Win. 7 Home Prem. (64) UPGRADE to Win. 7 Prof. (64)?

Hi guys, I emailed Microsoft support this question and got a useless answer back; they just sent me a link to download the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, which basically told me what I already knew (that my system is capable of running Windows 7).

So I called them just now and the so-called "tech support" person wasn't much of a help either, she didn't seem too bright and didn't know much about the whole upgrade process, giving me conflicting information. So, I hope someone on here can answer this for me.

I recently bought a new laptop that came pre-installed with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. Then I found out that Home Premium does not have "XP Mode" capability, so I used the Student Discount offer to buy Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (full version not upgrade) from Microsoft's website for $29.99 (what a bargain!). Can anyone tell me FOR SURE, whether I can do just an upgrade (where all my manufacturer's pre-installed applications, drivers, and all my currently installed applications and settings are preserved) or if I MUST do a clean install (reinstalling all of these applications, etc.)?

Thanks in advance!

Hey thank you, I finally got a straight answer!

I haven't been able to actually do the upgrade yet, because I'm in the middle of final examinations right now. But I did receive confirmation from Microsoft that the key would work doing the "Anytime Upgrade."

Wally, I thought the same thing as you. Hope this helps.

Conflicting reports on retail keys working for Anytime.

We had someone the other day who adapted the popular Unawave "downgrade" workaround (changes Win7 Ultimate to Premium or Pro) to in-place upgrade Win7 Starter to Pro. Worked perfectly.

UNAWAVE - Downgrade Ultimate to Home Premium or Professional