Windows 7 Upgrade Info And Pricing Thread

With the release of Windows 7, there has been an influx of questions raised about the highly anticipated upcoming Operating System.
This thread is a collection of answers to many of those questions, and will hopefully help you in understanding more facts in preparation for the next version of Microsoft Windows.

Contents:
Windows 7 Pricing
Upgrading To Windows 7
Helpful Links
Other Questions

 

Windows 7 Pricing

One of the most common questions surrounding the new Operation System is the size of the hole it will leave in your wallet. Microsoft has announced to offered free upgrades to Windows 7 for qualifying PCs*, as well as free upgrades to qualifying editions of Windows Vista*.

For full details on prices and to pre-order, please visit the Microsoft Windows Shop.

Please find below a list of pricing set for all versions of Windows 7 in different countries. Note that some independent retailers might offer Windows 7 at a discounted price to the ones listed below.

USA (USD)

Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade..............$119.99
Windows 7 Professional Upgrade...................$199.99
Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade.......................$219.99

Windows 7 Home Premium Full....................$199.99
Windows 7 Professional Full.........................$299.99
Windows 7 Ultimate Full..............................$319.99

Windows 7 Home Premium Family Pack (3 licenses)......$149.99

Canada (CAD)

Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade...............$69.99
Windows 7 Professional Upgrade..................$124.99

UK (GBP)

Special pre-order prices until 1st Sept 2009:
Windows 7N Home Premium Full.....................£64.99

Full Price:
Windows 7N Home Premium Upgrade...............£79.99
Windows 7N Professional Upgrade.................£189.99
Windows 7N Ultimate Upgrade......................£199.99

Windows 7N Home Premium Full...................£149.99
Windows 7N Professional Full.......................£219.99
Windows 7N Ultimate Full............................£229.99

Windows 7N Home Premium Family Pack (3 licenses).....£149.99

EU (EUR)

Full retail price:
Windows 7N Home Premium Full...................€119.99
Windows 7N Professional Full.......................€284.99
Windows 7N Ultimate Full............................€299.99

Japan (JPY)

Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade..............¥7,407
Windows 7 Professional Upgrade.................¥14,073

If your country isn't listed here (note that EU includes all countries in the European Union using the Euro currency), or if you have a question regarding the price listings above, please contact me.

*Please check with your retailer to find out which PCs and Vista versions are qualified for this offer.

 

Upgrading To Windows 7

*Official Windows 7 Upgrade Paths from Microsoft*


Can I upgrade Vista xxx to Windows 7 yyy (where xxx ≠ yyy)?

The eligible Windows Vista to Windows 7 upgrade paths are as follows:

Windows Vista Home Premium -> Windows 7 Home Premium
Windows Vista Business -> Windows 7 Professional
Windows Vista Ultimate -> Windows 7 Ultimate

Any other path will require a clean install, which can be carried out using the Windows 7 Upgrade Editions. Also note that upgrading from a 32bit Windows Vista edition to a 64bit Windows 7 edition or vice versa will require a clean installation. All Windows 7 upgrade/installation discs will contain both the 32bit version and 64bit version of the Windows 7 edition.
To find out exactly what your options are, please use the Windows Upgrade Advisor.


Can I upgrade my Windows XP to Windows 7?

You can use a Windows Upgrade edition to install Windows 7 on a computer currently running Windows XP. However, do note that a clean install will be required.
To find out exactly what your options are, please use the Windows Upgrade Advisor.


Can I upgrade my Windows 7 Beta/RC to Windows 7?

You can use a Windows Upgrade edition to install Windows 7 on a computer currently running Windows 7 Beta or Windows 7 RC. However, do note that a clean install will be required.


Should I upgrade or clean install?

To minimise any problems you may come across and to optimise performance, it is strongly recommended to perform a clean install instead of an upgrade.


What if I have multiple machine I want to upgrade?

Microsoft has confirmed that there will be a Family Pack edition of Windows 7, allowing three computers to be upgraded. The family pack will retail at $149.99 for US customers.


Hi, I'm from Europe and I was wondering how much Windows 7E Upgrade Edition would cost????

Unlucky, us Europeans won't have the option to get an Upgrade edition. We will have to go for the full retail version.


I heard the European version of Windows 7 will not come with Internet Explorer????

This is no longer the case. Instead of releasing Windows 7E editions, which would not include Internet Explorer among other applications, Microsoft will instead release Windows 7N editions.

Windows 7N will be identical to the Windows 7 editions available in the USA, except that they won't come with Windows Media Player pre-installed.

If you're still going to blame or thank someone, talk to the European Union.


Will my old software, which worked on Windows XP, work on Windows 7?

Windows 7, as with previous versions of Windows, all have excellent backwards compatibility when it comes to software. Windows 7 goes one step further with "XP Mode", which basically launches the application in a virtualised Windows XP Operating System. Note that XP Mode requires your computer to have at least 2GB RAM, as well as a processor which supports virtualisation technology (Intel® VT or AMD-V™ .

 

Helpful Links

Microsoft
Official US Windows 7 Pricing and pre-order shop
Free Windows 7 Upgrade Eligibility Information
Internet Explorer
Windows 7 Wikipedia page

 

Other Questions

What's different in each of the versions?

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/compare-editions


Have they removed UAC?

Nope, it's still there, but Microsoft have included a window with a little slider which enables you to change the level of annoyance from the UAC prompts.


Can my 10 year old mouldy laptop run Windows 7?

Windows 7 has the following minimum hardware requirements:

32bit Windows 7:

Processor speed: 1 GHz processor
Memory (RAM): 1 GB of RAM
Graphics card: Support for DirectX 9 graphics device with 128MB of graphics memory (for Windows Aero)
HDD free space: 16 GB of available disk space
Optical drive: DVD-R/W drive

64bit Windows 7:

Processor speed: 1 GHz processor
Memory (RAM): 2 GB of RAM
Graphics card: Support for DirectX 9 graphics device with 128MB of graphics memory (for Windows Aero)
HDD free space: 20 GB of available disk space
Optical drive: DVD-R/W drive

To find out if your old banger can indeed run Windows 7, please run the Windows Upgrade Advisor.


CAN I HAZ BENCHMARK????

YAR U CAN*:
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2009/04/time7final.jpg

Gaming benchmarks of Windows 7 RC1 vs. Windows Vista SP1 can he found here.

DISCLAIMER: Note that the benchmarks above have not been carried out by NotebookReview and therefore their accuracy cannot be guaranteed.


*Source: Gizmodo (http://gizmodo.com/5233098/windows-7-release-candidate-1-vs-vista-first-benchmarks). Benchmarks are Windows 7 RC1 vs. Windows Vista

 

Anything else???

 

Looking good budding! Some other information that may be nice is:

-Do XP customers qualify for upgrade prices?
-Do versions before XP qualify for upgrade prices

-How long is the preorder available, and are those preorder prices or future prices?
-Where can I preorder?

-If I purchase a retail copy of Vista will I apply for the upgrade?
-Are there any edition requirements?

I'll try to dig up the answers to those if you think it is applicable.

 

I don't think Microsoft has released information on upgrading versions of Windows prior to Windows XP. Then again, I don't think there are many people around now who use something older than the almost-decade-old XP. I think it's pretty much ok to post in the Win7 forum now, unless if I've missed out something super critical?

 

Great work so far.

Maybe it's me and it probably is, but should we have gaming benchmarks in the upgrade thread? I know there's a lot of gamers here and they'd probably be interested in the info, but I think most are not. It's my own personal opinion stickies should be as short as possible to make information usable. So perhaps we should stick to questions of price, availability and whether you can/can't upgrade, and leave the other stuff to the specific forums.

Lastly, should we be letting a MB user post the Windows 7 Upgrade Thread?

 

I'll remove those huge screenshots and instead just leave those two links to the banchmark sites.

And MB?? Macbook? If so, then I'm the only one who can give a balanced view of Win7, since I've used both worse OSes (Vista, XP, ME, etc.) as well as better ones

 

I guess you're right Budding . I do know some people that still use 2000, but they will be using that until they die anyway.

I agree Zaz. I like the Windows sticky:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=177399

It effectively stickies various useful threads, but lets them all be dedicated to their sole purpose.

 

This sticky is only going to be in the Win7 subforum. Maybe it'll be included in the main sticky when Win7 actually comes out. I'm gonna move & sticky it, and close all those threads about "HOW MUCH IS WINDOWZ 7?????"

 

hmm...a MB user posting a info thread in the windows forum. Finally, we can weed out the mac trolls(so, that we can give them metals) . Besides, most people won't care about who posted the info.

Also, you probablywant to change this line:

FF/opera fanboys would probably want to thank them , while IE fanboys would blame them...

But, yeah make it as short and sweet as possible. If they want to discuss the little things, they can do it in the thread.

 

I meant that I like the style of having one sticky that indexes various other threads. So if we have enough topics we could create an index sticky with links to "gaming performance", "upgrading", ect.. Maybe it wouldn't work with only two topics though .

Looks good for the move to me, Budding.

 

I contacted Microsoft, and if you have Vista you can upgrade to a higher edition or the same one using Windows 7 upgrade disk, else you will need to perform a clean install using the upgrade disk, like if you had XP.

Windows 2000 owner can upgrade to Windows 7 using the upgrade disk. (it's says in bold on Microsoft website)

Windows 7 benchmarks posted are worthless. Up to now, still many devices don't have official, optimized Windows 7 drivers, everything is still in beta or even alpha stages (or doesn't even exists and you have to put Vista drivers and hope for the best). Also, no nothing is being specified, what Vista 32 or 64-bit was used? how about Windows 7?

Proper full version comparison can be found at Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7_editions#Comparison_chart

 

I have two laptops and I'm wondering if the $49.99 Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade will allow me to install it on 2 laptops? Or do I need to make 2 separate purchases?

Sorry if this has already been answered. I tried searching for the answer in the existing threads but there's just so much of them.

 

You'd need 2 separate purchases due to licensing keys.

cheers ...

 

Thanks for the quick response!

 

UPG WINDOWS ANYTIME/W7 STARTER TO HOME PREMIUM UPGRADE
Microsoft – Model 4WC-00040 $81.95
UPG WINDOWS ANYTIME/W7 HOME PREMIUM TO PROFESSIONAL UPGRADE
Microsoft – Model 7KC-00040 $90.95
UPG WINDOWS ANYTIME/W7 HOME PRE TO ULTIMATE UPGRADE
Microsoft – Model 39C-00040 $137.95

Windows Anytime Upgrade prices ^

Family Pack price for Home Premium (3 licenses) - $136.95

http://windows7center.com/news/windows-7-family-pack-and-anytime-upgrade-prices-leak/

 

Based on this article (which I found via an Engadget post), it looks like that double-install trick with an upgrade copy of Windows 7 won't work like it did with Vista. The Windows Activation method now requires a previously activated copy of Windows prior to the upgrade being allowed. The way the article was worded kind of is confusing...

 

Here is what I thought was interesting:

So basically, that says that you can upgrade from W7 RC.. Not bad. I'll wait until W7 is actually released to see how this all pans out though.

 

But wait... hang on...
Soo.. if you have need an older activated Windows before...
So that means when I upgrade my windows, my previouse Windows will be deactivate (ok that is fine), but what happens when I need to re-install. My older Windows has been de-activated... So what, I have to buy a new Windows? makes no sense!

 

That article sounds wrong to me... Why would Microsoft let me use the free Windows 7 RC to upgrade to the final product? Isn't the point of an upgrade that I'm doing it from a version of Windows that I paid Microsoft money for?

I'm reserving belief until October when the product speaks for itself. Although, if the article is accurate, then it sounds like people should just upgrade from the RC then make a hard drive image of the clean & activated install.

 

I am with Gregory. The article is vague to say the least. A no-name spokesperson for Microsoft is just as good as rumoring. It invalidates the whole article based on this alone.

cheers ...

 

I agree. It doesn't make sense to allow people who got the RC for free to simply use the upgrade disc to get a legitamit license rather than pay full price. Otherwise, everyone would be doing it and Microsoft wouldn't be happy at all.

I agree with this also. The article is confusing with the way it was written. I'll wait for the official notice to show up on the Windows Blog or Windows main site (maybe even Paul Thurrott's Windows Super Site). For me I'm not worried at all as I'll be upgrading from an already activated Vista install.

 

FYI for any UK buyers of the Windows 7 "upgrade" (well for us it's the full edition), it went live just a few moments ago. Cheapest place I've found it is at eBuyer where they are selling the Home Premium version for £40 GBP & the Professional version for £80. However, postage is a ridiculous £9.99. If you change delivery to super saver (5 days) then postage is free.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/168375

I bought mine from Amazon, but then I had like a ton of vouchers from office birthday/Christmas presents, so it only ended up costing me £11 for the professional edition

 

Wow. that is a ridiculously cheap price for professional, especially a retail copy. (envious) I bought both home premium and pro for $149.99 USD.

 

Yup, very cheap. Suprising seeing as in the UK we tend to get our hats handed to us when it comes to computer pricing. It will normally retail for £219, so that's about 60% saving.

 

European retail version btw.

Thinking of preordering and installing on my computer, my folks' and my siblings'. At the very least, I'd like to install on two machines.

IF I'm only allowed one copy per machine, what are the options for acquiring licenses for a second and third machine, off a single retail copy of the OS? Can I ring Microsoft up and purchase? Can I just install on multiple machines and it will work anyway? Or do I absolutely have to buy multiple copies?

Thanks in advance for your replies, going to preorder as soon as I know what's what!

 

You'd have to check with Microsoft. I believe they had an arrangement under which you could purchase additional licenses directly from them for XP, if you already had your own installation media, but I have no idea if that's going to be done for Win7 as well.

 

You may also want to look into the Family Pack edition but IDK of the availability/conditions for EU customerse

Also, your thread has been merged into this thread to prevent the overflow of windows 7 upgrade questions.

 

Just to let people know, the European version is selling out very very fast. Amazon have no copies left, eBuyer have no copies left, in fact even the Microsoft store isn't selling it at the moment. Microsoft may allocate more stock, so it's worth checking it out again.

It looks like you might still be able to buy it from a few places, I think I saw Staples still having copies.

 

Hey, you guys know the free Windows 7 upgrade disks they are sending out to people who buy new computers now? Do you think you could use one to upgrade a Windows XP machine? I'm unsure because its not the actual full retail copy of Windows 7.

 

My guess is that it will be like your current Vista disk.. where it's a special build of Windows, which is pre-activated, and the product key is pre-entered, where it looks if you are running on a Dell system.
So if you are not on a Dell system, it will not work, this is my guess.

 

Ah, so your saying that each disk is matched to the laptop (or at least the same laptop model) its sent with? I didn't know that.

 

No I am saying as long it's a Dell system, desktop or laptop.
My guess, is that it reads into the BIOS to see if it's a Dell motherboard.

 

Oh ok, thanks.

 

Although it may be possible to use the upgrade on a different computer, since it is an OEM version it is supposed to be used only on the machine eligible for the upgrade.

 

question about pricing.
i was out of the country and missed the chance to get one for $49

did i miss it for good or is that price reappearing once it is released. as much as i love windows 7, and hate vista, to pay the full $119 upgrade would be too much and i'd more than likely just keep vista 64

 

At the moment I've heard nothing about another introductory rate. They might when it is actually released, but I can't find anything to suggest they definitely will or definitely wont. I have a feeling they'll discount it a little possibly, but I doubt it will be the same price as we just had.

 

For 119$, I say wait until the OEM disk comes out. Should be the similar price (same or a little lower than normal priced upgrade disk), and you can do a clean install. However, the down side is that you won't be able to switch systems, it will be lock to yours (like Vista OEM, unless they change but I doubt it).

So it will be up to you. In any case, I recommend to wait until it comes out, so that you have all the cards in front of you, to allow you to take the best decision.

 

Please accept that I am noob and that I have searched many places for a long time and asked microsoft technet forum without a direct answer. Please answer this question directly without wiseguy answers like read microsoft's FAQs (because I have done this and they are very ambiguous and nobody really answers the question clearly and directly).

I am being told it is possible to instal 64bit windows 7 (with the retail upgrade) from a 32bit Vista OEM, but that it requires a 'clean install'. Please explain what this 'clean install' even means because I do not have a windows CD come with, and all the reinstalls are based on restoring to factory conditions set fourth by the manufacturers restore partitions. If I am required to have Vista cds then this obviously will not work for my case (as the majority of other people also).

Can you also explain the likely procedures of this clean install and what it involves also? (such as first put in OS_1 cd, then do this etc) For example I heard you might have to do wierd things like install trial 64 bit of vista first and then upgrade from that, then type in your purchased (paid) retail 64 bit windows 7 key? Or what is the real procedure? Please let me know what to expect.

 

If you have your OEM Vista 32-bit already installed on your system, then you will not need the disk to install the Windows 7 64-bit upgrade. As for the clean install, the Windows 7 disk will have a tool that allows you to reformat your Vista partition and do a clean install.

You should be able to just pop in the disk, reboot, boot from CD/DVD drive, detect your current Windows installation, format, and start the installation process.

 

It is possible that you might need to first put in the disk, reboot, select F2 or F12 for boot device menu, select cd/dvd rom, enter, then Windows will take over from there informing you that you must perform a clean install. a clean install will wipe the data that was previously on the drive, well, it will put it into a folder marked Windows.old but you won't be able to use it so just delete it at first opportunity.

 

Ok, so effectively the pre-order purchase I made gives me a cd that has enough data and rights to just install on its own on my pc with an existing valid OEM vista 32 bit license?

I dont want to run into issues like games where you buy an expansion pack and you find out you need the full game first.

So basically, pop windows 7 upgrade cd in, choose 64 bit windows 7, and let the software takeover? (it will do the formatting itself and does not require a vista cd either)?

 

The upgrade disc looks for a validated installation and does an in-place upgrade, as long as the upgrade path is one approved by Microsoft (read the Windows 7 upgrade sticky and/or go to the Microsoft 7 upgrade site for what version of Vista will upgrade to what version of 7 without the need for a clean install). As stated in the sticky and on the MS website, you cannot in-place upgrade from 32 bit to 64 bit; you must do a clean install - once the operating system is validated, it will do a format and proceed with the installation: none of your old data will be preserved.

So, my answer to you is: yes. You should also talk to your laptop manufacturer, as they'll also be able to give you step by step instructions on how to upgrade.

 

This is entertaining...

Especially from a guy who'd rather pay $2700 for a mac than buy a $900-1100 barebones laptop and put a *nix clone on it and have equivalent hardware, a universally better and more secure OS, and not have to pay the mac tax...

"Balanced" is not a term I would use to describe any mac user I have ever met.

 

The thing is, it's kinda hard for us to know the EXACT step on how the upgrade disk will work, when the product is not officially out. All we do, is guess based on XP and Vista upgrade disks, and few little info received from Microsoft.

So far, just look at Windows Upgrade, as a license upgrade and not an actual upgrade. In the sense that once you use this disk to install Windows 7... everything you have in Vista will be gone (well it will be in a folder called "Windows.old" but you never know). So I suggest to backup all your files BEFORE, then run Win7 Upgrade disk. Now don't worry, you will have a wizard guide you step by step in the process.

Yes you will NEED to re-install your software and drivers.

The ONLY time where using Win7 upgrade disk will do an actual upgrade, meaning that your program will stay (except anti-virus, malware protection, internet security and so on, will need to be uninstalled before doing this). Is you have Vista 64-bit of the same or lower edition of you Win7 edition in 64-bit upgrade disk. (the same applies to 32-bit.. meaning Vista 32-bit to Win7 32-bit).

 

Since I've already got my $900-1100 DESKTOP which I assembled myself, I had to buy myself a Mac in order to obtain a "balanced" view. I don't think someone who has never ever used a Mac before in their life can claim that they have a "balanced" view on popular consumer Operating Systems, as they haven't even used all of them.

 

What does this mean for your old vista key then?

What if I find out I am tired of windows 7 and rather use the vista that came with? I will then try to format my windows and then pop in the restore disk back to vista. Will this work then? What about the key under my notebook? Is that void?

Also what does this mean for reinstalling of OS in the future in case of viruses etc? Is it going to be annoying like you have to format, then install your vista restore disk, then upgrade to windows 7?