New HD: Clone with XP or new Vista install?

[BriGuy]

Could use some advice on this. The original hard drive in my computer is failing, and I'm trying to decide if I should clone it with its existing XP SP3 (media center) OS and all existing programs, or do a clean install of Vista (home premium) on a new drive?

Specs on my machine: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ 2.2 Ghz processor (dual core); 4 GB PC2-5300 RAM; Nvidia 9800GT 1 GB graphics card; 500W Antec power supply.

I'm replacing the original 300 GB SATA HD with a 500 GB drive with a 32 MB cache.

Uses are for Internet, email, gaming... primarily World of Warcraft, but also some first person shooters when I get around to playing them. A friend says with my system, I shouldn't see any performance hit from going to Vista. True?

Most of the reviews of Vista I see are a year or two old. I know Vista got universally slammed. Has it gotten better, with the SP1 and driver updates since it first came out?

With keeping XP, the advantages are I keep all my programs, settings and everything just as they are. Of course, if there's anything wrong or amiss in the registry, viruses, etc, then I keep those too, although I'm not aware of any problems like that. (Use Spybot, CCleaner, antivirus.) I also know how to use XP, and I like it - if my hard drive hadn't died, I'd never think about Vista.

If I go to Vista, I get a fresh, clean install of just the OS on a new drive. then I have to deal with copying and reinstalling the stuff I need... WoW I understand can be just copied over... but I need to figure out how to move Steam and iTunes... and I have documents in Microsoft Works format, so I need to deal with that, too...

And with Vista... I'd be current, "up-to-date," and more easily able to advance to Windows 7 if I want.

To do the clean install, I have an upgrade kit that I got for free after buying my computer. I never used it because of all the problems and issues there were with Vista. I guess if I wanted, I could clone the drive, then use the update, so that way I'd keep all my programs.

I keep going back and forth on this. Can't make up my mind.

Suggestions? Thoughts? Pros, cons?

 

[Jadzia]

New and up-to-date isn't always better. New and up-to-date is when a company wants to sell stuff make more profit.

Your consideration should be your needs, not migrating to something new just because it's new, or because it comes with a load of gimmicky features that are tempting, but you don't actually need.

If XP serves your current needs (does it?), and you don't anticipate these needs changing in the immediate foreseeable future, then why struggle with migration to a different OS?

 

[Garrovick]

If XP is what you are using, just stick with XP.

 

[BriGuy]

XP seems fine to me. If the drive hadn't started to fail, I would not consider making any change. I've kept the Vista upgrade kit I got, but decided not to use it.

When I sat down at my computer last night after being away for the weekend, first thought I had was I'd definitely want to keep XP. I got online to pay a bill, and uninstalled and removed a few things I know I don't need or use anymore in anticipation of cloning it. Fortunately the computer still works, even though it takes much longer to boot.

I guess it's the factor of having the "opportunity," with the new hard drive that got me wondering.

 

[LaxScrutiny]

If you don't already have a Vista disk laying around, stick with XP for now.

Vista is fine, there are no problems with it like when it was first released (and that was mainly 1 or 2 specific drivers and a bug with file transfers) and with the SP 1 everything is fixed.

But don't buy it now, if you have any thoughts of Windows 7, if you buy a copy of Vista around July or so, it will include a free upgrade to Windows 7 so you will kick yourself if you buy now.

With that much RAM you are running 64 bit? There's actually much better driver support for Vista 64 than there was with XP 64. But if you are doing well with XP then stick with it. It took me months to replace all the little freeware apps I used with XP and a couple of older commercial apps that would quite work properly in Vista.

 

[BriGuy]

If you don't already have a Vista disk laying around, stick with XP for now.

Vista is fine, there are no problems with it like when it was first released (and that was mainly 1 or 2 specific drivers and a bug with file transfers) and with the SP 1 everything is fixed.

But don't buy it now, if you have any thoughts of Windows 7, if you buy a copy of Vista around July or so, it will include a free upgrade to Windows 7 so you will kick yourself if you buy now.

With that much RAM you are running 64 bit? There's actually much better driver support for Vista 64 than there was with XP 64. But if you are doing well with XP then stick with it. It took me months to replace all the little freeware apps I used with XP and a couple of older commercial apps that would quite work properly in Vista.

I actually do have Vista laying around - it's an upgrade kit I got for free. It was part of the "deal" when I bought my computer - they wanted people to keep buying computers, so they promised free upgrades to Vista. It came in early 07. Never used it.

Not running 64 bit. 32-bit XP and the Vista upgrade is 32-bit home premium. I had two gigs of ram, and decided to max it out, even tho the computer can't "see" all of it. It's reading 3.5, which is a step up from 2. And I got a faster speed, and it was cheap - $100 for 4 gigs.

 

[BriGuy]

Any other feedback on whether I'm better off cloning with XP or starting new with Vista on a new hard drive???

 

[Jadzia]

You can always try vista out on your new disk. If you don't like its performance, delete it, and clone your xp drive onto it.

 

[BriGuy]

You can always try vista out on your new disk. If you don't like its performance, delete it, and clone your xp drive onto it.

Yeah, I had that thought. One of the options.

Is it possible to install Vista, then clone some specific things from the old drive to the new one? I'd want to copy over Steam, iTunes and Microsoft Works, specifically.