Vista question

EdGasket

On a similar theme; I have vista business on a desktop (bought secondhand so I have no paperwork). How would I go about upgrading this to Windows 7? I've seen options on eBay ranging from a couple of quid to over £70; really confusing! Is there any free way to upgrade?

grumpycrab

amstel2 wrote: »

My laptop runs on Windows Vista.... I am going to get it upgraded...

EdGasket wrote: »

I have vista business on a desktop How would I go about upgrading this to Windows 7?

These computers may have upgrade rights to W7 - put laptop details (make/model/Dell tag) here and Nifty will help.
Windows 7 upgrade advisor -> https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=20
An example upgrade path (assuming computers are in good condition) are:-
1. use spare hard disk (or partition existing disk if big enough) OR buy a small SSD - for a big performance improvement (and can reuse the original hard drive as an archive or backup...)
2. buy an OEM (cheap!) edition of Windows 7 (or 10!?) and clean install; again Nifty will advise but the latest BIOS version is recommended.
The advantage of doing a clean install to a different disk is obvious - you always have the original disk as a backup.

EdGasket

Are those OEM (cheap!) editions of Windows 7 like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ORIGINAL-WINDOWS-7-PRO-32-64BIT-OEM-GENUINE-LICENSE-KEY-SCRAP-PC-/182309579383?hash=item2a727f6a77:g:XkgAAOSw2xRYUBMc

and if so, wouldn't it only be licenced to the original hardware?

grumpycrab

EdGasket wrote: »

Are those OEM (cheap!) editions of Windows 7 like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ORIGINAL-WINDOWS-7-PRO-32-64BIT-OEM-GENUINE-LICENSE-KEY-SCRAP-PC-/182309579383?hash=item2a727f6a77:g:XkgAAOSw2xRYUBMc

and if so, wouldn't it only be licenced to the original hardware?

In this case, I would have expected this to be true.

EdGasket

OK, sorry if this should be obvious but it isn't to me; what exactly do I need to buy to upgrade from Vista to Windows 7? Can you give me an eBay link to exactly what you mean by an OEM (cheap) edition?

grumpycrab

EdGasket wrote: »

what exactly do I need to buy to upgrade from Vista to Windows 7?

Unless you're desperate to upgrade today (Vista won't stop working when support ends) I suggest you post your computer make/model/serial as you may have W7 upgrade rights.

xilverhawk

Here's the link for the Assistive Technologies free upgrade to Windows 10 - used this myself earlier in the year and it's very simple.

aaa.microsoft.com/en-gb/accessibility/windows10upgrade

Replace 'aaa' with 'www', of course - new user rules mean I can't yet post a regular URL!

xilverhawk

To Grumpycrab - could I please enquire if you were thinking that the OP's PC may have been shipped with Windows 7 OEM and downgraded to Windows Vista?

If that's the case, then I would surmise that there should also be a Windows 7 Certificate of Authenticity on the PC case itself (if it hasn't rubbed off by now!)

Assuming that both these points are valid and the OP has got a W7 key on the PC itself, then there's a path to upgrade Vista to 7. I would recommend doing a clean install though, in-place upgrades can bring any underlying issues over with them.