From Windows 7 Start to Windows 7 Pro on my netbook

Hi all,
nobody (even Microsoft call-center) answered me about this question:
I have a netbook with Windows 7 Starter preinstalled and I want to upgrade it to Windows 7 Pro which I own a original licence (OA) that I never used.
So:
1) I can upgrade with that product-key that I already own?
2) The upgrade process will costrict me to FORMAT and REINSTALL or I will be able to upgrade without losing settings, programs, tools, files and nothing (that is what I really want!)?
Thanks!

 

You should be able to go to system properties and in the lower right corner click a hotlink to "change product key". Whether or not this will require a reinstall I don't know. Just back up your PC and give it a go.

 

It's best you reformat it with the Windows 7 pro install to go pro as Starter is a crippled version that doesn't run alot of features that Pro will use and considering your Netbook by itself already won't be able to do alot or run alot. Sometimes the Starter is used because the laptop isn't sufficient hardware to run a higher version of Windows 7. But you should consider a CPU upgrade that will do more for the Netbook but reduce battery life and Pro O/S will give your more options. But to get the full Pro usage you should reformat with the Pro O/S. I would say it will upgrade your Starter to Pro but I recommend you do a complete new install with Pro that will reduce any kinda errors from Starter being introduced into Pro when you upgrade. Also make sure you downloaded all the Netbook drivers prior to reformatting so that you can load the drivers and start using it right away.

 

You can use Windows Anytime Upgrade to go from Starter to Home Premium and then from Home Premium to Professional. I don't think you can go directly from Starter to Professional without the step in between (at least, not without reinstalling). Just use your existing Pro key for both upgrades and don't activate until you upgrade to Professional. Alternately, you can follow the advice above and clean-install Windows 7 Professional.

 

The only thing I miss really about Pro is Remote Desktop by Windows. I think it's better than TeamViewer.

 

Just so ya know...

Upgrading Windows 7 on a netbook using Windows Anytime Upgrade

 

Yeah, you shouldn't need to do a reformat. There's really not many files that are different between Starter v. Professional, so unless you wanted to do a reformat anyway, it's not going to mess things up (like a Vista to 7 upgrade would do).