Thank you for the replies, Richard. The beta pitfalls of Glitcy
Programming, imo, do not extend to the end-phase directions to all RC
users--Defective, misleading instructions furnished by the very makers of the
product they know inside and out.

That is to say, and I am not whining but NOTING: the instructions to users
even at the end of the testing program, were and are completely wrong.

Here's how simple it is: "IF you are an RC user, you are in RC Ultimate.
You will not be able to migrate your programs, settings, data to any other
Vista version other than Vista Ultimate."

And, sir, they did not say that. They said the opposite. And this failing
is not a failing of arcane, buggy software. It was and is a complete failure
of responsible communications.

It was and is a brick wall a mile wide and tall, fully in their view,
which they chose NOT to warn users about. Why?

This is not a whine, it is an observation of egregious sin of Microsoft's
doing.

WARNING TO RC USERS planning to upgrade and in need of a clean install:
your "totalbackup" disks are only usable if you buy Ultimate.

And that is true. I've just given a useful lesson in payback for the lesson
I have learned the hard way: MS lies outright. Apologists will ignore the
basic fact that the MS official flacks are sloppy or outright disingenous in
this case. I speak of the official mouthpieces, the hirelings. I'm not
slapping any MS user/defenders.
On the contrary, I thank you for being frank and for offering rebuttals
against all common sense.



"Richard Urban" wrote:
[color=blue]
> Please be certain you know how to properly "use" the anytime upgrade and
> that you back it up (in other words - copy the ****ed thing) to multiple
> different media. This can be DVD's, external USB drives, a network drive -
> whatever.
>
> Don't come back here whining when you lose the upgrade because you have to
> reinstall your operating system - and you find that you can't locate/use a
> defective backup of the anytime upgrade. Back it up and test the backup to
> be certain it is competent.
>
> --
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Richard Urban
> Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
> (For email, remove the obvious from my address)
>
> Quote from George Ankner:
> If you knew as much as you think you know,
> You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
>
> "Lowered Expectations" <LoweredExpectations@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote
> in message news:84E9908C-902F-4C6F-B884-516D68A3A9A8@microsoft.com...[color=green]
> >
> > Thank you for calm, good words, DP.
> >
> > No, I can't/won't send my disks out to a stranger.
> > The matter is now laid out for discussion. I'm not a very level-headed
> > writer today, being this upset with anger at Microsoft for their...flub?
> >
> > It's the feeling that yes, all the paranoid rants I've read about MS in
> > years past:
> > why, they're true! (so it seems).
> >
> > I will pay, I guess I must, to have Ultimate as an "Anytime" upgrade.
> > That's sort of funny: "Anytime Upgrade" in this case means: "BUY it or you
> > won't have anything of your PiTiful Prior files and data" (insert Mad Dr.
> > Gates cackle, I joke)
> > _____
> >
> > versed as commentary for this thread:
> >
> > In days of old The Robber, bold
> > held up the populace!
> > He stopped the Stage, and to enrage
> > snatched your lady's necklace!
> >
> > And yet, today, in modern ways
> > The Thief reminds of old:
> > he rubs us hard with a Friction
> > and leaves every body cold!
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > "DP" wrote:
> >[color=darkred]
> >>
> >> Perhaps a reader here who has the requisite version would volunteer to
> >> try
> >> to retrieve your data if you send them CDs (that's if you want to entrust
> >> your data to a complete stranger).
> >>
> >> One other point, though I don't expect this to be terrific news for you.
> >> As
> >> I understand the "anytime upgrade" you're not going to have to pay the
> >> full
> >> cost of an ADDITIONAL version of Vista. You will just have to pay an
> >> upgrade
> >> cost. I don't know what those costs are, but it's not like you'll have to
> >> buy an additional licensed version. You'd just be upgrading your current
> >> version.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> "Lowered Expectations" <LoweredExpectations@discussions.microsoft.com>
> >> wrote
> >> in message news:FC6AB26E-9DAB-4CB1-977C-019B4DDD22D6@microsoft.com...
> >> > Pardon, please this rant. First: thanks to the gents here who have
> >> > already
> >> > answered my earlier questions.
> >> >
> >> > The results of the answers are not encouraging me to calm down.
> >> > Oh well.
> >> >
> >> > --The Problem: I (and how many others?) was on the Vista beta and
> >> > RC1/2
> >> > program.
> >> >
> >> > Near the end of the trial period I looked into purchase options.
> >> > Microsoft told me/us here:
> >> > [url]http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/preview.mspx[/url]
> >> > and elsewhere, that all that we need do was MAKE the backup while RC1
> >> > was
> >> > still viable (I did that), and then buy and install one's own preferred
> >> > Vista.
> >> >
> >> > ALL I was told to do was make a total back up, choose and buy a Vista
> >> > version.
> >> > I opted for Home Basic.
> >> >
> >> > I cannot put my old settings, files or folders into the new OS.
> >> > Period.
> >> >
> >> > This is wrong of Microsoft. You have locked me out from my data.
> >> > Microsoft told us to make backup before installing the clean, paid-for
> >> > Vista.
> >> > They NEVER told me that my backup would be completely useless.
> >> > And furthermore, even though I'd now just like to get back to XP (which
> >> > is
> >> > not so evil as this Vista-Thing), I cannot put my RC1 backup of data
> >> > into
> >> > an
> >> > XP install.
> >> >
> >> > So I'm screwed. I paid for Vista. I can't have my data back unless I
> >> > get
> >> > (am told elswhere here) Ultimate or something near that.
> >> >
> >> > Phooey. If anyone has a solution short of suicide of the user, please
> >> > tell.
> >> > WHAT were they thinking????
> >> >
> >> > A user, typical, not savvy, reads and believes the public information
> >> > of
> >> > the
> >> > link above.
> >> > The link DOES not tell the user that they can't save their old data to
> >> > the
> >> > new OS via disk. It only speaks of "Easy Transfer" between two
> >> > computers.
> >> >
> >> > I don't have two computers, anyway. I don't even have the one
> >> > computer
> >> > that I had before the RC1 timeout. I have nothing. I've lost all my
> >> > data---until, it seems, I knuckle under and pay for Ultimate (or will
> >> > Home
> >> > Premium do the "trick").
> >> >
> >> > A rant ends. I'm spent. Please help me? There must be thousands of
> >> > others
> >> > like me today, tearing their hair in regret at ever, ever leaving XP.
> >> >
> >> > I have been a Windows user since 1995. You'd think I'd have learned
> >> > something about it by now. Finally I have learned. Very sorry here.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > That's a boondoggle lie of gargantuan proportions.
> >> > Microsoft has ruined me by locking me out of my own computer.
> >> >
> >> > This deserves a new thread. It is such an literally incredible bit of
> >> > nonsense;
> >> > ANYONE going from any of the trialware Vista to paid-version Vista
> >> > would
> >> > naturally expect to be able to move their data over to the new OS via
> >> > disks.
> >> >
> >> > I can't believe this.
> >> >
> >> > ----------------
> >> > This post is a suggestion for Microsoft, and Microsoft responds to the
> >> > suggestions with the most votes. To vote for this suggestion, click the
> >> > "I
> >> > Agree" button in the message pane. If you do not see the button, follow
> >> > this
> >> > link to open the suggestion in the Microsoft Web-based Newsreader and
> >> > then
> >> > click "I Agree" in the message pane.
> >> >
> >> > [url]http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/en-us/default.mspx?mid=fc6ab26e-9dab-4cb1-977c-019b4ddd22d6&dg=microsoft.public.windows.vista.general[/url]
> >>
> >>[/color][/color]
>
>[/color]