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no, i am just asking this question. is this Microsoft owned site?

With Vista you could legally upgrade an upgrade install. You first installed it with no product key, then upgraded it by installing again. I'm not sure if MS will leave this trick open for Win7.

When Vista came out MS had multiple licenses discounts. ie 1 license was 199.00 2 licenses was 300.00 3 licenses 400.00.
Does anyone know if MS is doing this again?

I have 10 PC 2 with Vista and 8 with XP so I like to upgrade but do not know which way will be the least expensive.

Jon

bigpunk:

talkshow2:

I have two questions, if any of you can provide a quick answer:

1. I have and OEM Vista 32bit on my desktop computer but I want Windows 7 64bit.  How should I procede? (Do I need to call and ask microsoft for a 64-bit disc to upgrade prior to getting Windows 7?  Or will the Windows 7 disc allow me this option - i realize i would lose all my data in switching from 32-bit to 64-bit).

2. I also have a Sony Laptop i ordered from newegg 3 months ago with Vista installed.  I swear i read online that microsoft was allowing free upgrades to 7 for any PCs purchased in 2009.... but now i'm reading that microsoft is only doing this for PCs purchased starting today.  Which is correct?  If i want Windows 7 on both PCs, do i need to purchase 2 upgrade discs?

 

They send both disc 32 and 64 when you buy Windows 7 and Vista

Thanks for the reply.  I  realize that both are included on the disc, but i'm assuming thats just for simplicities sake.   am i able to upgrade 32 bit vista  to 64 bit 7?  Because with XP you couldnt.  if you had 32bit XP, you had to upgrade to 32 bit vista.   

 

I don't know for sure, but I see issues with some of the core drivers. All drivers are different in the 64 bit editions, and I can't help but think that there would be conflicts during the initial stages of the upgrade. I pretty sure I read that the upgrade editions would allow a clean install, but I don't know how they will verify the previous license.

I placed my pre-order with Microsoft's store.  They offer a download option (so no waiting for shipping a disc)...

http://store.microsoft.com

That's the upgrade, right? So you can't cold boot and install this...

Jack - It's an upgrade, but you can do a clean install.  I'm guessing you'll need to provide a product key for your old version of windows.

http://store.microsoft.com/microsoft/Windows-7-Home-Premium-Upgrade/product/B0F9E641

Running Windows Vista?
If you have Windows Vista, you can purchase Windows 7 Upgrade versions. You can do a clean install (back up your files, clean install, and reinstall your applications) or an in -place upgrade (Windows 7 installs over Windows Vista).

Running Earlier Versions?
If you have Windows XP or Windows 2000, you can purchase Windows 7 Upgrade versions. But you must back up your files, clean install, and reinstall your applications.

ben55124:

I placed my pre-order with Microsoft's store.  They offer a download option (so no waiting for shipping a disc)...

Oh yeah, I'm SUUURREE you'll have your 500 Terabit upgrade downloaded before the UPS guy delivers mine.

Also, don't forget, if in doubt for the version you want, buy the lowest one you think you can use because you can always upgrade by buying a Microsoft key.  For example, they are selling Ultimate upgrade for $219 but you can buy Professional for $99 then upgrade after and it will likely be cheaper than paying $219.

Thanks for this link... It's good to see that it appears that they have bridged the gap between a power user and corporate use pretty good in this OS version...

jcallahan:

Home Premium doesn't allow you to host remote desktop session. You need the Professional version for that. I ordered an upgrade to Home Premium for my HTPC this morning from Newegg. Remote desktop hosting is the only thing that I would have liked to have since my WHS makes desktop control easy. Basically it would be $50 more that one feature which in reality I probably wouldn't use.

Here is a page that gives the feature comparison:

http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_skus_compare.asp

Question for you?.. Why would you want to run Ultamate?..

flamingwoodchuck:

Wow, what a deal! I wish there were a deal like this on Ulitimate!

Here's to hoping for a hack to enable remote desktop on Home Premium!

I am just waiting for MSDN or Technet to release the RTM's.

 

What format is the download version?

ISO? I would be doing a clean install as well, as I don't have vista installed anymore. Will this still work?

I second this question. Using the information from the sku's compare site, why would any htpc owner want professional or ultimate over premium? Also, I went 64bit on Vista so I could use all 4gigs of RAM. That site said 32bit could support 4gig. I am skeptical of this, but as far as I can tell, 32bit premium is the way to go. Can someone convince me otherwise?