Upgrade questions

bobkn said:

Dave76 said:

Unless MS has changed the policy, The Win7 upgrade purchase is only valid for an equivalent level of Vista. See the "What are the "equivalent" Windows 7 products for Windows Vista?" below.

If I understand this correctly, you can't buy Win7 Home Premium upgrade and install it on Vista Basic.

I think you're confusing the free upgrade program for machines purchased with Vista, and the retail upgrade.

The free upgrade is to an equivalent Win7 version. I believe that it's not permiited to cross from 32 to 64 bit or the reverse direction.

The retail upgrade package includes both 32 and 64 bit versions. The options for an upgrade-in-place are limited, but most Win7 versions ought to be available for custom install.

I believe you may be right the upgrade isn't for crossing over from 32bit to 64bit. This seems a little strange as MS will send you an equivalent level of Vista if you have 32bit and want 64bit for the shipping cost, so basically for free. We'll see what they do in October.

The original poster was asking if they bought the Win7 Premium upgrade can they use it to upgrade their Vista Basic. They can not, it's Premium to Premium, Ultimate to Ultimate, etc.

You can buy the upgrade from Vista Basic to Vista Premium which will get you a free Win7 Premium upgrade on Oct 22.
Please have a look at the last MS link in my previous post. This info is from the MS website and this is what they are saying there.

I was looking at all these options earlier, then decided to go with TechNet, as I'm the IT manager for a small group of non-business computers.

bobkn said:

As regards Microsoft sending you the 64 bit version of Vista for a nominal charge, that was true - but only if you had a retail version. (I did, of Home Premium, and I was able to get the X64 disk for $10.) If your Vista X86 was an OEM version, MS would not offer the X64 install disk. I believe that they referred requesters to the system builder. (I have the impression that no system builder ever supplied the X64 disk to a customer who bought an X86 system.)

OEMs do send a 64bit version of the OS that you purchased from them, same level. I have recieved 2 of them myself, at no cost to the user, better deal than MS. There are 3 OEMs that I know about that do this but, haven't checked them all.

bobkn said:

You keep referrring to the Win7 upgrade option, which is a free copy of a Win7 upgrade provided to someone who buys Vista or a system with Vista pre-installed. The original poster is interested in the retail Win7 upgrade that is offered for sale separately. The details are different.

Yes they are different. See the MS site:
Currently running Windows Vista
It says here that if you buy an upgrade of Vista, Basic to Premium for example, you will get a free Win7 premium on Oct 22. Please go to the link listed.
A few months ago there was an interview with Mike Ybarra (I think?) it was a video clip and he explained it. I have since confirmed it on the MS website.

This is a quote from the above MS site:
"Currently running Windows Vista
Upgrade your copy of Windows Vista today to be eligible for a free* equivalent version of Windows 7 when it becomes available."

bobkn said:

As regards the RETAIL upgrade package, Microsoft's language is confusing. When they say "upgrade" they often mean upgrade-in-place. A retail upgrade *license* usually permits a custom install from any qualifying prior OS, and I believe that most XP and Vista versions qualify for most Win7 upgrade *licenses*.

Yes, it can be confusing.

When talking about installations 'upgrade' means 'upgrade-in-place', installing the same or newer OS over an existing one, preserving most settings and applications. When MS says 'Custom install' most other people call this a 'Clean install', this formats the partition or entire HD prior to the installation, this is the generally accepted as the best way to install or re-install an OS.

When referring to buying an OS either in DVD form or downloading, 'upgrade' means you get a discount if you have, for example basic and 'buy an upgrade' to Premium, it's cheaper than buying a new complete full version.
'Upgrade' in the context of moving to the next generation OS, for example Vista premium to Win7 Premium, is at a discounted price because you have already bought a 'Premium' version from MS, this is cheaper than buying a complete full version.

Since only Premium, Professional and Ultimate are available in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia, (hope I didn't leave anyone out) only these versions are able to be used for a licensed 'upgrade'. Therefore leaving the option for people with Starter or Basic Vista to 'upgrade' to Vista Premium or higher and receive the free Win7 upgrade to the equivalent version starting with Premium.

bobkn said:

I haven't studied the "upgarde option", but for the retail upgrade, mutiple upgrade-in-place possibilitilies exist. For example: Vista Home Premium can be upgraded in place to Win7 Home Premium or Vista Ultimate. Here are the details:

Windows 7 Upgrade Paths

These are upgrade-in-place options only, though; there's nothing here about custom installs.

Looking at the Microsoft Store page:

Windows 7 - Buy and download from Microsoft Store

it appears that there has been a change in recent weeks: Windows 2000 used to be listed as a qualifying OS, but it is no longer. Perhaps the claim that I've read that the qualifying OS must be *activated* is true after all. (Win2k does not use activation.)

The latest rumors are indicating an upgrade purchase, for example Vista Premium to Win7 Premium, will be able to do an 'upgrade-in-place' or a 'Custom' (Clean for most of us) install. We will see in october.

I think your right about win2000, again MS may want you to buy an upgrade to Vista, then you can get the free Win7. Actually, not sure if you can buy an upgrade from win2000 to Vista.