Anytime upgrade choice

[Ztruker]

I picked up a new (for me) computer that I installed a copy of Vista Business on. All was well after the install and for almost a month then today it went through Activation and said it's invalid. I thought it was a good copy of Vista but it must have a VLK that MS no longer allows.

Anyway, I want to upgrade to Windows 7 and when I tried it I was offered Windows 7 Home Premium for $79.95 and Ultimate for $129.95. I was going to go with the Home Premium version as that would be sufficient for what I want to use this computer for, but when I got to the page where I was going to buy it all it said was Valid Upgrade from Windows 7 Basic, didn't mention anything about any version of Vista, even though I was running this from the Vista computer.

So ... what are my options? What versions of Windows 7 can I do an Anytime Upgrade to from Vista Business?

 

[derekimo]

I picked up a new (for me) computer that I installed a copy of Vista Business on. All was well after the install and for almost a month then today it went through Activation and said it's invalid. I thought it was a good copy of Vista but it must have a VLK that MS no longer allows.

Anyway, I want to upgrade to Windows 7 and when I tried it I was offered Windows 7 Home Premium for $79.95 and Ultimate for $129.95. I was going to go with the Home Premium version as that would be sufficient for what I want to use this computer for, but when I got to the page where I was going to buy it all it said was Valid Upgrade from Windows 7 Basic, didn't mention anything about any version of Vista, even though I was running this from the Vista computer.

So ... what are my options? What versions of Windows 7 can I do an Anytime Upgrade to from Vista Business?

From Vista Business, you can upgrade to 7 Pro or Ultimate.

Upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7 - Help & How-to - Microsoft Windows

 

[gregrocker]

Sorry Rich, Anytime Upgrade can only be used for upgrading Win7 to a greater version of itself.

To UPgrade Vista you'll need retail Win7 Upgrade version, however under the EULA there needs to be a valid Vista to qualify for Upgrade version.

What OS version do you really want on the machine? Have you considered going with OEM which is priced low because it doesn't include MS SUpport (which you don't need) and lives and dies with the mobo it is first installed upon.

 

[Ztruker]

Thanks to both of you.

I left off one small, important factor. I currently have 32 bit Vista Business and I want to go to a 64 bit Windows 7 so I will do what Greg suggested and get a OEM copy of Windows 7 Pro X64, which is also what I'm running on my current desktop.

This will be my new Web Server replacing a Dell 4100 933Mhz, 512MB ram. The new one is a Dell Workstation xw4400, 3.4Ghz, 4GB ram.

 

[gregrocker]

Sounds good. Keep us posted, Rich.

 

[Ztruker]

Just got Windows 7 Pro x64 from TigerDirect for $139, no shipping. Should have it in 3-4 days. Could have bought Home Premuim for $99 but for $30 more I got Pro which I like very much.

Next I get to install Apache 2.2, PHP 5.3 and MySQL 5.1 and migrate my existing Web Server to it. Should be fun for weeks to come (already have it sort of running on this machine as a test). Lots of changes needed from the old Apache and PHP to this new, current level, yikes!!!

 

[Ztruker]

I had a flash drive I had previously setup with all flavors of Win 7 on. I used it to Clean install Win 7 Pro X64 but deferred activation until I receive my copy from TigerDirect, then I use that key to activate with. Should work, right?

 

[gregrocker]

Yes it should. Looks like you went with OEM which doesn't require any workaround as when you install Upgrade version to a clean HD. Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version

 

[Ztruker]

Yes, OEM version. Got it from NewEgg, not TigerDirect though. Us old guys get easily confused.

Newegg.com - windows 7 oem

 

[Ztruker]

Got the OEM Win 7 Pro X64 today and it activated okay. I'm happy! Didn't even have to open the DVD case

 

[gregrocker]

Good news.

 

[Big Tom]

im very satisfied with this OS

 

[Ztruker]

Turned into a fiasco when I upgraded my ram from 1GB to 5GB, all same specs.

System would not complete a boot. Finally had to pull the CMOS batter, disconnect the power cord then press the power button for a few seconds to drain the caps, put stuff back and power up. Got a CMS config error which I expected. Loaded defaults then set everything up again but Win 7 would n0t boot. I get the fireflies once then a reboot. Turned out to be a BSOD 0x00007B (I think, not exactly sure).

Doing a boot Repair didn't help, System Restore did not work. No idea what happened or why but it was painful.

Once again, Win 7 not allowing me to do a Repair Install unless I start it from a booted Win 7 killed me and I had to clean install. I still don't understand why this restriction is in place. Why not let me attempt a repair. If it doesn't work I've lost nothing but time and can then do a clean install.

At least I got to use my brand new shiny Win 7 Pro X64 with SP1 DVD

Current problem is hardware or BIOS as it takes 60 seconds when I power up before I see the first output from BIOS on the screen. Up until then all I have is a blinking cursor at top left of screen. Reboot works fine, no delay.

This is HP Workstation xw4400, 3.4Ghz P4 with two logical processors and (now) 5Gb of PC5300 ECC ram. I'll have to chat with HP and see if they have any idea. It's not a critical problem as this will be my new web server soon which never powers off but I'd like to fix it if I can.

 

[gregrocker]

Repair Install is done from the desktop only to upgrade over itself.

Were you wanting Startup Repair which is accessed on the second boot screen of DVD by clicking Repair My Computer to open System Recovery Options?

 

[theog]

Turned into a fiasco when I upgraded my ram from 1GB to 5GB, all same specs.

For a test try with 4gb or 6gb of ram.

 

[Ztruker]

Greg, I ran Startup Repair twice with no results. I really wanted to do a Repair Install over the existing install without losing data or installed software as I used to be able to do with XP.

Theog, I tried it with 2GB, 4GB and back to the original 1GB. In all cases Win 7 would no longer boot. I had to reinstall to fix whatever the problem was. I figured since I was doing that I would try it with the max amount of ram I had and it installed okay with 5GB.

I've since had a couple BSODs when the computer went to sleep. Disabled sleep and hibernate and it's running very well now.

 

[gregrocker]

Almost all sleep issues are resolved by updating or changing the display driver, which is worth trying since Sleep and Hibernate otherwise work really well in Win7 and make walking away from your work less of a concern whether for an afternoon or a week.

 

[Ztruker]

Thanks, I'll play with it. I'm using the built in ATI FireGL V3300, what ever that is. I'll see what I can find.

Edit: Just noticed I was running an unsupported resolution/frequency.

I had 1024x768 @ 70Hz.
Monitor/video card supports 1024X768 @ 60Hz.

Changed it and will try sleep again, see what happens, now that I have a good backup.