Back in PCMag's look at upgrading from Windows XP to Vista, I looked at transforming new systems to Vista. I thought if this was so easy with a 'new' system, how would it be with a 'old' system that has been around the block a few times?

I found my subject in the dank, dark reaches of the PC Mag vaults: it was an Alienware DHS-series Media Center from when Microsoft updated Media Center from MCE 2004 to MCE 2005 edition. I had lent it to Sascha Segan, our resident cell phone analyst for use as a smartphone and media-centric phone base station back in the day. However, it had been sitting around doing nothing, unplugged for over a year. It was perfect for my purposes

My experiences and pictures after the jump.

I quickly uninstalled the programs Sascha put on the system: ActiveSync for PocketPC, Nokia PC Suite, and PalmOne's HotSync software. I also uninstalled the exisitng Anti-Virus software for good measure.

The first time I tried to upgrade to Vista, the system hanged about 20 minutes into the install. After two more attempts and a bunch of troubleshooting, I found the culprit: the Gainward GeForce 5700 graphics card's cooling fan had seized due to poor storage. Once I spun the fan with my Mark I finger, it spun freely and we were in business. Well, not really. I had to download and install all the Windows updates to the system, since it hadn't really been working since sometime in 2005. These included Service Pack 2 for XP and Update Rollup 2 for MCE.

I updated the system repeatedly, and after what seemed to be the fifteenth reboot of the day, I finally started my Vista install in earnest. I started the Vista upgrade process, and went off to do other work for the next few hours. Believe me, Vista by itself is a multi-hour affair.

Once the Vista installer was finally done, and once I did the last Windows Updates for Vista (for now), I have a working Vista Ultimate living room PC with MCE. Like brand new MCE PCs, the new MCE inteface is pretty, and since the system has a Aero-ready graphics card and 1GB of system memory, Premium features work well. The system's 3.0GHz P4 processor is adequate for surfing and recording, but it looks like it will be overtaxed if I try to mulitask too much.

I tried out the new and old features in MCE's Online areas, and while XMRadio over the Internet works as expected, the IPTV-like features still need a lot of work, particularly on this vintage system. Switching channels and programs in the Nickelodeon 'TurboNick' area was slow, as were the VH1, MTV, and Discovery Channel sections. I counted times where I waited 60-90 seconds for 'something to happen'. IPTV is still a work in progress, but I've been playing with Online Media in MCE for over two years now, and I'm suprised it hasn't improved all that much.

I like the fact that all of the old music, recorded TV programs, and pictures from MCE were brought over sans trouble to Vista. The installed NVTV dual tuner card works under Vista, but only as a single tuner: Vista drivers don't support the second tuner, and the card has been end-of-lifed by nVidia, so no updates are expected. Not a deal-breaker, but annoying nonetheless. Just about everything else worked as advertised, including the Aero transparencies, Windows Media Player 11, and IE 7.

Thankfully, I didn't have to download drivers for the front panel LED display and built in IR receiver. I was worried I might have to, since those are extra installs under XP MCE. Not having the remote work or the front panel display would be a deal breaker. Like before, the front panel displays time, date, and what program you're watching at the moment.

So, what do I take away from this experience? Vista Premium/Ultimate will work on a fairly powerful system from three years ago (which of course matches the capabilities of a budget/mainstream system of today). While annoying and obscenely time consuming, upgrading from XP to Vista can be done in a weekend, and you can even do it on a system that's had multiple installs and uninstalls on it. If it were my primary system, I'd still want to do a clean install of Vista, but since this is a 'single use' machine, I'm happy the way it turned out.