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Upgrading from Vista/32-bit/Home Prem to Win7 64-bit/Pro

J

jaydee

Diamond Member
Hello all, I've got kind of a complicated upgrade (to me anyways). I've got a one-year old HP laptop dv9700, it has an AMD Turion 64-bit processor (TL-60) and 3GB of RAM with Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit installed.

I've got a student discount for $30 Windows 7 upgrade, and I'd like to go Pro so my wife can get on a work network. Also, I don't see why I shouldn't get the 64-bit version since it does have a 64-bit processor. And hopefully I'm going to get an 80GB Intel SSD for the machine in the near future, next couple months.

My question is, how do I make this transformation, specifically in what order do I proceed? Can I go from Vista 32-bit to Win7 64-bit directly, or do I have to get 32-bit and upgrade to 64-bit later? Can I go Vista Home to Win7 Pro directly without losing/reinstalling everything? I'll back everything up anyways... And finally, install the SSD first or last?

How do I do this?!?!? THANKS!
 
I would remove old drive install new drive, whether a SSD or standard drive, install Win7Pro 64bit clean on new drive....thats the exact procedure i'll doing to my notebook as soon as my new drive arrives, not SSD 🙁
Being that your current OS is 32bit your only option is a fresh install of 64bit OS.
 
Originally posted by: Trashman
I would remove old drive install new drive, whether a SSD or standard drive, install Win7Pro 64bit clean on new drive....thats the exact procedure i'll doing to my notebook as soon as my new drive arrives, not SSD 🙁
Being that your current OS is 32bit your only option is a fresh install of 64bit OS.
Click to expand...

Unfortuanately, I'm getting Win7 Pro upgrade, not full-version...
 
why is that? upgrade can still do a clean install.
Click to expand...

So are you saying to image Vista onto the new hard drive and then upgrade to Win7? Or can I somehow using just the Win7 Pro Upgrade, do a clean install on a new hard drive?

Thanks,
 
Looking for answers to my own problems -- dropped in here casually.

Paul Thurrot and others had posted discoveries about the VISTA "upgrade" versions when VISTA appeared. Because there are some several versions -- "Home . . . Business . . . Ultimate" -- MS had to build in a feature that allowed VISTA to upgrade from Home to Business or from either of those to Ultimate.

Because of that feature, with VISTA (for sure), you can buy the upgrade disc and install it so that it "upgrades itself."

I'm only GUESSING that Windows 7 may work the same way, but you could be sure that MS long ago found out about the "loophole" just for Thurrot's blog being available on the web. So I can't guarantee it.

Even so, you'd think that a "clean install" -- which our colleagues here guarantee can be installed from the "upgrade" disk -- would only ask to "see" either a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows of a previous flavor before completing its installation.

But that's why I waited to even buy VISTA 64 -- first, to see that the myths about 64-bit were dispelled -- second, to see at least one service pack -- and third, so I could get an OEM install version.

It may be a while before you can get a Windows 7 OEM install package. Or -- as I'm quite sure -- you can buy VISTA and get a guaranteed free upgrade to Win 7 -- although those offers should disappear, since Win 7 is shipping this month (as I understand it).
 
Sounds like no one knows for sure. I guess I'll just hang on until a few weeks after Win7 release and ask the same question, and hopefully we know more then. Really don't want to purchase Win7 Pro then not be able to use it because I'm upgrading from Vista Home Premium...
 
Kinda funny when you think about it......every time a new OS comes out the big question is always the same, can an upgrade do a clean install.....Win98 upgrade>WinXP>Vista>Win7.

Is it because of THE word "upgrade" gets taken out of text?????

" GUESSING that Windows 7 may work the same way, but you could be sure that MS long ago found out about the "loophole" just for Thurrot's blog being available on the web"
This isn't like a big discovery or something, this has been going on since Win98.

Just taken this often asked question to light....thats is all, just humorous thats all.
 
Originally posted by: Trashman


" GUESSING that Windows 7 may work the same way, but you could be sure that MS long ago found out about the "loophole" just for Thurrot's blog being available on the web"
This isn't like a big discovery or something, this has been going on since Win98.
Click to expand...

Actually, the loophole he mentions that exists in vista exclusively - you do not need an installed OS or any previous OS on a disc to install the upgrade version of vista as a clean install. Thats something that never worked before for me with upgrade versions. I always had to at least throw in the disc of a previous windows to make it work.

Anyhow, from what I read in printed IT media, the clean install thingy with W7 upgrade does work, but it will still require you to enter the license key of a previous windows version that is eligible for an upgrade and it will "eat" that license in the process, meaning you can no longer use that key with your old OS to install it on a computer.

Whether or not that is true, I dont know, but it makes sort of sense from an MS point of view.

Since upgrading from 32bit to 64bit isnt possible and the original issue of transfering programs and settings is not solved by any of the upgrade process guesswork, I might suggest using the EasyTransfer function of W7.

Grab your W7 DVD, navigate to \support\migwiz\ and copy that tool to an USB stick. Start it from there (from within vista) and it will try to transfer as many settings for your programs and windows as it can to that stick - it will not copy your programs though. After installing W7 you install all the programs you need and then run that easytransfer app - it will then transer these program specific settings (and many windows settings of course) to your new system. This should also include your valuable data if it resides in those default folders like documents, pictures etc. From what I heard, this isnt perfect but works fairly good. Some manual adjustments will still be necessary.

 
Originally posted by: Griswold
Originally posted by: Trashman


" GUESSING that Windows 7 may work the same way, but you could be sure that MS long ago found out about the "loophole" just for Thurrot's blog being available on the web"
This isn't like a big discovery or something, this has been going on since Win98.
Click to expand...

Actually, the loophole he mentions that exists in vista exclusively - you do not need an installed OS or any previous OS on a disc to install the upgrade version of vista as a clean install. Thats something that never worked before for me with upgrade versions. I always had to at least throw in the disc of a previous windows to make it work.

Anyhow, from what I read in printed IT media, the clean install thingy with W7 upgrade does work, but it will still require you to enter the license key of a previous windows version that is eligible for an upgrade and it will "eat" that license in the process, meaning you can no longer use that key with your old OS to install it on a computer.

Whether or not that is true, I dont know, but it makes sort of sense from an MS point of view.
Click to expand...

That's the real b**** with "upgrade" installations. VISTA was an exception, but (I thought) you had to follow Thurrott's prescription. I remember when he first posted it -- he was "still testing" to make sure there weren't any drawbacks.

I think maybe, in my lifetime, I purchased a single "upgrade" version -- going from Win 95 to Win 98. I'd rather keep the old license potentially useable for some other machine. You never know when you might need it.
 
Yeah Win98 upgrade was last for me, same thinking here to regarding old licenses.
I guess the drama this brings gives us all a reason to talk more about it which is cool i guess.
 
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