Upgrade from Win7 Home Premium 64bit to Win7 Ultimate


  1. Posts : 5
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
       #1

    Upgrade from Win7 Home Premium 64bit to Win7 Ultimate


    Hi all,

    Hope all is well. I just purchased a Toshiba Satellite P855-S520 laptop with Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit), SP1 already installed and would like to upgrade it Windows 7 Ultimate.

    I had already purchased a retail version for Win7 Ultimate before (the full version not the upgrade) and would like to use this for the upgrade.

    I looked around the forums for some advice and found some very useful stuff but I would appreciate if someone could help with the following. My apologies if the answers were posted already. Must have missed them.

    1. I read about the Windows Anytime Upgrade feature. Will AU work with the full Win7 Ultimate retail key or does it specifically work with an upgrade key?

    2. If I use the AU and it is successful, will the new Win7 Ultimate key be converted to an OEM version as well? The full-version retail key I have gives me the right to install this to 3 computers. I do not want to lose this right since I may use it for different computers in the future.

    3. Is it better to go for AU or a clean install of Win7?

    Since I just purchased the laptop, I have no personal data or programs installed so I do not have to worry about losing data. However Toshiba has certain software installed with the laptop. My understanding of a clean install is that everything will be wiped clean and then necessary software e.g. drivers, etc... need to be installed again. On the other hand, once I upgrade to Ultimate perhaps some of this software will become obsolete?

    I am leaning towards AU since it looks less of an hassle and I am not that tech savvy but I read that a clean install may increase performance by getting rid of the 'bloatware'. Any advice on this would be appreciated.

    Thank you in advance.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 13,576
    Windows 10 Pro x64
       #2

    What`s the need for the upgrade ? Save your Retail Ultimate for another build. But someone will be along to answer your question.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 5
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    I noticed that there was an "Installation & Setup" forum. I tried to delete this post and move it there but could not see the delete function. Do I tick "mark as solved" and re-create the thread in the other forum?

    Sorry. Newb here.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 13,576
    Windows 10 Pro x64
       #4

    They will move it.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 5
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #5

    AddRAM said:
    What`s the need for the upgrade ? Save your Retail Ultimate for another build. But someone will be along to answer your question.
    I live in Japan and periodically need to use Japanese and sometimes other Asian languages software. I believe I need the language support provided in Ultimate to be able to use these.
      My Computer

  6.    #6

    You bought full-version retail Win7 which can migrate anywhere you want whenever you want as long as it is on only one machine at a time. This remains the case even if you use it to Anytime Upgrade factory OEM, although you can normally buy an Anytime key for much cheaper.

    I would save a backup image and your Recovery disks beforehand so you have two methods for restoring the native Home Premium if you decide to use Ultimate elsewhere, then after Upgrade I'd save an Ultimate image to use in place of reinstall.

    You can also migrate this Ultimate image to another machine if need be in the future by first SysPrep to move to another computer, using Acronis True Image Universal Restore or Paragon Virtualization Manager 9.5 Personal which is available free now using this link: Paragon Virtualization Manager (formerly Paragon Adaptive Restore) CD. You'll have to reactivate it.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 5
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #7

    gregrocker said:
    You bought full-version retail Win7 which can migrate anywhere you want whenever you want as long as it is on only one machine at a time. This remains the case even if you use it to Anytime Upgrade factory OEM, although you can normally buy an Anytime key for much cheaper.
    Thank you for the reply and apologies for the late response.

    You are right. I checked the MS Software License Terms for Win7 Ultimate. Somehow I was under the impression that I could install Win7 up to 3 computers but apparently I was wrong

    I am now thinking that I should not waste the Ultimate key and stick with the Home Premium OEM for a while. It it becomes too inconvenient for use, I will consider an upgrade.

    gregrocker said:
    I would save a backup image and your Recovery disks beforehand so you have two methods for restoring the native Home Premium if you decide to use Ultimate elsewhere, then after Upgrade I'd save an Ultimate image to use in place of reinstall.
    I assume this means that the retail key does not become OEM key (question #2) and stays retail so I can migrate Ultimate anywhere I want?

    3. Is it better to go for AU or a clean install of Win7?
    For future reference, if I go for a clean install, how much inconvenience will it cause not to have the pre-installed softwares? I checked the detail document and it looks as if it will not be much (perhaps drivers?) but anything you can add from experience/knowledge?

    Satellite P855-S5200 detailed specs

    Thanks once again.
      My Computer

  8.    #8

    Kandor said:
    I assume this means that the retail key does not become OEM key (question #2) and stays retail so I can migrate Ultimate anywhere I want?
    I thought I made that quite clear here:
    gregrocker said:
    You bought full-version retail Win7 which can migrate anywhere you want whenever you want as long as it is on only one machine at a time. This remains the case even if you use it to Anytime Upgrade factory OEM, although you can normally buy an Anytime key for much cheaper.
    Kandor said:
    3. Is it better to go for AU or a clean install of Win7?
    You'll have exactly the same OS after AU except with a few extra expensive features unlocked. There is no performance difference because the OS has not been reinstalled.

    Kandor said:
    For future reference, if I go for a clean install, how much inconvenience will it cause not to have the pre-installed softwares? I checked the detail document and it looks as if it will not be much (perhaps drivers?) but anything you can add from experience/knowledge?
    A Clean Reinstall is vastly superior to the Factory Preinstall larded with sponsors' crapware and useless duplicate utilities which have better versions built into Win7. These throttle the OS and cause endless issues.

    Follow these steps to get a perfect Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7
      My Computer


  9. AC
    Posts : 956
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
       #9

    [QUOTE=Kandor;2111515]
    gregrocker said:

    For future reference, if I go for a clean install, how much inconvenience will it cause not to have the pre-installed softwares? I checked the detail document and it looks as if it will not be much (perhaps drivers?) but anything you can add from experience/knowledge?

    Satellite P855-S5200 detailed specs

    Thanks once again.
    Really a clean install is better without the bloated software that Windows comes with on preinstalled machine. Drivers are easy to get, they are 99 percent of the time on your manufacturers support page. If you ever need a driver, ask me, and I'll look for them.
      My Computer


 

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