Know what types of installations are possible with Windows Vista. You should know which operating systems can be upgraded to Windows Vista and which require a clean installation.

Understand upgrading. You should know that a Clean Install does not preserve installed applications and will push old data files and setting into WINDOWS.OLD, while an in-place upgrade will preserve installed applications and settings.

Understand the Windows Vista boot process, and order. Know the purpose and role of BOOTMGR and BCD and how the boot process in Windows Vista differs from that of Windows XP.

Know what Control Panel utilities are unique to Windows Vista. The Control Panel applets unique to Windows Vista are Tablet PC Settings, Pen And Input Devices, Offline Files, Problem Reports And Solutions, and Printers. You should be familiar with the purpose and options of each.

Understand what each of the following utilities are used for: System Restore, Windows Firewall, Security Center. System Restore is used to create, and revert back to, restore points. Windows Firewall limits traffic coming from the network to the host. Security Center provides a simple interface with which to interact with virus scanners and other installed security software.