Windows 7: Windows Anytime Upgrade - Simple question about key

Hi,



I recently bought an Asus G53SW laptop for college for my college course, and it comes with Windows 7 Home Premium. The thing is, today they told us that we needed Windows 7 Pro for our course (for domain stuff and XP mode).

The thing I am wondering is, since I have another Windows 7 Pro Retail key laying around (oldest of my computers died), does this work with anytime upgrade, or it really has to be an upgrade key?

All I could find on google was about upgrade keys and not retail keys. Please let me know if retail can as well.

Thanks

It can be done, but you may need a registry hack to make it work. Basically you go into the registry where the OS is listed as "Home Premium", edit it to say "Professional", then do a repair install.

Yes, you can use retail Pro key to Anytime upgrade from Home Premium.

Type "Anytime" in Start Search box to start the process, insert Pro Key, extra features will be unlocked in minutes.

This workaround is how an in-place Upgrade or Repair Install from HP to Pro can be done from the HP desktop, but this isn't necessary because Anytime Upgrade will allow use of a Pro Retail Key which simply unlocks the extra Pro features in the HP install you have now.

I was subconsciously filling in the word "Upgrade" along with the "Pro", since that's how I did it on two of my computers. (As in, upgrading Home Premium to Pro with a Pro Upgrade.) I guess if you're upgrading HP to Pro with a full Pro the upgrade is not the same as the Upgrade.

This would make for a nice Abbot and Costello routine.

In the end the college gave me a free Enterprise license key for the length of my college course. Unfortunately they had me completely reinstall instead of just letting me try anytime upgrade.

Thanks guys.