How to get ready before upgrading to vista

If you plan to upgrade to Microsoft Windows Vista, there are some things you need to consider first.:

1-which version of Vista is right for you.

2-data backup and how to transfer files from Windows XP.

Take a look at the Microsoft Web site and read about the features and details of each version of Vista will to a good idea of which is version best-suited to your needs, but you also need to make sure the version you want is also suited to your computer system. To help you determine which Vista is right for you, Microsoft offers an Upgrade Advisor
Download Upgrade Advisor

Upgrade Advisor:

The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor will help you to determine if your Windows XP-based PC can run Windows Vista. You can also use the Upgrade Advisor to determine if your Windows Vista-based PC is ready for an upgrade to a more powerful edition of Windows Vista.
Upgrade Advisor will scan your computer and create an easy-to-understand report of all known system, device, and program compatibility issues, and recommend ways to resolve them.
And this is how the report looks like:

Clean

After using the Upgrade Advisor and taking care of the problems and the incompatibilities, The next step is: purge your hard drive of any software and applications that you don't use and deleting any other files on your system that you don't really use. After cleaning the unwanted files and software off the drive, you should then run a disk cleaner and disk Defrag utility before backing up your data and installing Vista.
If you choose to do a full version install of any Vista operating system,the best way is formatting and defragging you hard drive.

Back Up

Back Up Once the drive is purged, cleaned and defragged, now you can backup your data by using any method that you know.

Windows Easy Transfer

Windows Easy Transfer is a wizard that helps you transfer the data that is important to you, including:
-User accounts
-Files and folders
-Program data files and settings
-E-mail messages, settings, and contacts
-Photos, music, and videos
-Windows settings
-Internet settings
-Programs (applications) are not transferred.

Download Windows Easy Transfer

And this is how this great tool work:

and finally don’t forget to disable your virus scanner before installing