Free upgrade to Windows 7.0

Happy_Hannah

Hi all,

I'm not entirely sure whether this is the right place to post this but the OH and I are looking at buying a new laptop at the moment. We were in Currys in Exeter yesterday and I was playing hardball trying to get some money off a Dell Inspiron 1545 by asking if it was really worth the money if Vista is going to be replaced in a few months by Windows 7.0. I kept pestering the poor sales people until they went and got their computer expert. He let slip that they had a Microsoft rep in last week who told them that anyone who buys a laptop with Vista Home Premium OS (not applicable for Vista Home Basic) after 26th June 2009 (this friday) will get a free upgrade to Windows 7.0. I have since googled it and found a few other websites confirming this. Here are a couple:

http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=217800056

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Free-Vista-to-Windows-7-Upgrades-Program-Debuts-June-26th-112722.shtml

Dont buy any laptop with Vista Home Premium until the weekend and then you will be eligible for a free upgrade from 22nd October when Windows 7.0 comes out.

Happy bargain hunting

:beer:

thenthornthing

Great stuff! I live in Exeter too, only, I bought a laptop a while ago so am in no need for another one :P

jadziad

The European version of the Windows 7 upgrade will - thanks to the EU - require a wipe of the hard drive and a fresh full install. The rest of the world can upgrade on top of your existing Vista.

Additionally, you will not automatically get an upgrade to Windows 7. Check with the retailer that it comes with a voucher to enable you to get the Windows 7 DVD later. See this link for details:

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9134722

If anyone has a link to an official Microsoft source about this, it would be useful. A google search with site:microsoft.com didn't yield anything definitive.


edit: https://windows7upgradeoption.com is due to go live on Friday (26 June 2009).

mathsstudent

I think this is pretty standard, I know the same happened for the Vista-XP 'switch'. Good to have it comfirmed. A 'clean' install is recommended though and you will probably find that the computer runs faster and more efficiently than if you do an upgrade. It also gives you a chance to get rid of all the junk your machine has built up over the past few years.

prowla

There's already a thread on this topic, so perhaps a merge would be in order...

albionwarrior

Off subject slightly.
If you preorder windows 7 mid july you can get it for £49.99 saving £30 on the launch price.The price will go up to £149 after 3 months.