Solved Vista to 7 Question

[dlh123]

Hey, this might be a very stupid and easy question but since I currently have Windows Vista Home Premium, can I put in the Windows 7 Home Premium cd in and use my Vista product key to activate it?

 

[richc46]

The short but correct answer is no.
You can buy and use the much cheaper Seven upgrade. Its just as good as the full cost version.

 

[Brink]

Hello dlh123,

Sorry, but no. You will have to have a legally purchased Windows 7 Home Premium product key to be able to activate the Windows 7.

 

[dlh123]

Alright but would it be just as expensive to upgrade to Windows 7 since I already have Vista or would it be the normal like $100 price?

 

[Brink]

You could purchase the lower priced upgrade version instead of a full version.

 

[dlh123]

Is the Upgrade Version the same as the Full Version? Also if someone could give me a link to it I would really appreciate it. I cant seem to find it.

 

[Brink]

No. An upgrade version is not the same as a full version.

An upgrade copy requires that you have a qualifying OS (ex: Vista) to be able to get the cheaper priced Windows 7 upgrade copy.

A full copy doesn't require a qualifying OS, but is more expensive.
​

You could buy it at your local retail electronic store, or anywhere online like at Newegg, Amazon, Best Buy, etc.....

Upgrade Install with Windows 7 - Windows 7 Forums

or

Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version - Windows 7 Forums

 

[townsbg]

Actually per experience a clean install of an upgrade license doesn't allow activation and the activation people might or might not help you. That's kind of ridiculous considering that an upgrade from XP requires a clean install. There are supposedly a couple of tricks they did not work for me. An upgrade license expects that you are doing an upgrade of Vista and hence works best that way. As a further note during a clean install the installer will refuse to use an upgrade key however the key doesn't have to be entered to complete the install.