I am gonna use Vista Ultimate on a TOSHIBA Equium A100-147, my system specs are below:

Intel Core Duo Socket M T2050 1.6GHz (Dual Core)
1GB of DDR2 RAM
DVD-RAM Drive
4X USB 2.0 Ports
2 speakers connected to Realtek HD Audio
5-in-1 Card Reader (SD, MMC eg)
PC Card slot (PCMCIA)(CardBus)
ExpressCard slot
Intel 945GM
Current OS: Windows XP MCE 2005 w/ Rollup 2
Intel 3945ABG Wireless
TOSHIBA Software Modem
Intel PRO/100 VE Network Connection
IEEE1394

Using the upgrade adviser, it recommends me to Home Premium. I will sort the software out. Please can you comment on the OS and device compatibility.

I am upgrading by the way.

xxxx-jozh-xxxx

The Tester of OSes

XP: Done
98SE: Done
ME: Done
2000: Done
Vista: Current
Mac: Not yet
Linux: Ubuntu, done

With your current specs, I think it is good to run Vista but in terms of speed, I don't think your gonna like it. First of all, Vista Ultimate is so damn slow when using only 512 or 1Gb of Ram. Ive tried using it in 2 of my system with only a 1Gb of RAM and I was not impress with it(Aero was even not enabled).. I suggest increasing your RAM.. Intel 945GM is good enough for Aero since it is has Shaders 2 support... Just give it a try anyhow.

Thanks dewslat, I'm was hoping that I have to remove non-removable hardware from my laptop (eg. graphics card), just need to improve my RAM. But I don't have time yet, I'll do it over Christmas.

I do have a PC that I might be testing Home Premium on, here's my specs:

2.5Ghz Intel Pentium 4 Northwood Processor
512MB of RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 4 MX420
A DVD writer and a DVD reader
Realtek AC97 Audio
Current OS: Windows XP Professional (i think)
5in1 SD/MMC Card Reader
?in1 SM/CF Reader

Also, are these devices OK:

My 512MB USB 2.0 Flash Drive
My 64MB USB 1.1 Flash Drive
My Orange SPV M2000 (O2 XDA IIs, HTC Blue Angel) Connected via USB 1.1, software is activesync
My memory cards (SD, MMC)

Thanks

xxxx-jozh-xxxx

He is right upgrade your ram to at least 2gb. I'm going to get at least 4gb when I get my next PC.

Vista in terms of UI design pretty innovative but in terms of its compatibility across all programs as an operating system failure. I have noticed and heard of many programs that have trouble running on Vista, and even if it does run it seems to have problems displaying its own UI. This can be a huge problem for if you are a user that somehow end up with various bugged programs that you need for you daily job, but cannot access your programs. If you are interested in Vista, I would most likely wait a couple of years before upgrading, just so that all the programs out there will update its software to be compatible with Vista itself. At the same time if you are looking for a new computer I would also continue to wait on it as there are new technologies that will probably be released soon as well. So in conclusion, wait on Vista, and stay on XP or any other stable operating system for now.

When I run Vista Ultimate with 2 GB of ram, Windows hogs nearly a gig. So for the extra speed you would definitely be better off with more ram. Also migrating from XP to Vista, if you don't go starry eyed from all the eye candy, you'll notice a lacklustre performance problem... I ended up moving back to XP for now, until Vista becomes more stable and faster.

Its recommended, just like others, to make your rom at least 1+ GB.
About the processor, you may have to upgrade it to Pentium D above.
Other than that you can handle the heat of VISTA!

I don't see why anyone even wants vista...I mean, if you *have* to use windows, why not just run XP? There really aren't any apps that require vista yet, and XP is faster (I never thought I'd compare XP's speed to ANYTHING until M$ made something that runs even slower) and lighter on system resources.

The only thing i like in vista is the look'n feel. Thats all.

First off, it will EAT UP all your available RAM memory and will rip off your gpu.
You need some damn good hardware in order to run vista normally (and what you have, isnt bad ofc, but vista wont be "fast").
Also, i dont like the way it handles the filesystem. I didnt got to test it very much, but i know, if youre sb like me who likes to pimp his OS, youre not gonna like vista...

That's why i'd recommend you the following:
WinXP if you really need windows (Win2000 is even better in terms of speed, and stays on the top of security with the latest updates).
Linux (my favorites are Suse 10.3 and ubuntu 7.10), in linux, you can change whatever you want to change, and you can also use things like Compizz to use some great 3D power on your desktop (even better than vista) while still keeping a normal-fast pc with your config.

If i had the option i would definately stay away from Vista. I use an Acer Aspire 9815 which does benefit from a fairly ggod spec for a laptop core2 duo T7200 with a 2gb ram but my old amd was faster is several situations, especially startup despite running msconfig and shutting down several startup programs.