Vista Will Require Previous OS To Upgrade

This news seems to be shaking some folks up. In Microsoft’s attempts to control how their new OS is installed on machines, they have done away “compliance checking” in the way we have come to know it.

Basically compliance checking requires you to have either the current OS installed or, if you are doing a clean install, the original install disk that would be inserted during the install process to verify your compliance. Now, according to reports like this one from Ars Technica, you’ll no longer be able to use the earlier OS disk to prove you are actually upgrading.

This is an issue that is going to affect power users more than others, as the bottom line is you’ll no longer be able to use a product purchased as an “upgrade” to do a clean install.

I’m not so sure why folks are so exorcised about this, as an upgrade price is different than a full product price. Sure, it is better to do a clean install, (I always do), but then you have to pay the freight to do so. The arguement that I already own the previous version qualifies me for an upgrade makes sense logically of course and that’s where the brouhaha comes from. It will be interesting to see how this plays out from a PR perspective.

UPDATE: See this post for an update on this info.