I'm very new to these forums, so I'm sorry if I do something wrong
I'm trying to upgrade my computer to windows 7, and the way most websites have told me to do this is to open Windows Anytime Upgrade. The problem I'm having is that it only has one option that says "Compare editions of windows vista" the link included just takes me to Microsoft's windows 10 update page. Any help would be much appreciated!
Welcome to Vista Forums, MotoKoko. I haven't been able to duplicate your issue: The "Compare the editions of Windows Vista" link redirects me to Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor whether the default browser is Firefox or Internet Explorer 9, and googling Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor gives me the same URL: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=20. There have been cases where Upgrade Advisor reported that an upgrade to Windows 7 was possible, but an in-place upgrade nevertheless failed. A clean install using a retail copy of Windows 7 is more likely to succeed; but I'm not really an expert because my Vista PC is still running Vista.
Anytime upgrade is introduced starting in Vista with the goal being to get users to purchase an upgrade to a more expensive version of Windows however it only points to the most recent version of Windows. To get 7 you will have to buy a copy from a private seller such as ebay or amazon however if you do that your risk getting a pirated copy that won't validate. It is no longer available for retail purchase.
I believe that Windows anytime upgrade was designed to upgrade the OS to a higher edition, not a newer version of the OS. If it ever supported upgrading Vista to Windows 7 that was discontinued years ago.
I can't test it since it isn't on my VM but I believe initially that it offered higher versions of Vista but I believe that would have changed when 7 was introduced at which time they offered 7. Once 8 was introduced they would have switched to 8. They always want the user to get the newest version which is understandable so now that 10 is out 7 is no longer available for retail sale or even through OEM so naturally they wouldn't have it on anytime upgrade either. As I stated the only way you can get it is from a private seller.
Obviously the original purpose of the link was to sell Vista Ultimate, but it has redirected to Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor for years and still does. If the OP wants to upgrade to Windows 7, running Upgrade Advisor would be a useful first step. If the "compare editions" link doesn't work for the OP, the URL can be found in post #2. Since speculation appears to be in order, perhaps Microsoft's website is smart enough to redirect Vista systems unsuitable for Windows 7 to a Windows 10 sales pitch? It seems unlikely, but I have no way to test. Alternatively, there might be some issue with the OP's default browser. It might be interesting to know exactly what URL the OP was being redirected to.
Edit: To speculate further, perhaps it's as simple as "Vista x86 redirects to Upgrade Advisor, Vista x64 redirects to Windows 10 promo." Alas, I only have one Vista PC and it's x86.
