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Chapter 1: Selecting the Right Windows 7 Edition
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And that’s the rub. Understanding whether you qualify for an Upgrade version of Windows 7
can be somewhat confusing. And even then, it’s not very clear when you can perform an
in-place upgrade over an existing Windows version. Here are some guidelines.
Those Who Don’t Qualify for an Upgrade Version of Windows 7
If you are currently running any MS-DOS-based version of Windows—including
Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, or Windows Millennium Edition
(Me)—or any version of Windows NT (3.x and 4.0), including Windows 2000, you don’t
qualify for any Upgrade version of Windows 7. That means you will need to grab a more
expensive Full version instead. Because the Full versions of Windows 7 cannot be used
to perform an in-place upgrade to Windows 7, you’ll need to back up all your documents
and other data and your application settings, and find all your application install disks or
executables so you can reinstall them after Windows 7 is up and running.
Those Who Do Qualify for an Upgrade Version of Windows 7
If you are running any mainstream desktop version of Windows XP—including Windows XP
Home Edition, Professional Edition, Media Center Edition (any version), Tablet PC Edition
(any version), or XP Professional x64 Edition—you qualify for an Upgrade version of
Windows 7.
That said, there is one serious limitation when upgrading from XP: you will not be able to
upgrade in-place but will need to perform a clean install instead and then migrate your
settings and data over to the new Windows 7 install. (That is, you qualify for Upgrade
pricing only.) We explain this process in Chapter 2.
Those Who Qualify for an Upgrade Version of Windows 7 and
an In-Place Upgrade
If you’re running any version of Windows Vista and you want to upgrade in-place to
Windows 7, you can do so. The trick is understanding how different versions of Windows
Vista map to different versions of Windows 7. For example, Microsoft will not let you
upgrade from Windows Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional. Likewise,
you cannot upgrade from a 32-bit version of Vista to a 64-bit version of Windows 7, or vice
versa. Table 1-12 clarifies the in-place upgrade story.
Table 1-12: Which Versions of Windows Vista Can Upgrade In-Place to
Which Versions of Windows 7
Windows Version Windows 7
Starter
Windows 7
Home Premium
Windows 7
Professional
Windows 7
Ultimate
Windows Vista Home
Starter
No No No No
Windows Vista Home
Basic
No No No No
Windows Vista Home
Premium
No Yes No No
Windows Vista Business No No Yes No
Windows Vista Ultimate No No No Yes