1:30 p.m.: The time has come. I insert the DVD that contains Vista into the drive on the xw8000 and let it start. After the usual questions, the installation starts. Not much seems to be happening, but the progress indicator is moving, so I go back to work.
3 p.m.: I check, and the installation continues. I notice that theres a message that it may take several hours. I go back to work.
5 p.m.: The computer has restarted twice, and is still installing. I wonder how long this would take on a machine with just one Pentium. Back to work.
7 p.m.: The installation finished when I wasnt looking. I tell Vista the answers to a couple of questions, and it restarts. Finally, the dual-boot screen shows up (I also run Linux on this machine) with a big question mark instead of a Windows logo where Im supposed to select the startup operating system. I click it anyway, and it allows me to log in. All is well. Sort of.
Read more here about dual-booting Vista and Linux.
7:15 p.m.: The screen contains error messages indicating that Norton AntiVirus wont start. No surprise there. I knew that there was an update available on the Symantec Web site. So I go there and download it, then run it. It fails. I try again. It fails again.
8 p.m.: The Symantec Web site, cloaked in a veil of inscrutability, fails to offer useful suggestions. Eventually I find a help topic that tells me to download the free version, uninstall the old version, install the new version (making sure I have my install key ready) and Ill be all set. That fails because NAV wont uninstall.
10:30 p.m.: Eventually I resort to the Symantec removal tool, which is like using a hand grenade to kill a mouse. That does work, the installation proceeds, and the new version picks up the installation key from the 2006 version of NAV, thus losing my years subscription.
Feb. 8, 1:30 a.m.: Norton AntiVirus is finally running, having decided that Im only entitled to a 73-day subscription rather than the year that came with NAV 2007 when I installed it the previous week.
2 a.m.: Tired of NAV problems, I decide its time to download SETI at Home, since that disappeared mysteriously during the Vista installation. I use Internet Explorer 7 for Vista. Somethings odd. The characters in the title bar are in Chinese. I go to bed.
9 a.m.: IE7 still is speaking in Chinese. I check the language settings. English is the only one selected. Id sent e-mail pleas to tech support at Symantec and Microsoft the earlier, so I checked for replies, only to find that IE7 also doesnt let me reply when Im using Outlook Web Mail. I decide to go have coffee and use my primary work computer, letting the xw8000 alone with its Chinese titles.
Later that Day: Promises of help arrive from Microsoft and from Symantec. Actual help, however, does not. At least NAV will run for 72 more days, and it tells me Im virus-free. Time to set my Chinese speaking, virus-free, workstation aside and let the news editor know that Im alive and will be writing today.
Will the Vista problems be solved? Probably not before next week. On the other hand, the games on the machine all work fine, so the teenager in the family is delighted.
More next week as I continue to try upgrading to Vista. I still havent tried the rest of the applications, so Im sure theres more lying in wait to tell you about.
Senior Writer Wayne Rash is a longtime technology writer and journalist based in Washington, D.C. Hes the author of four books related to technology. He can be reached at wayne_rash@ziffdavis.com.
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