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]

On Sat, 2 Jun 2007 16:42:00 -0700, Lowered Expectations
<LoweredExpectations@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
>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.
>[/color]
- - - snipped - - -

Hmm... as I recall, you cannot do a restore to "Windows Vista Basic".
RC1 was "Ultimate" and the restore function requires Premium, Business
or Ultimate. So IMHO, you will need to move upwards.

By the way, why in the world did you buy Windows Vista Basic? As a RC1
beta tester, you should have known that Vista Basic is nothing more
than a marketing ploy to get people to buy Vista even though they have
bare bones hardware. Live and learn!

______________________

The Traveller
Oceanside, California

Peter, in my thread at the Installation panel noted in answer, that restore
from disks is only available on Vista Ultimate. This revelation, such as it
is, is found here on line two:
[url]http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/footnotes.mspx[/url]
(thanks Peter, thanks Rock)

As such, the mention is so nearly -nothing- but a hidden coincidental, of a
factor so basic and so important to USERS, as to be fundamental.

What Microsoft failed to say was: If you are on RC1 and do the total backup
as directed, and then buy Vista as directed, you cannot make use of the
backup unless you spring for Ultimate cost.

Instead, Microsoft explicitly said that the RC1 user should make his/her
backup and then buy and make a clean install (if so-required as told by the
table) of ANY version of Vista.

This is fundamentally wrong. I hope for a speedy answer.
I do not feel it it at all fair to FORCE the RC1/2 group to BUY Ultimate
just in order to have their data back again.

I can't even get my life back were I to revert to XP. All my data is on RC1
backup disks.

What say, Microsoft? Do you have any advice for us? How much do I owe to
you for the favor of return of my programs, settings, passwords, email
access, photography and writings?

"Anytime Upgrade" is what I'll eat if held hostage in this way.

I do not think this is right at all in any form, by any stretch of any
imagination.

Thank you for responding here.

On Sat, 2 Jun 2007 17:16:00 -0700, Lowered Expectations
<LoweredExpectations@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

[color=blue]
> "Anytime Upgrade" is what I'll eat if held hostage in this way.
>
>I do not think this is right at all in any form, by any stretch of any
>imagination.
>
>Thank you for responding here.[/color]

You must be cross posting... in any event, I do NOT believe that you
need to buy Ultimate. All you need is either Premium, Business or
Ultimate. As you realized, it doesn't work in "basic".

In any event, you were beta testing RC1 (Ultimate), so it does make
sense that the equivalent "gold" version is also Ultimate ;-)

______________________

The Traveller
Oceanside, California

Hello Traveller,

I bought Basic because I don't need the bells and whistles.
Media Center ceased to work properly two weeks after RC1 went in;
so did wmp. I had had to use a third party player to view DVDs for months.

Basic came with wmp. I did not know that the player would be -incapable of
playing any DVD- because it's stripped of codecs by MS.

I did not need Aero or bit encryption or (yada yada). I read Thurotte
several days ago. All gloss. I wasn't sold for Ultimate. Then I read Ed
Bott on the digital rights stuff (he's against the Vista methods), and that
decided me, that OK, the Basic is good: No Media Center (I have no use for it
anyway).

The killer is that we RC1/2 migrants can't replace our data into any of the
Vista versions except for Ultimate
[url]http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/preview.mspx[/url]
And this basic fact is revealed almost no-where. The RUB should be
announced in banner headlines on every Vista sales page:

"If you are upgrading from any Vista trialware, you cannot save your data
via totalbackup disks made from the Vista RC program UNLESS you opt to buy
our Vista Ultimate".

Something like that would've saved me a lot of aggravation.
As it is, the promises in the link above make NO MENTION that the disk backups
ADVOCATED by the RC programs would be of ZERO value to RC customers taking
the step to buy Vista.

It was all a lie.

Still is.

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...[color=blue]
> 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]

If Vista Ultimate is the ONLY version that can create complete PC backups then
it seems to make sense to me that ONLY Vista Ultimate will be able to use
complete PC backups.

--
I Bleed Blue and Gold
GO BEARS!


"Lowered Expectations" <LoweredExpectations@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
message news:C738CA57-5233-4D7D-94D0-0B6E00B9EDE4@microsoft.com...[color=blue]
> Hello Traveller,
>
> I bought Basic because I don't need the bells and whistles.
> Media Center ceased to work properly two weeks after RC1 went in;
> so did wmp. I had had to use a third party player to view DVDs for months.
>
> Basic came with wmp. I did not know that the player would be -incapable of
> playing any DVD- because it's stripped of codecs by MS.
>
> I did not need Aero or bit encryption or (yada yada). I read Thurotte
> several days ago. All gloss. I wasn't sold for Ultimate. Then I read Ed
> Bott on the digital rights stuff (he's against the Vista methods), and that
> decided me, that OK, the Basic is good: No Media Center (I have no use for it
> anyway).
>
> The killer is that we RC1/2 migrants can't replace our data into any of the
> Vista versions except for Ultimate
> [url]http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/preview.mspx[/url]
> And this basic fact is revealed almost no-where. The RUB should be
> announced in banner headlines on every Vista sales page:
>
> "If you are upgrading from any Vista trialware, you cannot save your data
> via totalbackup disks made from the Vista RC program UNLESS you opt to buy
> our Vista Ultimate".
>
> Something like that would've saved me a lot of aggravation.
> As it is, the promises in the link above make NO MENTION that the disk backups
> ADVOCATED by the RC programs would be of ZERO value to RC customers taking
> the step to buy Vista.
>
> It was all a lie.
>
> Still is.[/color]

cross posting to a minimal extent, by incident and accident, sorry.
Traveler, the word that Ultimate is required in order to make use of the RC
totalbackup, came via Paul at the Installation panel. He told me to refer
to line number two of the linked MS document. I did, and it clearly says
that total backup is available (only?) in Ultimate.

I did not ask for trialware Ultimate. That's what they sent us all.
If force feeding is not evident here, then the point is lost.
I only want my data back. If I have to pay now yet another premium price to
"upgrade" to an OS version I don't want, just to retreive my data, well,
then that's what I'll have to to do.

By misinformation and confusion---which can hardly be any 'accident', MS is
making money hand-over-my-ass. And everybody else's too! True?



"The Traveler" wrote:
[color=blue]
> On Sat, 2 Jun 2007 17:16:00 -0700, Lowered Expectations
> <LoweredExpectations@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>
>[color=green]
> > "Anytime Upgrade" is what I'll eat if held hostage in this way.
> >
> >I do not think this is right at all in any form, by any stretch of any
> >imagination.
> >
> >Thank you for responding here.[/color]
>
> You must be cross posting... in any event, I do NOT believe that you
> need to buy Ultimate. All you need is either Premium, Business or
> Ultimate. As you realized, it doesn't work in "basic".
>
> In any event, you were beta testing RC1 (Ultimate), so it does make
> sense that the equivalent "gold" version is also Ultimate ;-)
>
> ______________________
>
> The Traveller
> Oceanside, California
>[/color]

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=blue]
>
> 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...[color=green]
> > 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]

"Lowered Expectations" <LoweredExpectations@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote
in message news:D86F83A0-E318-4563-985A-EB571B6405EA@microsoft.com...
[color=blue]
> I did not ask for trialware Ultimate. That's what they sent us all.
> If force feeding is not evident here, then the point is lost.
> I only want my data back. If I have to pay now yet another premium price
> to
> "upgrade" to an OS version I don't want, just to retreive my data, well,
> then that's what I'll have to to do.
>
> By misinformation and confusion---which can hardly be any 'accident', MS
> is
> making money hand-over-my-ass. And everybody else's too! True?[/color]

I don't mean to start a flamewar and I'm saying this with no intent to flame
you or call you names. However, I do have to say that anybody who gets into
"trialware" knows or should know not to entrust crucial data to the
trialware, be it a beta or a RC.
It sounds like the data you were using with RC1 was the only viable version
of that data. Obviously, it's important enough data that you will pay for
the Ultimate version to get it back. But if it was that important, then
maybe you shouldn't have been using it with RC1.

I will now don my asbestos clothing and await replies.

PS: I should add that I took the risk myself and used RC1 on a "production
machine," which seems to be the term of art in this case. I backed up as
much of my data as I could before installing RC1 and backed it up several
times while using RC1. I say this just to point out that I ignored the
Microsoft warning, too, but I also took precautions.
And when I say "backed up" all I mean is that I made copies of critical
data. I didn't use a backup program of any sort, which, as I understand it,
uses proprietary formats that are only read by that particular program (and
in your case, can only be read by a certain version of Vista). I simply
copied my files to CDs and external HDDs.

Many people do not take the time to read the Read Me files and instructions when downloading any sort of Beta . It is spelled out in plain black and white on what to expect. Like most people that think they will save and have something that is free then they are very mistaken. There is nothing that is free. A good testament is what you did to yourself. Any Beta which is for Testing purposes is exactly for that. So do not complain about MS or any other maker of any utility or OS if you did not take the time to understand and read how this works with any Beta and on top of it waiting for the last possible minute still trying to save from spending money.

You have only yourself to blame and nobody else.

BTW. If you do not want the bells and whistles in Vista and in\or any flavor you can always turn it off. Saving money sometimes becomes losing money. Black and White and period.

--
Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

"Lowered Expectations" <LoweredExpectations@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:D86F83A0-E318-4563-985A-EB571B6405EA@microsoft.com...[color=blue]
>
> cross posting to a minimal extent, by incident and accident, sorry.
> Traveler, the word that Ultimate is required in order to make use of the RC
> totalbackup, came via Paul at the Installation panel. He told me to refer
> to line number two of the linked MS document. I did, and it clearly says
> that total backup is available (only?) in Ultimate.
>
> I did not ask for trialware Ultimate. That's what they sent us all.
> If force feeding is not evident here, then the point is lost.
> I only want my data back. If I have to pay now yet another premium price to
> "upgrade" to an OS version I don't want, just to retreive my data, well,
> then that's what I'll have to to do.
>
> By misinformation and confusion---which can hardly be any 'accident', MS is
> making money hand-over-my-ass. And everybody else's too! True?
>
>
>
> "The Traveler" wrote:
> [color=green]
>> On Sat, 2 Jun 2007 17:16:00 -0700, Lowered Expectations
>> <LoweredExpectations@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>>
>> [color=darkred]
>> > "Anytime Upgrade" is what I'll eat if held hostage in this way.
>> >
>> >I do not think this is right at all in any form, by any stretch of any
>> >imagination.
>> >
>> >Thank you for responding here. [/color]
>>
>> You must be cross posting... in any event, I do NOT believe that you
>> need to buy Ultimate. All you need is either Premium, Business or
>> Ultimate. As you realized, it doesn't work in "basic".
>>
>> In any event, you were beta testing RC1 (Ultimate), so it does make
>> sense that the equivalent "gold" version is also Ultimate ;-)
>>
>> ______________________
>>
>> The Traveller
>> Oceanside, California
>>[/color][/color]

Hello Peter. The point, the only point that matters:

Microsoft to this day does not tell the RC users that these various
low-grade versions of Vista will NOT allow reinsertion of the user's saved
data.

On the contrary, MS tell us to save our data to disks via total backup and
then buy whichever version of Vista we wish for.

They DON'T make clear that these "save yourself hassle and backup now"
warnings were garbage, lies, and nothing but a smokescreen.

Now I have to buy Ultimate on top of the Home Basic which I wasted my money
on the other day. I'll do this by "Anytime Upgrade".

And aside from your chidings that we all should read all the fine print
and never wait until the last moment to act: That's not the issue of this
thread.

The issue is the flat-out misrepresentation to RC users that they COULD save
their data to ANY version of Vista that they choose to buy.
That's the lie, and you did not address it yet.

I'd like to know how you can put -that- on the hapless or even the savvy user
led down this costly path. Thanks.


"Peter Foldes" wrote:
[color=blue]
> Many people do not take the time to read the Read Me files and instructions when downloading any sort of Beta . It is spelled out in plain black and white on what to expect. Like most people that think they will save and have something that is free then they are very mistaken. There is nothing that is free. A good testament is what you did to yourself. Any Beta which is for Testing purposes is exactly for that. So do not complain about MS or any other maker of any utility or OS if you did not take the time to understand and read how this works with any Beta and on top of it waiting for the last possible minute still trying to save from spending money.
>
> You have only yourself to blame and nobody else.
>
> BTW. If you do not want the bells and whistles in Vista and in\or any flavor you can always turn it off. Saving money sometimes becomes losing money. Black and White and period.
>
> --
> Peter
>
> Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
> Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.
>
> "Lowered Expectations" <LoweredExpectations@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:D86F83A0-E318-4563-985A-EB571B6405EA@microsoft.com...[color=green]
> >
> > cross posting to a minimal extent, by incident and accident, sorry.
> > Traveler, the word that Ultimate is required in order to make use of the RC
> > totalbackup, came via Paul at the Installation panel. He told me to refer
> > to line number two of the linked MS document. I did, and it clearly says
> > that total backup is available (only?) in Ultimate.
> >
> > I did not ask for trialware Ultimate. That's what they sent us all.
> > If force feeding is not evident here, then the point is lost.
> > I only want my data back. If I have to pay now yet another premium price to
> > "upgrade" to an OS version I don't want, just to retreive my data, well,
> > then that's what I'll have to to do.
> >
> > By misinformation and confusion---which can hardly be any 'accident', MS is
> > making money hand-over-my-ass. And everybody else's too! True?
> >
> >
> >
> > "The Traveler" wrote:
> >[color=darkred]
> >> On Sat, 2 Jun 2007 17:16:00 -0700, Lowered Expectations
> >> <LoweredExpectations@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >> > "Anytime Upgrade" is what I'll eat if held hostage in this way.
> >> >
> >> >I do not think this is right at all in any form, by any stretch of any
> >> >imagination.
> >> >
> >> >Thank you for responding here.
> >>
> >> You must be cross posting... in any event, I do NOT believe that you
> >> need to buy Ultimate. All you need is either Premium, Business or
> >> Ultimate. As you realized, it doesn't work in "basic".
> >>
> >> In any event, you were beta testing RC1 (Ultimate), so it does make
> >> sense that the equivalent "gold" version is also Ultimate ;-)
> >>
> >> ______________________
> >>
> >> The Traveller
> >> Oceanside, California
> >>[/color][/color]
>[/color]

quoted from:
[url]http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/preview.mspx[/url]

Windows Vista: Beta 2, RC1, and RC2 Set to Expire
On May 31, 2007, pre-release versions of Windows Vista will expire. If you
are running a pre-release version of Windows Vista (Beta 2, RC1, or RC2) you
will begin to receive notifications about the upcoming expiration on May 18,
2007. To avoid work disruption and the loss of data, it is strongly
recommended that PC users running any of these pre-release versions of
Windows Vista migrate their PCs to the final version of Windows Vista prior
to May 31.

To install the final version of Windows Vista on any of these pre-release
versions of Windows Vista, you may purchase the desired Windows Vista
Upgrade. The Windows Vista Upgrade must be the same language version as the
pre-release version you are replacing.

If you participated in the Customer Preview Program, you have been using a
pre-release version of Windows Vista Ultimate. Windows Vista Ultimate is the
most complete edition of Windows Vista—with the power, security, and mobility
features that you need for work, and all of the entertainment features that
you want for fun.

The table below outlines the upgrade options from the different versions of
pre-release Windows Vista:




Windows Vista Ultimate RTM Other editions of Windows Vista RTM Previous
version of Windows

Windows Vista Beta 2
Clean install with Ultimate Upgrade
Clean install with Upgrade version of desired edition
Clean install with full version

Windows Vista RC1
In-place upgrade or clean install with Ultimate Upgrade
Clean install with Upgrade version of desired edition
Clean install with full version

Windows Vista RC2
Clean install with Ultimate Upgrade
Clean install with Upgrade version of desired edition
Clean install with full version



A clean install means your current version of Windows, including all of your
files, settings, and programs, is automatically replaced. You must back up
any data as this process will overwrite any data that you have on your hard
disk or on your installation partition. The overwritten data will be lost and
unrecoverable.

An in-place upgrade means you can install Windows Vista and keep your
programs, files, and settings from your current version of Windows. It is
still strongly recommended that you back up any data prior to initiating the
upgrade.

Make sure the PC you have is the PC you have always wanted. Purchase and
download the Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade or any desired edition now by
going to [url]http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/upgradenow[/url].

_____________end quote_________________


To reiterate the key point of misleading information:
"It is still strongly recommended that you back up any data prior to
initiating the upgrade"

I did exactly that, via the only means I knew how: total backup---to
preserveall files and programs and settings.

Now, someone (Peter?) please tell me where on that page, or on any MS page
=in prominent public view=, where do they tell the gazillion RC users, that
their backups will only re-apply data into Ultimate?

And, where is the warning, tht if they buy a low-grade Vista, then the
prescribed backup disks of no use, not even to put to some other operating
system.

We, the great majority of computer users, are not expert nor are we lawyers.

We only know when we have been had.

Sorry for your problems but one of the warnings (and it was posted
prominently on the Vista beta download pages) is that if you can't afford to
possibly lose everything, you should not experiment with beta's.

This has been common sense knowledge - and published knowledge - since
"forever".

You made the choice to experiment with Vista Ultimate beta. YOU are the one
who decided to take the chance. I did also, for about 2 years now. Because I
was prepared, I lost nothing. You just were not prepared to play around with
beta's. Lessen learned!

Again, sorry you were stung - but you were warned on the beta download
pages.

--


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:D86F83A0-E318-4563-985A-EB571B6405EA@microsoft.com...[color=blue]
>
> cross posting to a minimal extent, by incident and accident, sorry.
> Traveler, the word that Ultimate is required in order to make use of the
> RC
> totalbackup, came via Paul at the Installation panel. He told me to
> refer
> to line number two of the linked MS document. I did, and it clearly says
> that total backup is available (only?) in Ultimate.
>
> I did not ask for trialware Ultimate. That's what they sent us all.
> If force feeding is not evident here, then the point is lost.
> I only want my data back. If I have to pay now yet another premium price
> to
> "upgrade" to an OS version I don't want, just to retreive my data, well,
> then that's what I'll have to to do.
>
> By misinformation and confusion---which can hardly be any 'accident', MS
> is
> making money hand-over-my-ass. And everybody else's too! True?
>
>
>
> "The Traveler" wrote:
>[color=green]
>> On Sat, 2 Jun 2007 17:16:00 -0700, Lowered Expectations
>> <LoweredExpectations@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>>
>>[color=darkred]
>> > "Anytime Upgrade" is what I'll eat if held hostage in this way.
>> >
>> >I do not think this is right at all in any form, by any stretch of any
>> >imagination.
>> >
>> >Thank you for responding here.[/color]
>>
>> You must be cross posting... in any event, I do NOT believe that you
>> need to buy Ultimate. All you need is either Premium, Business or
>> Ultimate. As you realized, it doesn't work in "basic".
>>
>> In any event, you were beta testing RC1 (Ultimate), so it does make
>> sense that the equivalent "gold" version is also Ultimate ;-)
>>
>> ______________________
>>
>> The Traveller
>> Oceanside, California
>>[/color][/color]

"back up any D A T A"
Obviously you misread, DATA does not include programs and settings.

--
I Bleed Blue and Gold
GO BEARS!


"Lowered Expectations" <LoweredExpectations@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
message news:7C3B9CB2-83B5-4719-B764-8F249D93B11D@microsoft.com...[color=blue]
> quoted from:
> [url]http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/preview.mspx[/url]
>
> Windows Vista: Beta 2, RC1, and RC2 Set to Expire
> On May 31, 2007, pre-release versions of Windows Vista will expire. If you
> are running a pre-release version of Windows Vista (Beta 2, RC1, or RC2) you
> will begin to receive notifications about the upcoming expiration on May 18,
> 2007. To avoid work disruption and the loss of data, it is strongly
> recommended that PC users running any of these pre-release versions of
> Windows Vista migrate their PCs to the final version of Windows Vista prior
> to May 31.
>
> To install the final version of Windows Vista on any of these pre-release
> versions of Windows Vista, you may purchase the desired Windows Vista
> Upgrade. The Windows Vista Upgrade must be the same language version as the
> pre-release version you are replacing.
>
> If you participated in the Customer Preview Program, you have been using a
> pre-release version of Windows Vista Ultimate. Windows Vista Ultimate is the
> most complete edition of Windows Vista-with the power, security, and mobility
> features that you need for work, and all of the entertainment features that
> you want for fun.
>
> The table below outlines the upgrade options from the different versions of
> pre-release Windows Vista:
>
>
>
>
> Windows Vista Ultimate RTM Other editions of Windows Vista RTM Previous
> version of Windows
>
> Windows Vista Beta 2
> Clean install with Ultimate Upgrade
> Clean install with Upgrade version of desired edition
> Clean install with full version
>
> Windows Vista RC1
> In-place upgrade or clean install with Ultimate Upgrade
> Clean install with Upgrade version of desired edition
> Clean install with full version
>
> Windows Vista RC2
> Clean install with Ultimate Upgrade
> Clean install with Upgrade version of desired edition
> Clean install with full version
>
>
>
> A clean install means your current version of Windows, including all of your
> files, settings, and programs, is automatically replaced. You must back up
> any data as this process will overwrite any data that you have on your hard
> disk or on your installation partition. The overwritten data will be lost and
> unrecoverable.
>
> An in-place upgrade means you can install Windows Vista and keep your
> programs, files, and settings from your current version of Windows. It is
> still strongly recommended that you back up any data prior to initiating the
> upgrade.
>
> Make sure the PC you have is the PC you have always wanted. Purchase and
> download the Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade or any desired edition now by
> going to [url]http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/upgradenow[/url].
>
> _____________end quote_________________
>
>
> To reiterate the key point of misleading information:
> "It is still strongly recommended that you back up any data prior to
> initiating the upgrade"
>
> I did exactly that, via the only means I knew how: total backup---to
> preserveall files and programs and settings.
>
> Now, someone (Peter?) please tell me where on that page, or on any MS page
> =in prominent public view=, where do they tell the gazillion RC users, that
> their backups will only re-apply data into Ultimate?
>
> And, where is the warning, tht if they buy a low-grade Vista, then the
> prescribed backup disks of no use, not even to put to some other operating
> system.
>
> We, the great majority of computer users, are not expert nor are we lawyers.
>
> We only know when we have been had.
>
>[/color]