Windows 7... we want to know what you want to know!

Tara,

I need some advise and help, I notice you are on the Windows Outreach Team. I recently just bought two copies of Windows 7 Enterprise 64 and I am attempting to upgrade from Windows XP 32. It is telling me that my Windows 7 isn't compatible with the operating system. Sense when is this a issue? I've never had a upgrade issue, is there a work around for this? I would appreciate your help.

Here's my question...and I'm glad I read before I bought.  I notice that TechSoup is offering Win 7 Professional and Enterprise for the $8 and $9 admin fee respectively but that both are upgrades.  I currently have XP Home on two machines and Vista (I think home) on a third.  Will either of these be able to use either of these software upgrade packages?  Is there any way to get 7 Home or an upgrade from a Home version of a previous windows version through TS?  Thanks.

Hi Allen,

  There are a couple of things to discuss regarding the licensing and the options available to your organization specifically. First, your organization is currently within the second 12 month period of a two year Microsoft cycle and have so far requested 5 out of the 6 titles allowed. Now, out of the three machines that you currently have (assuming they are all running Home editions) two are legally upgradable to Windows 7 - but it will need to be done in a little bit of a round-a-bout way. In order to legally upgrade your XP Home, you would need to request XP Professional upgrades through TechSoup first and then upgrade those directly through Software Assurance. You would not need to actually install XP Pro, but it is legally required that you have that license first.  Please also keep in mind that upgrading from XP requires a clean install.

  If the third machine is indeed running Vista Home, there is no legal way to upgrade it to Windows 7 Professional or Enterprise, which are the only versions TechSoup has available. For Vista Home editions, you may find a number of other options in our Discount Program Guide.

Autumn

I have Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit. Can I upgrade with Windows 7 Enterprise Upgrade 64-bit or do I have to do a clean install?

d1jlg0  

If you don't have Vista Business or Vista Ultimate, you have no upgrade path from Vista to Windows 7 here at TechSoup.  The Windows 7 Professional and Enterprise editions available at TechSoup do not allow this upgrade from Vista Home Basic or Vista Home Premium.  Please check Autumn's link on the discount guide here.

Hi Tara,

We purchased 4 licenses for Windows 7 and like the product. I am geting a regular message that our product can't activate. We don't have server so I need to know how to get a MAK product key and get our software activated. Where do I go to get these?

mhaenchen, give this link a shot.  Read the whole article and it will tell you how to activate by phone if you need to.

Three questions on this:

The first is because I'm not completely clear on the ramifications of the Software Assurance Program.  If I upgrade the XP Home to XP Professional, is the upgrade from there to Windows 7 free due to the SA Program or is there the additional $8 to upgrade to 7 Pro?

Second, to upgrade the Vista Home Premium to Windows 7, could I also "upgrade" it to XP Pro and then upgrade from there to 7 via the same SA Program?

Finally, I believe there is a 5-seat minimum in an order, correct?  I know that you have the special one-time program for Windows 7 where that minimum doesn't apply to orders which are just Vista and 7, correct?  Does that special program also apply to XP upgrades?

Thanks for the information.

Allen,

   Let me answer your questions in order:

The first is because I'm not completely clear on the ramifications of the Software Assurance Program.  If I upgrade the XP Home to XP Professional, is the upgrade from there to Windows 7 free due to the SA Program or is there the additional $8 to upgrade to 7 Pro?

If you acquire XP professional licenses, they are indeed upgradeable to Windows 7 through Software Assurance either free by download or around $25 for a reusable disk.

Second, to upgrade the Vista Home Premium to Windows 7, could I also "upgrade" it to XP Pro and then upgrade from there to 7 via the same SA Program?

It seems that after XP, Microsoft has discontinued the ability to what I call "cross upgrade" (or downgrade) between the two product lines of Home and Business / Professional editions. You cannot legally downgrade or upgrade Vista Home to any Professional or Business edition.

Finally, I believe there is a 5-seat minimum in an order, correct?  I know that you have the special one-time program for Windows 7 where that minimum doesn't apply to orders which are just Vista and 7, correct?  Does that special program also apply to XP upgrades?

If you are only requesting either Vista and / or Windows 7 products, there is no minimum seat requirement.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Autumn

I have a question....I am currently using a Toshiba laptop that is running Vista Home Premium 32-bit (whatever that means).

Can I upgrade to Windows 7? I keep getting and reading mixed answers to that and I am just looking for a straight answer.

I have been using Vista for about a year now, and even thought it took some getting used to from XP, I dont mind Vista. I did have issues with attempting to share folders with an XP user, which we never figured out how to make work. Other than that its been fine.

All this hype about 7 running better than Vista and not having those networking issues has me wanting to upgrade, which I will most likely do if I can ever figure out the answer to the aforementioned question.

Thanks!

Hi Richie,

  This question has come up a number of times in this thread and others. The question of upgrading any Home editions to Professional editions is a legal licensing one. The Home editions and Professional / Business / Enterprise are two different product lines. In order to upgrade to a Professional edition, you must already have a legal license for another professional edition. The Windows 7 product page states: "This is an upgrade product. To install this operating system, you must have a licensed installation of one of the following operating systems on the device where you are installing the upgrade: Windows Vista Enterprise, Business, or Ultimate; Windows XP Professional or Tablet PC; Windows 2000 Professional; Windows NT Workstation 4.0; or Windows 98. You cannot upgrade from the Home editions of Windows XP or Windows Vista."

  At this time, there is no legal upgrade path from Home editions to the professional products that Microsoft has made available through TechSoup Stock. Your best options are to either upgrade to Windows 7 Home, or find a full licensed version of Windows 7 Professional through a Charity Reseller.

Autumn

Having preferred xP till now, I am ready to use Windows 7. Someone told me today that I must have vista installed first. Hopefully, that is not correct.  Please advise.

some humor (along with a different shade of light than seen on techsoup) re: MS licensing contortions:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=1561

Ivereen, that is not correct.  Here is a link to Micorsoft's Windows 7 Upgrade considerations.  Read the section on "Understand the installation process".

Ok I have a issue! I ordered Windows 7 Enterprise 64 Bit due to the memory restraints of the 32 bit operating system. I attempted a clean load from the DVD much like the old windows days where the DVD is in and the system boots and detects the disk and loads the operating system. This did not work, did not detect it nothing.

I tried to do it in the operating system and said was not compatible. Do I have a bad dvd or what? I went into BIOS and set up to book from DVD first and then the Hard drive. And ideas?