Win 7 Ultimate, Standard or Upgrade?

Hello, I am currently running Windows Vista Ultimate 32 Bit on my computer. I have thought about upgrading to Win 7 64 Bit via the Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade Disk.

Upon researching further, I found out that I could use the Win 7 Ultimate Upgrade Disk to upgrade from Vista 32 Bit to Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit BUT it would require a clean install.

Now my question is this, if i buy a standard Windows 7 Ultimate disk, can I use that to upgrade ( via a clean install ) my Vista Ultimate 32 Bit OS to a Win 7 Ultimate 64 Bit one? And still use the license of my of my former OS?

Reason I'm asking is because of the price difference. If it would only cost me a little extra, I'm willing to spend on a standard copy to upgrade my computer, and still have another license for another computer.

I'm sorry if that was confusing haha Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

im not 100% sure but i think you can still use the license from vista even if you used the upgrade disk... cos you only need that license when you install windows 7...

 

According to the Vista EULA:

I don't believe this has changed with Windows 7.

 

Short answer: Since you own a licensed copy of Vista, there is no reason for you to buy a standard version of Win7. They both have exactly the same functionality, the only difference is that for the upgrade version to run, you need to have proof of owning a licensed version of Vista (installation media), which you do.

 

You can't go from 32 bit to 64 bit, Cha. That's what I wished too.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/...and-64-bit-Windows-frequently-asked-questions

Can I upgrade from a 32-bit version of Windows to a 64-bit version of Windows?

No. If you are currently running a 32-bit version of Windows, you can only perform an upgrade to another 32-bit version of Windows. Similarly, if you are running a 64-bit version of Windows Vista, you can only perform an upgrade to another 64-bit version of Windows Vista.

If you want to move from a 32-bit version of Windows to a 64-bit version of Windows Vista, you'll need to back up your files and then perform a custom installation of the 64-bit version of Windows Vista. For more information, see Installing and reinstalling Windows.

For detailed information about installing and upgrading 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows, go to Installation choices for Windows Vista (32-bit) or Installation choices for Windows Vista (64-bit) online.

 

The OP wants to continue to use his old Vista license after using to upgrade to Windows 7. As per the EULA, the OP cannot do this, as the old license cannot be used independently once it is used for an upgrade.

You can perform a clean install of x32 to x64 with an upgrade disc. You cannot perform an upgrade install from x32 to x64. There's a distinct difference between the 2 cases. The OP wants to perform the first case.

 

Yeah, that's what I meant. If you want to go from x32 to x64, then you have to do a custom (clean) install. I miss the part about him wanting to do a clean install.

 

Thank you for all the answers guys.

Makes everything that much clearer. If I understand it correctly, the difference between the Win 7 Standard and the Win 7 Upgrade is that Win 7 Upgrade would look for a licensed copy of your OS before installing? Functionality wise, both disks are the same.

Now another question, if I do go on with the Win 7 Upgrade via a custom install, and then after using the new OS, find out that I have some compatibility issues, will I be able to go back to Vista? Or would my license for Vista be rendered unusable because of the upgrade?

Would I also be able to reformat my computer easily with a Win 7 Upgrade disk?

 

as i see it your vista license still exists but cnnot be used while your upgraded win7 is being used.

so to answer your question (with some doubt) yes you can go back to vista as long as you dont use the win7 at the same time(win7 install must either be formatted or have a new(full) product key)

 

Okay, so it would have to work something like this:

1. To "upgrade" from Vista 32 Bit to Win 7 64 Bit using the upgrade disc, I have to use the custom install and do a clean installation of the OS.

2. The upgrade disc looks for a previous windows installation, and when it detects Vista, it allows me to go on and install win 7

3. The recovery partition left by the OEM, still contains Vista. If I am to reformat my computer, I have to recover Vista first, and then use the upgrade disk again to do a custom installation of Win 7. As long as Win 7 64 is not functioning as my OS, I can use legally use the same license for my Vista recovery.

Did I get it right?