Windows 7

[Guts3d]

Microsoft plans of a price reduction at first.

[Kodiak]

I'm wondering if the upgrade will install like other upgrades where you can do a complete format as long as you have another MS disc to stuff in when it asks?

[NooNoo]

Not sure on that one yet... and in the EU we won't get upgrade disks at all. I did have some fun upgrading my old laptop from XP to Vista to Win7. Works very well indeed, even crippled the spyware.

[Niclo Iste]

I'm curious if the upgrade disk will work on the demo installations of Win7 or if we'll need to get a full version of an earlier edition of windows to install the upgrade.

[NooNoo]

If you mean Release Candidate when you say Demo, the answer is unlikely. This is because it is not an upgrade as such. This is BETA. There may well be incompatible code between the RTM version and the RC and it does not make good business sense to have a bunch of programmers ensuring that there is a smooth upgrade path between unfinished and finished software.

As for the second question, if they left the Vista loophole intact, then yes you will be able to do a clean install from an upgrade version.

[slgrieb]

Niclo, official word from Microsoft has always been that an upgrade installation to Win7 from any of the Betas won't be possible. As far a a clean installation from an upgrade edition, I can't remember reading anything specific yet.

It would seem logical to assume it will still be possible, but I don't know if I would bet money on it. If you read any of the Vista licenses, they are all very much more restrictive than previous license agreements. In fact, if Microsoft actually tried to enforce some of the provisions, there would be screaming and wailing heard throughout the land.

Heck, let's just take OEM licensing for Vista. OEM copies of Vista can only be sold with either a fully assembled computer or to a system builder who is going to sell the computer. An individual assembling a computer for his own uses is required to buy a retail version of Vista. Microsoft has finally gotten around to defining the moment when an existing OEM computer becomes a new computer, and that moment is.... motherboard replacement. So, put a new mainboard in your computer, and you are required to obtain a new Vista license. The only exception is replacement of a defective board with either an exact replacement or the manufacturer's nearest equivalent.

And then there are restrictions on what kind of recovery tools you can provide as a system builder, etc. etc. etc. Let's not even get into MS restrictions on letting volume users upgrade to Vista Business from Home Premium and so on. All in all, though, I wouldn't be surprised if MS tightened up licensing restrictions to the point where an upgrade version of Windows 7 won't do a clean install.

[Niclo Iste]

Thanks for the clarification slgrieb I wasn't thinking outside the box I was just trying to figure the best way to do an install without relying on it building off of the old xp or vista kernel for myself but realizing that now I can always work with the vista installation on my main system.

[Kodiak]

Darn that means I would have to install my old win 2000 before I did an upgrade of win 7 then.

I think it would be worth $50 though.

[slgrieb]

Darn that means I would have to install my old win 2000 before I did an upgrade of win 7 then.

I think it would be worth $50 though.

Currently, MS says that you can use Win7 Upgrade Edition if you run W2K or XP, but you will need to back up your data and do a clean install, then re-install all your software. You can only do a direct upgrade over Vista. Frankly, this is a better deal than I expected MS to offer

[NooNoo]

Pretty much the same codebase and they want business off 2k as it is feeling it's age.

[slgrieb]

I for one really look forward to the day when I can stop supporting W2K. I've come to dislike all the older Windows interfaces quite a bit; even XP compared to Vista and Win7. I have some clients still running mixed W2K and XP machines and doing the Interface Shuffle makes me a little nuts .

Given Microsoft's Vista license restrictions, which goes hand in hand with their anti-piracy stance, I'm pleasantly surprised by the Win7 upgrade policy. It's been a while since MS offered an upgrade package for any of their products that has been desirable and cheap.

[NooNoo]

I just installed Win7 on an HP laptop with 512mb ram which has 64mb allocated to the video (2.6 Celeron processor). It runs really well! If you turn off all the fancy video stuff, it runs just as fast as it did on XP