[Kaoro]

I think I'm going to do the early pre-order sale tomorrow for Windows 7 upgrade.

Before I do, I figure I'd ask how the Vista upgrade procedure works because I'm going to assume Windows 7 will behave similarly.

I have a WinXP Pro Upgrade disc and license. For Vista, are you able to upgrade without having the full install of XP on the computer, or must you do that first? Would save so much time if you didn't .

[J'nathus]

Kaoro, on June 25th 2009, 10:07 AM, said:

For Vista, are you able to upgrade without having the full install of XP on the computer, or must you do that first? Would save so much time if you didn't .

Traditionally the previous install is not required. I can't find solid information on that, but I know the XP upgrade did work that way. Where are you acquiring your Vista copy? If you're trying to save money on a retail upgrade product, I would recommend you check out NewEgg and get an OEM copy which would give you a full release for the price of a retail upgrade.

Why are you installing Vista now? Windows 7's release is getting very close. In fact, you can still get a free copy of the 7100 Release Candidate build, which you can do a full install with.

[Kaoro]

J, on June 25th 2009, 12:34 PM, said:

Traditionally the previous install is not required. I can't find solid information on that, but I know the XP upgrade did work that way. Where are you acquiring your Vista copy? If you're trying to save money on a retail upgrade product, I would recommend you check out NewEgg and get an OEM copy which would give you a full release for the price of a retail upgrade.

Thank you. The XP Upgrade is a bit of a PITA with Bootcamp. Even though I own a valid Win98 license to upgrade from, I had to uhm... modify the disc a bit because you can't eject during the install procedure on a Mac.

J, on June 25th 2009, 12:34 PM, said:

Why are you installing Vista now? Windows 7's release is getting very close. In fact, you can still get a free copy of the 7100 Release Candidate build, which you can do a full install with.

I'm not. I figured I'd ask about Vista because Win7 is probably going to do the upgrade very similar. I'm going to try to get in on pre-order sale tomorrow for Win7. Maybe I should wait for OEM Win7... but the prices offered tomorrow are so low.

[J'nathus]

Kaoro, on June 25th 2009, 12:33 PM, said:

I'm not. I figured I'd ask about Vista because Win7 is probably going to do the upgrade very similar. I'm going to try to get in on pre-order sale tomorrow for Win7. Maybe I should wait for OEM Win7... but the prices offered tomorrow are so low.

Previously what I saw of upgrade installers is that they either needed the disc from a previous installer or the key (or both) . . . however I don't know that you'll be able to upgrade an upgrade. The OEM copies will be sold as soon as Windows 7 is in stores if not sooner. IF you get Windows 7 installed and get into the feedback program, after having it installed on your system for 4 months, they'll send you a free copy. That's my plan of attack anyhow. Otherwise I'll just sit on my RC copy until I can afford the OEM.

[Kaoro]

J, on June 25th 2009, 02:19 PM, said:

IF you get Windows 7 installed and get into the feedback program, after having it installed on your system for 4 months, they'll send you a free copy. That's my plan of attack anyhow.

Oooh, I'm not completely sure what you mean by this. Please elaborate!

[J'nathus]

Kaoro, on June 25th 2009, 03:30 PM, said:

Oooh, I'm not completely sure what you mean by this. Please elaborate!

Getting into the beta early there was this thing where they wanted feedback for a certain amount of time. Tickets written for problems that occurred and such. This time around when I got the E-mail regarding it, there was the feedback client that you install and it sort of does it automatically . . It adds a bit of overhead to your Windows installation, but a free $320 piece of software is a good tradeoff for a little system slowdown.

Since I installed and try to run just about EVERY game I had in my library, I think I sent them a good amount of feedback. It's not a guarantee . . even for me, but I have been running the beta since the first opportunity back in May. If I don't get my free copy, then I'll just save up for the OEM copy. Assuming that the OEM is 1/2 price what the retail price of the Ultimate Edition is (as it has been in the past), it should be ~$160 . . . the Home Premium will be $100. To me this is the better option as they are full / complete standalone installers (all in one disc).

The upgrade disc for Ultimate is $220, so the OEM copy should be cheaper.

The OEM copy is a better deal as the price is ALWAYS lower (not just for a limited time), and also because it'll install without any support of another disc or another key.

As I mentioned before, I don't know that an upgrade can be upgraded, as an upgrade is to upgrade from a previous retail purchased copy. I don't think you can dip into that well twice (Windows 98 upgraded to XP, upgraded to Windows 7). In addition, I don't think Windows 7 allows upgrades from XP installs.

[Kaoro]

Oh I see. Well I suppose its too late for me then . Hope you get a copy!

J, on June 26th 2009, 01:45 AM, said:

As I mentioned before, I don't know that an upgrade can be upgraded, as an upgrade is to upgrade from a previous retail purchased copy. I don't think you can dip into that well twice (Windows 98 upgraded to XP, upgraded to Windows 7). In addition, I don't think Windows 7 allows upgrades from XP installs.

Yes, it does. License-wise, it upgrades, but installation-wise, you have to wipe your XP install first. A fully installed XP Pro upgrade would appear just as any other XP edition would, I would think.

Right now the Home Premium upgrade is $49, and Professional is $99. I'll let you guys know how it goes when it launches...

[teflon]

Im going to pre-order 7 when I can in the UK. Despite being priced as £1=$1 (a blatant rip off), its the full version and not just the upgrade since its Windows 7 E (which means it has no internet explorer or any browser at all built in). For whatever reason, MS decided that the best way to comply with the EU was to be as difficult as possible for the end user, so there are no upgrade licenses in the UK, but everything is priced lower (at least to start with).
Add to that the pre-order discount and you'd be a fool not to grab Home Premium.

[Kaoro]

Heh, I'd rather get a version with no IE . I wonder how much it would cost to import the Euro version. If it's not much more than our upgrades, it would be nice to get a full version.

The biggest difference would probably be all the extra "u"s in words... I could live with that .

[PeopleLikeFrank]

Vista changed the upgrade process so that you need to have a previous version of Windows installed on your HD (not just the install disc). I think W7 does the same. I don't know if this means you have to do an upgrade install, or whether it lets you wipe & reinstall once it has verified that a previous install is there

OEM versions will be cheap, although whether cheaper than this pre-order discount initially, I'm not sure. OEM versions don't entitle you to support from MS, and are supposed to be limited to the machine they ship with, so if you change motherboards, it won't verify automatically when you re-install. I was able to do it via phone though with my Vista OEM.

[Kaoro]

nobody, on June 26th 2009, 08:49 AM, said:

Vista changed the upgrade process so that you need to have a previous version of Windows installed on your HD (not just the install disc). I think W7 does the same. I don't know if this means you have to do an upgrade install, or whether it lets you wipe & reinstall once it has verified that a previous install is there

Okay, thank you. I know there's a trick for Vista (not sure if I would be allowed to mention it here, so I won't). I'm hoping that Win7 continues to allow you to use this trick. Saves some hassle for legit users.

[J'nathus]

nobody, on June 26th 2009, 07:49 AM, said:

OEM versions will be cheap, although whether cheaper than this pre-order discount initially, I'm not sure. OEM versions don't entitle you to support from MS, and are supposed to be limited to the machine they ship with, so if you change motherboards, it won't verify automatically when you re-install. I was able to do it via phone though with my Vista OEM.

It's probably not cheaper than this pre-order, but the convenience of a one-stop-shop install of the one disc is a huge benefit in my book.

OEM copies are only different in the realm of the packaging and the support. They are identical otherwise. My copy of Windows Vista Ultimate isn't my first OEM copy. Additionally, if you sit on a Windows install for over 6 months, I believe the activation server 'forgets' about you and you're free to reinstall and reactivate. Unfortunately, I haven't had the money to do any kind of a major hardware revision, so I'll never have any activation issues until I do.

[PeopleLikeFrank]

J, on June 26th 2009, 11:01 AM, said:

It's probably not cheaper than this pre-order, but the convenience of a one-stop-shop install of the one disc is a huge benefit in my book.

OEM copies are only different in the realm of the packaging and the support. They are identical otherwise. My copy of Windows Vista Ultimate isn't my first OEM copy. Additionally, if you sit on a Windows install for over 6 months, I believe the activation server 'forgets' about you and you're free to reinstall and reactivate. Unfortunately, I haven't had the money to do any kind of a major hardware revision, so I'll never have any activation issues until I do.

Hm. I got a new MB for my PC about a year after I first got (OEM) Vista, and it wouldn't let me activate it automatically. It wasn't really a hassle once I got someone on the phone though.

Agreed that the software is no different, but the licensing is. I don't think it's an issue for the majority of people though.

[J'nathus]

I still don't think it's possible to install an upgrade copy of Windows 7 on top of an upgrade of Windows XP. A Windows XP upgrade disc is NOT the same as a retail version of Windows XP and I'm betting the Windows 7 installer will know the difference.

I know that $50 is a great deal, but in the long run . . .

The retail upgrade copy http://www.newegg.co...N82E16832116470

ends up costing more than a full standalone OEM copy: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16832116677

[Kaoro]

Well, I've never seen any stipulation from Microsoft saying you have to buy the full-version of their OS every-other time it releases, either.

Furthermore, it looks like Win7 is checking the actual installation. I've used my XP Upgrade to fully install the OS from scratch, so I don't think there's anything that would make an install from the upgrade disk any different from any other version.

[bobbob]

J, on June 26th 2009, 11:15 AM, said:

I still don't think it's possible to install an upgrade copy of Windows 7 on top of an upgrade of Windows XP

Install it without entering a key, then do an in-place upgrade [re-]install. Piece of cake. US$50 on pre-orders right now, too.

[Kaoro]

bobbob, on June 26th 2009, 01:20 PM, said:

Install it without entering a key, then do an in-place upgrade [re-]install. Piece of cake. US$50 on pre-orders right now, too.

That's the trick I wasn't sure if I could mention . I HOPE Win7 allows you to do the same.

[J'nathus]

Kaoro, on June 26th 2009, 12:30 PM, said:

I HOPE Win7 allows you to do the same.

I would almost bet not.

Either way . . good luck.

[Kaoro]

J, on June 27th 2009, 12:36 AM, said:

I would almost bet not.

Either way . . good luck.

Yeah, I know... thanks tho .

I'm going to hijack my own thread:

Got a few questions about Win7 RC. Installed it this afternoon and have a very big problem. Can't play games (or even Windows Update) without manually cranking the fans up. Do you guys recommend anything for Windows?

Also, I downloaded the newest drivers from nvidia (I'm on the first-gen unibody MBP), and while it installed fine, I no longer have the ability to eject discs from Windows. It's probably best to just use Apple's older drivers, right?

Finally, is it just me or does Windows have a colder color setup? I don't know the word for it, but even this site's colors are more blue when I looked at it in Windows. Nevermind, I found the color calibration tool.

[teflon]

Windows is a little slow to crank up the fans (even slower than OSX, which is slower than Id like really). There was an app I found, but I cant remember what it was called, and I dont think it worked too well, Im afraid...

Try reinstalling Apple's drivers again, since they're a bit flaky (at best). It shouldn't overwrite the NV drivers (I dont think), but if it does, then just redo those too...

As mentioned elsewhere you could *ahem* acquire Boot Camp 3.0's drivers...