• Windows Vista Home is the home edition of Microsoft's popular Windows Vista operating system. From 2007 to 2009, Vista served as Microsoft's primary operating system, and as such was available for virtually every computer released during that time. If you want to install the Vista Home (Basic or Premium) operating system on your computer, the system will have to first meet a number of requirements.
  
  

1-Gigahertz Processor

• The calculations performed by Windows Vista require a processor with a speed rating of at least 1 gigahertz (1 GHz) to run optimally. Either 32-bit or 64-bit processors will work with the operating system.
  
  

512 Megabytes of RAM

• Windows Vista Home will also perform a number of simultaneous calculations and run a number of programs simultaneously. If your computer does not have enough RAM, you can purchase more in any electronics store and manually insert it into your computer.
  
  

40 Gigabyte Hard Drive

• The Windows Vista Home operating system takes up 15 gigabytes of available space on your hard drive. Since the operating system takes up so much hard drive space, your computer needs a hard drive with a total size of at least 40 gigabytes. In case you need a larger hard drive, you can purchase one at any electronics store and either add it to your existing system or replace the old hard drive.
  
  

32 Megabyte Video Card

• The visuals presented by Vista require a video card with at least 32 megabytes of video memory. This card also needs to support the DirectX 9 development suite. If you have a video card released after 2002 (DirectX 9's release year), the card should support DirectX 9. If you have an older card, you can replace it.
  
  

DVD-Rom Drive

• The installation program for the Windows Vista operating system is contained on a DVD. Your computer must have a DVD-ROM drive to run the installation program.
  
  

Internet Access

• To complete the installation process, Microsoft requires that you register your copy of Windows Vista online. Therefore, an online connection is required before installation is finalized.