Can RC users purchase upgrade versions of Win 7?

[Mulder19]

Topic.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

no because its not a paid version!!!

 

[sminlal]

+1.

If they allowed upgrades then they might as well just forget about selling "full versions". Why buy a full version when you could just grab a copy of the RC and buy an upgrade?

Not gonna happen...

 

[Scotteq]

Well - 'Official' Beta testers did get heavily discounted copies. But these are the guys that do specific testing and were individually invited by Microsoft to participate. But if you were one of these, you would know it.

Just registering for the free download of the RC does not qualify here.

 

[Bolbi]

Sorry to disagree, but I think the RC does qualify to be upgraded with the upgrade version. See here.
The pricing really isn't bad for MS. I mean, a home premium upgrade version costs $120, while an OEM copy is likely going to be $100. So they would like for you to get the RC and then upgrade version rather than just an OEM. The $50 upgrade was for a limited time only, and, apparently, they sold less US copies than they anticipated.

 

[daship]

I bought a technet subscription last week, $280 after promo code and taxes. Then found a way to get a free one, signup, got accepted, recieved the free one today. Called MS, asked for a refund on the 1st one cause it has 30 day money back. They said no problem, now i got my $280 and a free year technet subscription.

since I got my $280 back Ima buy a new Intel SSD to run my fullversion retail Win7 Ultimate on Happy days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[BTJustice]

It probably would work as you can do essentially a FULL INSTALL by booting from the DVD. It will simply ask you to verify which you can use an XP or Vista CD for. Once verified, put the Win7 DVD and keep on trucking. I wonder if Win 98/ME/2000 CDs would work to.

I plan on buying the upgrade version of Win7 Ultimate 64-bit.

 

[sminlal]

Sorry to disagree, but I think the RC does qualify to be upgraded with the upgrade version. See here.

That's interesting, and it's the first time I've seen someone claim that it's possible.

But it DOES NOT mean you can get around paying the extra license cost of a full version if you don't have a valid previous version. It may be technically possible to upgrade from RC to RTM, but to activate an upgrade installation you still need a valid license from a previous version.

 

[Zoron]

Yup, he claims it's possible... but then he states later on that it will only work once. If you ever have to reload Windows, then you will need a Vista or XP license to do it.

 

[Bolbi]

That's interesting, and it's the first time I've seen someone claim that it's possible.

But it DOES NOT mean you can get around paying the extra license cost of a full version if you don't have a valid previous version. It may be technically possible to upgrade from RC to RTM, but to activate an upgrade installation you still need a valid license from a previous version.

What the Win7 upgrade requires is an activated previous version of Windows. If you downloaded a legit copy of the RC, it came with a product key, and is activated. According to the article I referenced, an activated copy of the RC counts as a "previous version". Anyway, I'm banking on this method for my new build!

 

[Bolbi]

Yup, he claims it's possible... but then he states later on that it will only work once. If you ever have to reload Windows, then you will need a Vista or XP license to do it.

True, if you want to do a reinstall after the expiration of the RC (June 1, 2010). But you can take a disk image right after the install if you ever need an unaltered copy of the original OS.

 

[sminlal]

Anyway, I'm banking on this method for my new build!

Good luck. And don't expect that you can do the same type of "upgrade" that is supported from Vista. I just had occasion to reinstall Windows 7 using the "custom" method referenced in Dwight Silerman's original blog entry on the subject. It's true that this type of upgrade will allow you to install Windows 7 into an existing partition and file system, and that it does take the old installation and rename it into a folder called "Windows.old". But it does NOT pay any attention to the old installation at all - it is in fact a brand new installation into an existing file system.

What this means is that any customizations, software installations, user accounts etc. that were present in the original system are NOT in the system you just installed. While the previous software is still sitting in the "Program Files" folder, it is not integrated into the Registry, start menus, etc. So you're basically starting over from square one just as you would if you installed the non-upgrade version.

 

[Bolbi]

Good luck. And don't expect that you can do the same type of "upgrade" that is supported from Vista. I just had occasion to reinstall Windows 7 using the "custom" method referenced in Dwight Silerman's original blog entry on the subject. It's true that this type of upgrade will allow you to install Windows 7 into an existing partition and file system, and that it does take the old installation and rename it into a folder called "Windows.old". But it does NOT pay any attention to the old installation at all - it is in fact a brand new installation into an existing file system.

What this means is that any customizations, software installations, user accounts etc. that were present in the original system are NOT in the system you just installed. While the previous software is still sitting in the "Program Files" folder, it is not integrated into the Registry, start menus, etc. So you're basically starting over from square one just as you would if you installed the non-upgrade version.

Right, that is a disadvantage. But I keep everything scrupulously backed up, anyway. I can restore it all quite easily.