Vista, make sure to check your hardware and software for compatibility. Microsoft and Dell (along with other hardware manufacturers) have released tools to help with this process.

Note: Upgrading an existing system from Windows XP to Vista can take several hours. Because of this lengthy service time, Computer Services does not currently perform these upgrades.

Microsoft offers a fair amount of information on their Windows Vista site, and also provides an upgrade advisor tool which can help determine if your system is ready.

You can also visit Dell's Vista site and run their Readiness Advisor.

If you have recently purchased a PC (since July 2006) and it has a Windows Vista Capable PC or Windows Vista Premium Ready sticker on it, the hardware will run Vista.  However, the software you intend to use should still be checked for compatibility.  Older hardware that has been purchased in the last two years will generally work fine.  Although most computers with a "Designed for Windows XP" sticker will run Vista, Computer Services recommends the following system requirements for running Vista:

	Recommendations
Processor	At least 1.3 GHz
RAM	1.5 Gig for slower systems, 1 Gig for faster systems
Graphics Card	DirectX 9 Capable with 128 Meg Graphics Memory
Hard Drive Size	40 Gig
Hard Drive Free Space	15 Gig
Optical Drive	DVD (Vista is shipped only on DVD)