Windows 7 Upgrade Guide: All Your Questions Answered

[YupYup]

The amount of information pouring out of Redmond these days about Windows 7 is unprecedented, and so is the level of enthusiasm. In a frantic attempt to make sense of it all, Maximum PC has been releasing our ongoing Feature Focus series, which hopefully, has helped you determine wither upgrading to Windows 7 is worth it for you. Once you made that decision however, or buy a new PC that’s upgrade eligible, do you know exactly what you’re getting? Can I upgrade from Windows XP? Do I need to buy the same product edition when upgrading? Can I go from 32 bit to 64 bit? These are just a few of the many questions we seek to answer after the jump.

Can I Buy the Windows 7 Upgrade Edition For Use With Windows XP or 2000?

Yes, but there’s a catch. Only Windows Vista users will be able to do an in-place upgrade. This means that Windows XP or 2000 users will be forced to do a clean install. Maximum PC readers are generally technical enough to know that this is a good idea anyway, but if your planning on upgrading PCs for friends and family, bring a USB hard drive and be prepared to stay awhile.


I Only See One Version of Each Edition. Am I Getting the 32 or 64 Bit Version?

All retail editions of Windows 7 will ship with both the 32 & 64 bit DVDs. This is a huge improvement over Vista where users would need to order additional disks manually from Microsoft. Users who purchase Windows 7 digitally through the Microsoft store will be allowed to choose which version they want prior to starting the download.


How will I know if my Processor Supports the 64 Bit Edition?

Download and run GRC’s SecurAble processor testing application. The download is only about 100k, and like everything from GRC, doesn’t require an install. SecurAble will quickly tell you if your processor supports 64 Bit instructions, and if you will be able to use the coveted XP Mode found in Windows 7 professional. Just make sure it says Yes in the Hardware Virtualization field, and your good to go!

Read more: Windows 7 Upgrade Guide: All Your Questions Answered


Windows 7 upgrade chart
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[fakeasdf]

That disc says Windows XP....

 

[YupYup]

That disc says Windows XP....

Yes the images on the right are the older versions you would be upgrading from, the images on the left are what you are upgrading to (windows 7).

 

[fakeasdf]

heh, I wanna upgrade from office 2007 to Windows 7

 

[Legacy Code]

That disc says Windows XP....

you got good eye sight !

 

[YupYup]

heh, I wanna upgrade from office 2007 to Windows 7

I think that would be an example of "does my application work in windows 7" but really the image is not important.

 

[fakeasdf]

I think that would be an example of "does my application work in windows 7" but really the image is not important.

haha, Yes, I agree, I'm just messing with ya. I just found out today about the ability to use Windows 2000 as a way to get in on the cheaper Windows 7 upgrades... I'm sure this will help plenty out. Guys yall only have 2 more days to order it at the great cheap prices!!

 

[Uber Philf]

great info, thanks for that, cleared it up for me

 

[Snufffed]

Read more: Windows 7 Upgrade Guide: All Your Questions Answered

some of the information posted on that site. is 100% in contradiction to blogs.msdn.com. So not all questions will be answered. I for one trust MDSN - Technet - Connect - and direct info from MS Site info more than 3rd party info.

 

[YupYup]

some of the information posted on that site. is 100% in contradiction to blogs.msdn.com. So not all questions will be answered. I for one trust MDSN - Technet - Connect - and direct info from MS Site info more than 3rd party info.

Some of the information posted on microsoft sites are 100% in contradiction with each other. Take for example

from: Windows 7 Release Candidate Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can I upgrade directly from the Windows 7 Beta to the RC?

If you are running the Windows 7 Beta, you'll need to back up your data (preferably on an external device) and then do a clean installation of the Windows 7 Release Candidate. After installing Windows 7, you will need to reinstall applications and restore your files.

From:Engineering Windows 7 : Delivering a quality upgrade experience

The supported upgrade scenario is from Windows Vista to Windows 7. Before you go jump to the comment section, we want to say we are going to provide a mechanism for you to use if you absolutely require this upgrade. ........(shortened for brevity's sake).

Here’s what you can do to bypass the check for pre-release upgrade IF YOU REALLY REALLY NEED TO:

1. Download the ISO as you did previously and burn the ISO to a DVD.
2. Copy the whole image to a storage location you wish to run the upgrade from (a bootable flash drive or a directory on any partition on the machine running the pre-release build).
3. Browse to the sources directory.
4. Open the file cversion.ini in a text editor like Notepad.
5. Modify the MinClient build number to a value lower than the down-level build. For example, change 7100 to 7000 (pictured below).
6. Save the file in place with the same name.
7. Run setup like you would normally from this modified copy of the image and the version check will be bypassed.

These same steps will be required as we transition from the RC milestone to the RTM milestone.

The same situation happened with vista and until we actually have our hands on the upgrade disc's to test i see know reason to suspect it will be any different.

 

[abuhannibal]

Will the full version of Win 7 do an upgrade over RC1?

I suspect this is a bit of a noob question, so forgive me. I have a very good build now with RC1, and if I say so myself, I have been very much pleasantly suprised by both its stability and performance. Took me a _lotta_ hours to get everything installed and tweaked... all of which I did because my install of Vista had gotten to the point where it was really unusable. So I would greatly prefer to not have to re-install from scratch when the final version is available... ( having to reinstall all my apps is pretty nearly just as much work as doing a clean install.)

Thanks in advance!

 

[YupYup]

I suspect this is a bit of a noob question, so forgive me. I have a very good build now with RC1, and if I say so myself, I have been very much pleasantly suprised by both its stability and performance. Took me a _lotta_ hours to get everything installed and tweaked... all of which I did because my install of Vista had gotten to the point where it was really unusable. So I would greatly prefer to not have to re-install from scratch when the final version is available... ( having to reinstall all my apps is pretty nearly just as much work as doing a clean install.)

Thanks in advance!

Unfortunately if your RC version is ultimate (and most are) you will have to upgrade to ultimate to avoid having to reinstall all your apps.

 

[abuhannibal]

Thanks - I can work with that (having to go with Ultimate.) But if I buy the release version of ultimate it will upgrade my RC1 install, instead of requiring a clean install or moving all my apps/data to windows.old?

Thanks for the quick reply!

 

[YupYup]

Thanks - I can work with that (having to go with Ultimate.) But if I buy the release version of ultimate it will upgrade my RC1 install, instead of requiring a clean install or moving all my apps/data to windows.old?

Thanks for the quick reply!

Yes it will not require a clean install or moving apps/data from window.old if you select the repair install option.

 

[abuhannibal]

Thanks!!!

 

[spliff]

Is preorder deal still available? Can I now preorder upgrade from 7264? Fresh install is ok as well...

 

[YupYup]

Is preorder deal still available? Can I now preorder upgrade from 7264? Fresh install is ok as well...

U.S, Canada, and Japan pre-order sale is over UK, France and Germany started july 15 to august 9. If you are running ultimate you can only upgrade to ultimate which is not part of the sale, in addition windows 7 E and N versions must be clean installed.

 

[Socrates]

U.S, Canada, and Japan pre-order sale is over UK, France and Germany started july 15 to august 9. If you are running ultimate you can only upgrade to ultimate which is not part of the sale, in addition windows 7 E and N versions must be clean installed.

Buy, download Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade from Microsoft Store

Isn't it part? Confused.

I have a few questions:
1. If I buy these upgrades pre-order versions (or any Windows 7 Upgrade version, which is cheaper) I will be able to upgrade from the the Win 7 RC? If so (and this is part of the next question problem), if I need to format and clean install it, will the Upgrade suffice? If so wouldn't that be a loophole that would make everyone buy the upgrade?

2. Imagine the boxed versions are out and I buy a Windows 7 Upgrade box and install it over previous Windows XP ou Vista. What will happen when I need to format my HD? Will I have to install the previous version (XP or Vista) first and then upgrade to 7? Will I only need to have a valid Win XP or Vista key to be able to make a clean install of the Windows 7 Upgrade? What about

 

[YupYup]

Buy, download Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade from Microsoft Store

Isn't it part? Confused.

I have a few questions:
1. If I buy these upgrades pre-order versions (or any Windows 7 Upgrade version, which is cheaper) I will be able to upgrade from the the Win 7 RC? If so (and this is part of the next question problem), if I need to format and clean install it, will the Upgrade suffice? If so wouldn't that be a loophole that would make everyone buy the upgrade?

2. Imagine the boxed versions are out and I buy a Windows 7 Upgrade box and install it over previous Windows XP ou Vista. What will happen when I need to format my HD? Will I have to install the previous version (XP or Vista) first and then upgrade to 7? Will I only need to have a valid Win XP or Vista key to be able to make a clean install of the Windows 7 Upgrade? What about

Yes for U.S, Canada, and Japan the sale is over you can still pre-order but it will not be the cheap sale price.

1.see my previous posts in this thread. And yes the loop hole was present in vista and should be in windows 7, but until we have the discs to test nothing is certain.

2.Again can't know for certain until we have the disc to test.

 

[Capella]

did anyone at all realize that:
1-the windows 7 upgrade charthas a starter 64 bit edition that doesn't exist?
2-Foot note says the windows 2k is not upgradable but microsoft says it is.
3-the chart seemed to made the the intent to confuse some users?
I made a post on this--
http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/19961-windows-7-upgrade-chart.html#post214267