Computers & Networking

[Neihn Valued Contributor]

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dkrrunner wrote:
Maybe, I wasn't clear. What I meant is whether it is worth to get the anytime upgrade to Windows 7 Professional rather than Windows 7 Premium. I am planning on buying a new laptop soon, so I will be able to upgrade to Windows 7 Premium for free.

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There are 3 main differences between Premium and Pro. One being the Virtual XP. The other 2 are the ability to join network domains like Windows Servers (not really needed for a basic home user), and Pro has automatic system backup. A comparison of the various editions can be found here.

[Neihn Valued Contributor]

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Matthew-BBY wrote:

BrendanM

The upgrade disc can only be used to upgrade your system from either Vista or XP.  You cannot use the Windows 7 be used as a full installation disc. In the event that you need to reformat your hard drive you would need to install Vista and then upgrade to Windows 7 again. 

Hope this helps.

Matthew

Community Builder

Best Buy Corporate

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Well Matthew you turned out to be correct. It was recently revealed that the install tricks that worked on every OS including Vista will not work on Windows 7. Windows 7 Upgrade must be installed from a Activated copy of Xp or Vista. No more just installing XP or Vista and doing a upgrade you will actually have to Active those OS's before the Windows 7 Install process will start. And even the work around for the Vista upgrades will not work because of the fact you must install from a activated OS.

[Nokia]

"Activated" copies of XP aren't hard to come by.

[Grannelle]

Will Windows 7 use more memory than Vista?

[debshelly]

I had the same issue with Dell, I had called the support people when I went online and it said ineligble. They told me it was because the model was purchased on June 13th not June 26th. I agured that I the customer is the one that goes by the 26th. they said no. Well I called Dell sales number instead of support. I explained the situation and they checked and found out that the site is not functioning right and only allowing computers purchased direct from Dell to qualify. They had to fix it. they said comptuers bought from the retail store must purchase them by May 1st and then the customer by June 26th to qualify and mine certainly did.

Perhaps Acer has the same issues. I had to return my Dell for no sound issues but the replacement gave me the same issue till they fixed the site. I was then able to register for the Windows 7 upgrade.

I may have to return this model as it has sound issues as well. I may just get an HP. My son did and has no sound issues and had no problem with upgrading to windows 7 with them.

[Neihn Valued Contributor]

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Grannelle wrote:
Will Windows 7 use more memory than Vista?

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The system requirements for Windows 7 is about the same as Vista. Now having said that, I have been runnign Windows 7 since Beta (now on the RC) and it has bene using considerably less memory then Vista did. With Vista I was usign a average of about 35% of my 4 gig of memory with nothing running. Windows 7 on the other hand with nothing running it uses about 18% of the 4 gig. But also keep in mind every computer is setup differently and uses a different combination of hardware. So my results should not be a absolute answer that "oh yeah you will notice a 19% decrease in memory usage" Just mearly posting it as a example of what I got. But just about everyone on the beta/rc forums and other tech sites have noticed a good drop in memory usage compared to Vista. Just always remember "results may vary"

[Pamaz]

Okay, so, having read all the responses here, it seems as if the Windows 7 Upgrade version can't be used to do a full install, you have to install and activate Windows XP or Vista first, correct? This may not be possible for me, so I'll elaborate on my situation a bit.

The computer I'm trying to upgrade is an old eMachines PC that came with XP installed. It did NOT come with a recovery CD, it seems that must be ordered from eMachines. So, pretty much it just has XP on its hard drive, and no real installation disc for Windows XP, though it should have a Windows certificate and code somewhere. I would hope that the eMachines recovery CD, if I ordered it, would allow me to do a reinstall of Windows XP on the system after the mobo upgrade, if necessary.

I'm just a bit unsure on this since eMachines has such a ridiculous way of handling the hard drive/OS recovery process, and sometimes the OS is tied to that particular PC and mobo and would then require reauthentication after an upgrade, or might not be elligible for reauthentication. So maybe this isn't a question specifically about upgrading to Windows 7, but about mobo/CPU/hard drive upgrades in general; do manufacturer recovery CDs function the same as any Windows installation CD and are these installations of Windows then elligible for upgrade?

[Neihn Valued Contributor]

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Pamaz wrote:

Okay, so, having read all the responses here, it seems as if the Windows 7 Upgrade version can't be used to do a full install, you have to install and activate Windows XP or Vista first, correct? This may not be possible for me, so I'll elaborate on my situation a bit.

Yes you must install and activate either Windows XP or Windows Vista before you may install the Windows 7 upgrade.

The computer I'm trying to upgrade is an old eMachines PC that came with XP installed. It did NOT come with a recovery CD, it seems that must be ordered from eMachines. So, pretty much it just has XP on its hard drive, and no real installation disc for Windows XP, though it should have a Windows certificate and code somewhere. I would hope that the eMachines recovery CD, if I ordered it, would allow me to do a reinstall of Windows XP on the system after the mobo upgrade, if necessary.

Most generally the CD Key or Product Key is on a sticker somewhere on the outside of the case. If your case has the Key or you have a manual that has the Key Sticker on it you will NOT be able to use any install disc. However if you are tech savy enough there is a way you can change it so you can use it. All that tells the Installation disc what key to accept is a little text file that is read on install that has a string of numbers those numbers tell the installer "OK this is a OEM disc and only accept OEM product Keys" or "Ok this is a Upgrade disc and only accept Upgrade Product Keys"or the last one "Ok this is a Full Retail version and only accept Full Retail Product Keys"

However only problem with this is it will be completely up to you to find all the drivers needed for your computer. Thats why i still recommend getting the disc from the manufacture to make your life alot easier.

I would not hold my breath as to XP being reactivated after the mobo upgrade. OEM installs of any Microsoft OS is tied to the motherboard. Any change to the motherboard will usually result in the appearance to MS as a new computer. Sometimes you can get lucky and get a helpful CSR that will reactive the copy for you but most of the time they tell you to buy a new copy.

I'm just a bit unsure on this since eMachines has such a ridiculous way of handling the hard drive/OS recovery process, and sometimes the OS is tied to that particular PC and mobo and would then require reauthentication after an upgrade, or might not be elligible for reauthentication. So maybe this isn't a question specifically about upgrading to Windows 7, but about mobo/CPU/hard drive upgrades in general; do manufacturer recovery CDs function the same as any Windows installation CD and are these installations of Windows then elligible for upgrade?

I have always built my own PC's so havent had a whole lot of experience but in the experiences i have had, yes the recovery disc were different then the actual Install Disc. with the Recovery disc all i ever had to do was put the disc in and it restored the computer to the way it shipped from the factory, intalls windows along with all the bloatware that usually comes with computers from major manufactures.

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[Lmamsvc]

Im very upset.

I bought my hp laptop on 6/20/09. The windows 7 update deal is only for computers bought after 6/26/09 ( six stupid days!! I went to the best buy i bought it at and tried to return it and rebuy it. Even though i was over the 14 day return policy, they said they would do it on paper, whatever that means. So they tried and the computer wouldnt let them. Is there anything i could do. Do you think i should call customer service and see what they could do, or should i call hp and see if i can still get it even though i am 6 days too early?? I really want it !!!

Thanks

[Grannelle]

Thanks, Neihn!

That helps. I may buy it, since Vista is using 30-40 percent of my 8 gigs, without and with

apps running. That figure sounds high, but I am using Windows gadgets instead of desktop icons

and the Start menu, so I expect the heavy usage. 

For some reason I couldn't find the solved button, but this resolves my issue. Thanx again.