Activating Windows

Microsoft requires you to activate Windows Vista within 30 days of installation. Activation is a onceonly procedure that you normally perform online, but there’s also a phone-based backup system in case online activation is unavailable or you have an activation problem that the online system can’t handle. If you don’t activate Windows, it lapses into a “reduced-functionality mode” in which you can do little except go online to activate it. Windows offers during installation to activate itself automatically, and it reminds you that you need to register, so there’s little danger that you’ll forget. To help you further, some computer manufacturers preactivate Windows Vista, so once you’ve completed setup, activation is complete.

Make Sure All Your Hardware Is Working before You Activate Windows

If you’ve upgraded to Windows Vista or performed a new installation or clean installation, don’t activate Windows immediately. Instead, make sure that all your hardware works satisfactorily with Windows before activating it. If you’ve already activated Windows and then find you need to replace several of your computer’s components to get Windows running well, you may have to jump through additional activation hurdles, as Windows’ activation component monitors your computer’s configuration to make sure you haven’t surreptitiously moved an activated copy of Windows to another computer.

To see whether you need to activate Windows, and activate it if necessary, take the following steps:

1. Press Windows Key+Break. Windows displays a System window.

2. If the Windows Activation area doesn’t say “Windows is activated,” click the link for activation, and then follow through the resulting wizard.

Transferring Your Files and Settings

If you’ve upgraded from Windows XP to Windows Vista, you should be ready to start computing at this point. But if you’ve performed a new installation or a clean installation of Windows Vista, you may need to use Windows Easy Transfer to copy your files and settings from your old operating system or computer. To do so, take the following steps

1. If the Welcome Center window is open, double-click the Transfer Files and Settings icon in the Get Started with Windows area. Otherwise, choose Start All Programs Accessories System Tools Windows Easy Transfer. Either way, authenticate yourself to User Account Control. Windows launches the Windows Easy Transfer wizard, which displays the Welcome to Windows Easy Transfer screen.

2.Click the Next button. The wizard displays the Do You Want to Start a New Transfer or Continue One in Progress? screen. Follow through the appropriate one of the next three sections for the type of transfer you want to perform: via a USB cable; via a network; or via a CD, DVD, or removable drive.

Transferring via a USB Cable

To transfer files and settings via a USB Easy Transfer cable with Windows Easy Transfer, take the following steps:

1. Connect the USB Easy Transfer cable to each computer. If the Found New Hardware Wizard asks you to provide a driver for the cable, supply the driver that came with the cable. The Windows Easy Transfer Wizard says that Windows Vista automatically detects USB Easy Transfer connections, but even so, you may need to install a driver for some cables.

2. After installing any driver needed on each computer, unplug the cable again.

3. On the Do You Want to Start a New Transfer or Continue One in Progress? screen of the Windows Easy Transfer Wizard, click the Start a New Transfer button. The wizard displays the Which Computer Are You Using Now? screen.

4. Click the My New Computer button. The wizard displays the Do You Have an Easy Transfer Cable? screen.

5. Click the Yes, I Have an Easy Transfer Cable button. The wizard displays the Install the Easy Transfer Cable and Connect Your Computers screen.

6. Connect to the cable to a USB 2.0 port on each computer. When the wizard detects the connection, it displays the What Do You Want to Transfer to Your New Computer? screen.

7. Select the files and settings to transfer, as discussed in the section “Choosing the Files and Settings to Transfer,” and then follow the wizard’s instructions to complete the transfer.

8. The wizard displays the Please Wait until the Transfer Is Complete screen as it transfers the files and settings you specified.

9. When the wizard displays the The Transfer Is Complete screen, click the Close button.

Transferring via a Network

To transfer your files and settings via a network connection, take the following steps:

1. On the Do You Want to Start a New Transfer or Continue One in Progress? screen of the Windows Easy Transfer Wizard, click the Continue a Transfer in Progress button. The wizard displays the Are Your Computers Connected to a Network? screen.

2. Click the Yes, I’ll Transfer Files and Settings over the Network button. If the wizard tells you that your firewall is blocking Windows Easy Transfer from using the network, as shown here, click the Yes button. The wizard displays the Type Your Windows Easy Transfer Key screen.

3. Type the key the code from your old computer, and then click the Next button. The wizard establishes a connection between the two computers, and then displays the Your Computers Are Now Connected screen.

4. Select the files and settings to transfer, as discussed in the section “Choosing the Files and Settings to Transfer,” and then follow the wizard’s instructions to complete the transfer.

5. The wizard displays the Please Wait until the Transfer Is Complete screen as it transfers the files and settings you specified.

6. When the wizard displays the The Transfer Is Complete screen, click the Close button.

Transferring via a CD, DVD, or Drive

To transfer your files or settings via a CD, DVD, USB flash drive, or network drive, take the following steps.

1. On the Do You Want to Start a New Transfer or Continue One in Progress? screen of the Windows Easy Transfer Wizard, click the Continue a Transfer in Progress button. The wizard displays the Are Your Computers Connected to a Network? screen.

1. Click the No, I’ve Copied Files and Settings to a CD, DVD or Other Removable Media button. The wizard displays the Where Did You Save the Files and Settings You Want to Transfer? screen.

2. Click the On a CD or DVD button, the On a USB Flash Drive button, or the On an External Hard Disk or Network Location button, as appropriate.

3. On the next screen the name varies depending on the medium, tell the wizard where the disc or drive is, type the password if there is one, and then click the Next button. Windows displays the Review Selected Files and Settings screen.

4. Double-check the list of files and settings, and then click the Transfer button.

5. Windows displays the Please Wait until the Transfer Is Complete screen as it transfers the files and settings you specified.

6. When the wizard displays the The Transfer Is Complete screen, click the Close button.

Starting a Transfer from Windows Explorer

If you’ve saved your files and settings to a file on a CD, DVD, or drive, you don’t need to go through the preliminary stops of the Windows Easy Transfer Wizard. Instead, follow these steps:

1.Insert the disc or connect the drive.

2.Open a Windows Explorer window to the folder that contains the file.

3.Double-click the file, and then authenticate yourself to User Account Control. Windows launches the Windows Easy Transfer Wizard at the Review Selected Files and Settings screen, where you can simply click the Transfer button to start the transfer.

Logging Off If Necessary

If the Windows Easy Transfer Wizard prompts you to log off so that it can finish applying your files and settings, do so. When you log back on, you’ll find the files and settings.