Windows 7: Can I upgrade Win 7 RC to Win 7 using $99 upgrade?

I've got a laptop which only has Win 7 RC installed, no dual boot of anything else. Can this be "upgraded" using the current offers, or will it need to have a full retail version? (The laptop came with Vista Basic installed so I wouldn't be able to upgrade with that original config anyway.)

Sorry if this has already been covered.

No.

Sorry to be so blunt, but you just cannot upgrade from any BETA or RC version. You'll have to purchase a full version when the time comes, and perform a clean install. This is by design.

lol that's a good question but I don't think it will work. The RC version is still Windows 7 after all, so I don't think it will qualify for upgrade (because you never purchased it).

Sure, you can upgrade from Vista though.

Oops I may be wrong, sorry. You said Home Basic.

why not from vista basic?

Because Dzomlija said so?

Personally, I think it might just work. If you have vista basic on your computer, install the upgrade advisor and see for yourself.

I might buy one of each (Home and Pro upgrades) anyway...I've got more than one pc around to use them on. I wouldn't think there would be a way to do it but thought I'd ask, heh. I'll probably just try it to see what happens...just for giggles.

In regard to the Vista Basic questions...Vista Basic doesn't count as anything, so an upgrade is not possible. Basically, Basic is less than XP, heh.

If your laptop came with Vista Home Basic preinstalled then you should be able to upgrade from Vista Home Basic, to 7 Home Basic/Home Premium/Ultimate.

You'll likely need to reinstall Vista Home Basic though.


Starter is the one that is not upgradable, I believe.

Also, I've run the upgrade advisor from within this Win 7 RC install...just to see what it would say. It goes through the motions and explains hardware issues but doesn't recommend a specific upgrade path the way it did when I ran it on another machine with vista home premium installed. (It suggested Win 7 home premium at the end of its run)

Really? I was sure that you could only go from Vista Home Premium to 7 Home Premium...Vista Business to 7 Professional...etc.