Windows 7 pre-orders begin, now (update: but not for Europe)
By Thomas Ricker 
posted June 26th 2009 1:58AM
posted June 26th 2009 1:58AM
Update: Reduce priced pre-orders for the UK won't begin until July 15th with prices set at £49 for Windows 7 Home Premium E and £99 for Professional E, both will ship without Internet Explorer.
Update 2: For those wondering about the upgrade prices for Europe... there aren't any. In the UK, the Home Premium "upgrade" is actually a full-version of the OS and will cost £80 (about $131), Professional "upgrade" will cost £190 (about $312), and Ultimate will cost £200 (about $328) until the end of the year -- they'll cost £150 ($246), £220 ($361), and £230 ($377), respectively, starting January 1, 2010. According to the BBC, Microsoft claims that it can't offer the lower upgrade pricing ($120, $200, or $220 for Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate in the US) in order to comply with European competition regulations, a claim that EU regulators dismiss. As such, going from Vista to Windows 7 will require a clean install in the EU in order to remove Internet Explorer -- no in-place upgrades will be possible according to Microsoft. Look EU, if you're going to fine Microsoft billions for anti-competitive behavior then you have to expect this kind of tail-between-the-legs retribution, honest or not. You certainly can't say that Microsoft is using its market dominance to push out the competition when Apple's Snow Leopard is coming in September for a mere $29. Happy now?
[Thanks, Gavin]
I just contacted Microsoft directly and confirmed that the discs DO contain the 32 bit and 64 bit versions of the product.
The sales associate that helped me stated that...
That the upgrades must be made on the corresponding versions of the originals. For example:
• Upgrading from Vista 32bit you can only upgrade to a 32bit Win 7 OS.
• Upgrading from Vista 64bit you can only upgrade to a 64bit Win 7 OS.
(which makes sense but I just wanted to clarify with them since both the 32bit and 64 bit are included on the disc unlike before)
Not sure if this info has been posted yet...
pre-ordered for my netbook. it already has the RC on it, which i have enjoyed using since its release. The only bad part is the Ultimate edition is just too pricey for me, so I just ordered Professional.
Dont feel bad about "only" getting professional, you wouldnt have used anything in Ultimate anyway. Professional is the new Ultimate for everyday users. Unless you need multiple languages and hard drive encryption, you wont be missing a thing.
Most site I've been to, such as Amazon, has a nice little chart telling you the diff between each version.
But regarding which SKU you need, Home Premium includes Media Center and all the new hardware-accelerated h.264/mpg4 codecs, which should be all you need. If you use you computer to watch movies, and have a Dx10 card (even if real crappy one), I think you'll be impressed. With my integrated Dx10 ATI GPU on my mobo (790 chip), after switching to Win7 RC, my HD movies which used to to peg my CPU to 100% and still lag is now lag-free, and uses 10-15% CPU.
Pro gets you domain-joining (for corporate use), remote desktop hosting, and XP mode.
Ultimate gets you.......no idea. Nothing that seems relevant to any normal home users that I can see. (Other than multiple language user interface. e.g. change all app names and UI to Japanese....)
i could have sworn i pressed the reply button.....
How does one change from Vista to Windows 7?
Pop in the upgrade DVD from within Vista, choose "Upgrade", and wait a possibly very long time depending on how many apps you ahve on Vista. And then you'll get a win7 on your machine with all your apps/user accounts/etc. migrated over.
When I tried it it worked flawlessly.
(Insert explative here) - I just 'upgraded' to Vista Ultimate three months ago for $200, and now I have to pony up another $250 for this next [miniscule] bump in order to stay 'current.' It's more than just unreal; it's un-fricken-real. All same-to-same upgrades should cost... THE SAME!
*fuming*
Scott, were you not aware that Windows was working on seven?
I have a question for the engadget masses.
I have a Volume liscense copy of WinXP Pro that I recieved when working for a large university. This is not Cracked copy or a pirated copy. This is a valid volume license from a university.
I would like to know if I can use said disc and key with a Windows 7 Upgrade disc. I have never really tried this and would like to know if any of my fellow Engadget readers have ever tried this in the past.
From MS' own FAQ: "Microsoft designed Windows 7 Upgrade media for Windows Vista. A customer with Windows XP can purchase Windows 7 Upgrade media but must back up their files, clean install, and then reinstall their applications. "
Which means you can do a clean install from XP with your Win7 "Upgrade" box. i.e. don't expect the installer to automagically port your user account, app, etc. to Win7. However, you will get a nice sparkly clean Win7 instead. :)
I really dont think you understand what I ment. I know that I can upgrade winXP to windows 7... The question is, can i use the volume license key?
If you mean, just using your XP volume key with the Win7 disc, without the Win7 upgrade product key, then, no.
If you mean using your XP volume key with the Win7 key, along with the Win7 upgrade product key you'd get when you buy the upgrade kit, then yes. Other than the caveat I mentioned about "upgrading" being really a clean install. @.@
Again, as long as you have a legit XP, regardless OEM, volume license, retail, etc. you can use the "Upgrade" Win7 to do a clean install.
Thanks for the answer luminus. I know about the UPGRADE limitation. In truth I would NEVER use an upgrade install. I have been working on PCs for 9+ years now, I know the issues you can run into with that.
Again thanks for the answer. I think I may purchase my first legit version of windoz ever.
You're welcome, Bill. :) You might be pleasantly surprised with the upgrade if you have Vista. Upgrading has came a long way since 2k/XP days. Usually things really do work, or installer will warn you when they don't. :)
That said, I just use this as an opportunity myself for an annual computer clean-up too. Get rid of all the apps lying around I don't really use.
For those that DO want some help migrating from XP to Win7, there IS something called Windows Easy Transfer that'll migrate your user accounts and settings, but not your programs. (Yes I prefer to do it manually myself too, but I can imagine some people need help.)
So if I have Ultimate now can I upgrade/downgrade to 7 Business?
Amazon claims you can:
"All editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista qualify you to upgrade. "
I meant Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Pro, sorry.
Should still be fine. All SKUs of Vista should be upgradable (or downgradable depending on how you look at it) to another SKU of Win7.
I just ordered 2 Home premiums (laptop and desktop), however, thinking back, I have a couple of older games that would only run on my Vista premium under that right click properties... administrative mode "Run under Windows XP"..... Will I be able to do the same with Home premium? I am thinking I may have to change my order to one professional for the desktop.
Thoughts?
Win7 Home Premium has same XP compat mode listbox as Vista, so you'll be fine.
The special "XP Mode" in Win7 Pro is the inclusion of a free Virtual PC running XP, so you can run legacy XP workplace applications, for example. It probably sucks for games thanks to lack of a real video card within the Virtual PC.
Costco has it listed again now for $44.99 and $94.99
Still cheaper if you buy it at Newegg.com without tax and free shipping
If you're looking to upgrade to a 64 bit system and you currently have a 32bit vista or xp OS... Check out Newegg.com
They are packaging vista 64 bit retail discs with win 7 upgrade coupons. I'm assuming the codes upgrade you to the respective Win 7 Version. Home to Home.. Business to Pro and Ultimate to Ultimate
Vista Home 64bit $109
Vista Business 64bit $149
Vista Ultimate 64bit $189
This worked out great for me since my old license was 32 bit and my new rig I want to run 64bit on it for the increased mem. So I was going to have to buy the 64 vista and upgrade or the full retail Win7 in order to do it.
You can upgrade directly from Vista/XP 32 bit to Win 7 64 bit (with a clean install). You don't need to purchase VISTA 64.
See this link
http://community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul/archive/2009/06/25/clean-install-with-windows-7-upgrade-media-what-about-x64-upgrades.aspx
Well in my case I'm giving my old vista license and pc to my Grandma. So I'd need the new vista/xp license anyways and getting it with the upgrade coupon works well for me. Better than getting them separately.
Well if you are givijng your old license to your grandma, that's cool. Otherwise Win7 comes with both 32/64 bit. (Though you can't get the installer to port all your apps / user accounts automagically if you are changing CPU platform.)
I just pre-ordered 2 copies for me!!!
1 Pro and 1 Home edition!!!
Can't wait, but while I do I will be enjoying the RC release :) :) :) :)
Just one copy for me, Home Premium, but yeah I'll be doing the same thing...I like the RC better than both XP and Vista
encryption would be nice on all versions...
Hi everyone, I'm confused. I bought my computer a while back in october. And I'm running Vista Home Premium Service Pack 2 (that it came with). If I buy Windows 7 upgrade will I be able to upgrade it? People say I need a product key, did my computer come with it or do I have to have a vista box? Because my computer came with vista. And I'm still not sure if I should get Home Premium or Professional. Because I'm 16 and all I do is school work, video games, music, video and surfing the web.
Yes, you will be able to upgrade over your installation of Vista that was installed on your computer. The Windows 7 installation should detect if you have a legitimate copy of Vista installed, and let you choose to upgrade or do a clean install. You won't be needing the product key as the upgrade process requires Vista (or XP) to be installed.
As for which version you should purchase, I would recommend getting Home Premium. I doubt that you'll ever use the features that come with Pro or Ultimate.
The installer will detect your legitimate copy of Win7, so you'll be fine. No need to dig up your product key at all. Vista --> Win7 upgrade is pretty painless.
Though if you ever do need to for some other reasons, look around your machine. Most OEMs stick a product key right on the back of your desktop / laptop. Should be in the format of XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX.
I agree with Darren. For normal usage like game, movies, etc., home premium should be more than sufficient. Win7 Home Premium should support everything Vista Home Premium does, so you won't be missing anything.
Can anyone tell me about the major features that professional has?
if Europe doesn't have preorders, neither do Mexico, and we suppostly have a Free Trade Agreement, not that we want the same price, but at least some availablility
if anyone is confuse about the differences in the Windows 7 edition take a look at this chart http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/02/07/windows-7-editions-features-comparison/
If anyone has a Micro Center nearby, you can pre-order your copy of Home Premium for $39.99 or Professional for $89.99 this weekend only and NO MONEY upfront. In-store only...check it out: http://www.microcenter.com/storefronts/microsoft/windows7/preorder.html
I think that Ubuntu linux it's better it's free 0 $ or 0 £ and open source No Viruses simple stable
you can schare it doawnload it easily better than Xp or vista and windows 7 even it has some defaults like no games like in windows you will not regret to try it with it's Live cd without install
www.ubuntu.com thanxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I wish the EU would disappear. Not only do they miss the blatent anti-trust which Apple flaunts, they fine MS for simply supplying a browser... (what is Safari Mr EU Commissioner?, can anyone spell BRIBE?)
They've sold out in Japan!! crazy
source: http://w7info.com/articles/2009/06/windows-7-pre-orders-selling-out/
Don't worry too much about drivers, I'm running Windows 7 on a 5 year old laptop originally loaded with XP that I never could get Vista running on. Granted, Aero doesn't work, but other than that it works great, and it feels snappier than XP did. By the way, its only got 640 MB of ram. Mostly loaded it on there to see if it would work, and was pleasantly surprised. Windows 7 found all the drivers that I needed.
Just got my cut priced copy of Professional from http://www.buy-windows-7.co.uk for £89.99 which isnt too bad!