Windows Family Discount Package - Up Close and Personal
Okay, so I did it. I took one for the team. I decided to go ahead and run a test on the Windows Family Discount Package so I could see what it is, what it does, and maybe help you discover whether or not it's the right package for you.
Quick Answers to FAQs:
To start, you must have a retail purchased copy of Windows Vista Ultimate - Upgrade or Full.
The Family Discount keys that you purchase are Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade keys. No clean installs, sorry.
You get only a key, delivered electronically. No new media - use your existing Ultimate CD to install.
Each key is good for only one computer - a second computer needs a second key.
If you're not sure which version is right for you, check this quick comparison chart to take a high-level look at the differences between Vista Ultimate Edition and Windows Home Premium Edition. For most folks - I'd say 99.9% or more - the Home Premium edition is going to do everything they need to do.
How I Tested:
I purchased a retail copy of Vista Ultimate Edition, installed it on my wife's laptop (my wife got the first copy because my mother raised ugly children, not stupid ones! 
) activated it, then went to the Family Discount Package web site. From there, you enter your Ultimate product key to validate your eligibility for the offer. Once you've been validated you can order one product key now and one later or two at once. I ordered one key and it was given to me both immediately in Internet Explorer and emailed to me for safe-keeping.
Now at this point I had to cheat just a little ... my personal laptop was configured for my work environment (Windows XP MCE 2005, hacked to join a business domain) and I wasn't convinced that this would be a fair test of the Family Discount upgrade offer. So, I did a full restore from the original HP DVDs that shipped with my laptop, uninstalled a bunch of the stuff I didn't want, reinstalled and configured my essential applications (like Microsoft Office), then finally headed off to Windows Updates for several update sessions. By the time I was done I had a fairly clean, but fully configured and updated, Windows 2005 Media Center computer with enough software installed that I could easily see what survived the upgrade and what did not.
I fired up the upgrade CD from within Windows XP, and in just a few minutes the familiar installation sequence started. I won't bore you with screenshots or blow-by-blow descriptions on this because too many Web sites have already done it.
You should expect the upgrade to take a while to complete. This is because the upgrade runs the Easy Transfer system to save current settings and program customizations, installs your copy of Vista, then when the install is done it restores your settings and customizations again. On this laptop, a clean install runs about 30 to 45 minutes total, the upgrade install took about 75 minutes to install.
We're Done! Now What?
Well, the first thing I noticed was that the custom theme that HP shipped with the laptop was still the default theme ... for the most part, anyway. The Start Menu was the new Vista variety, and many other appearance items were Vista items, but some were from the HP theme. Then I realized ... the upgrade kept all the items that HP customized in the "Custom Windows XP Theme", and replaced with the new Vista items any that HP did not specifically customize. That's some pretty smart software there, eh?
Next, I got my antivirus reinstalled and updated, then hit Windows Updates for the latest updates. There were a number of updated device drivers for my laptop so I grabbed them all and got them installed. No problems there, and it looks like HP and Microsoft are doing a pretty good job of getting those updated drivers out there.
With the laptop fully provisioned and ready to go it was time to start testing applications. As I expected, this was a pretty smooth process. Office was still working and all my customizations there were fully preserved. Existing media on the laptop worked just fine after the upgrade - movies played, music worked, subscription music service ready and willing to serve up my current playlists - in fact, I haven't found anything broken yet.
Who Wins? Who Loses?
Personally, I think this is probably one of the best discount programs that Microsoft has ever come up with. There's nothing peculiar or special to the Family Discount package that you would not encounter if you purchased a retail Vista Home Premium Upgrade package and installed it. In my experience the upgrade was perfect, all my settings and software carried over correctly, and everything worked when I was done. Hey, that sounds like a deal to me!
You should strongly consider using the Family Discount package if:
- You already have (or are going to buy) a retail copy of Vista Ultimate Edition - either Upgrade or Full
- The lack of exclusive Ultimate items like "Ultimate Extras", enhanced backup, etc. doesn't concern you
- You want to upgrade up to two computers, really REALLY inexpensively!
- No one is going to get their nose out of joint because "YOU got Ultimate and I only got ..."
You probably won't want (or not be able) to use the Family Discount package if:
- Your copy of Vista Ultimate Edition is an upgrade from your PC manufacturer
- You and/or your family want the Ultimate Extras, enhancements, and so on
- Your other hardware may not be Vista ready