Microsoft Documents "Windows 7 Upgrade Paths"

madbusu said:

how to upgrade from 7100 to 7600 ...when i try to install i get this :
"You can’t upgrade this prerelease version of Windows 7. Go online to see how to install Windows 7 and keep your files and settings."

Actually, it may be "unsupported" but you still CAN in fact do an upgrade install from 7100 or later by using the method published by MS themselves in the W7 Engineering Blog. It requires a simple modification to the cversions.ini file (just takes a sec) which is located in the "sources" folder of the W7 installation disk. I've done it and it works. The exact procedure is spelled out by MS here: Engineering Windows 7 : Delivering a quality upgrade experience

Muad Dib said:

MS has totally dropped the ball in their own PR and marketing on this issue. Their own blogs/forums and press releases cannot/will not define the difference between a technical "In-Place" (Dirty) upgrade versus a "Clean" install and an "Upgrade License" versus a "Full License" and how the terms and definitions interact.

If the MS document Swarfega provides a copy of in the first post (available from MS's own site) is explaining "In-Place" (Dirty) upgrade paths, then it is stating that Vista Home Premium can, technically, be "In-Place" upgraded to W7 Home Premium and W7 Ultimate BUT NOT W7 PRO?

That makes NO sense logically from a technical point.

I assume that a CLEAN INSTALL is ALWAYS an OPTION. Or is that also too technically logical?

If the document is supposed to be an UPGRADE LICENSE path, again it makes no sense. Vista Home Premium LICENSE can be UPGRADED to a W7 Home Premium License OR a W7 Ultimate License? MS has NOT offered any W7 Ultimate Upgrade LICENSE, have they?

The document appears to not explain either a Technical Upgrade path or a License Upgrade path with any consistency to itself and contradicts previous statements contained in other MS publications and blog/forum posts.

It only adds to the confusion as illustrated by the questions from the above SevenForums Posters.

.....

*cough* The document is inconsistent and should have undergone a review by a technical writer. I would look elsewhere for an explanation.

1.Can i Go from XP Pro SP3 to Windows 7 Family Pack Home Premium ?

It will have to be a clean install but yes you can "upgrade" from XP, You might want to think about x64 if your PC will support it since you have to do a clean install anyway.

2.Iv got my uni VLK as my XP key, and It is a Legit key, so can i perform the upgrade ?

You might want to talk to Microsoft about this but my initial thought would be yes. The last I heard Windows 7 requires a currently "activated" install to upgrade from and it doesn't ask for the license key you are upgrading from.

Crypto said:

2.Iv got my uni VLK as my XP key, and It is a Legit key, so can i perform the upgrade ?

That may be a bit iffy. VLKs can be purchased with or without the "Software Assurance" (SA) option. The SA option allows the same VLK to be used for a product upgrade within the time limit terms of the SA. This protects the buyer from buying a VLK for a product and having to buy another 3 month later when a new version comes out.

For instance I was able to upgrade the PCs at a client from Office Pro 2003 to Office Pro 2007 since the upgrade was released within 2 years of the original VLK with SA purchase.

The person to contact would be the "MS VLK Administrator" at the university. MS will probably not talk to you directly as you are probably not a registered contact.

If the uninversirty did not buy the VLK/SA option I would imagine they have plans to buy/acquire a new VLK for Win7. You just might have to wait a bit longer.

Also, the "retail" ISO may not work with a VLK product key and vice versa. I am not sure how MS is going to handle Win7 yet.