Upgrading to Win7 from Vista

twoods

Member
So at the moment I am running an OEM copy of Vista Ultimate x64. By OEM, I mean I bought the disc that OEM's use to install windows onto a ready built machine. Anyway, I'm eligible to upgrade straight to Windows 7 Ultimate x64.

My questions are, once I have upgraded to Win 7 will it be using a new Product Key? And would I be able to do a clean install of Vista Ultimate on another PC and use the original product key?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield (G0) 2.4 Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS Striker Extreme
    Memory
    4 GB (4x1) DDR2 OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sparkle GeForce 9600GT 512 MB
    Sound Card
    ASUS Supreme-FX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    20" SAMSUNG SyncMaster 250 BW
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Caviar 250GB SATA
    PSU
    OCZ GameXStream 850 Watt
    Case
    Generic Case
    Cooling
    NH-U9B Heatsink
    Keyboard
    Generic Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Mouse
    Internet Speed
    ~ 10Mb
Welcome

Legally, no. Once you upgrade the version that you upgraded from is legally dead. All of this is explained in the EULA. The agreement that is part of every purchase. Always remember when you buy a DVD, you do not own that OS, just the right to use it per the agreement.

IN additiion an OEM cannot be used on another machine
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
I bought sony vaio 4 months ago, it has windows vista installed, how can i upgrade to windows 7. if its free that would be awesome. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 

My Computer

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Workstation
    Manufacturer/Model
    doofenshmirtz evil incorporated
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 5950X
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Formula
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO Black 64GB (4x16GB) 3600MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT 16GB ROG Strix LC OC
    Sound Card
    Creative
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 x27" Dell U2724D & 1 x 34" Dell U3415W
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 Pro 1TB M.2 2280 PCI-e 4.0 x4 NVMe Solid State
    Drive
    PSU
    1500W ThermalTake Toughpower
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT
    Cooling
    Enermax Liqtech 240
    Keyboard
    Surface Ergonomic.
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance MX
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
    Other Info
    WinTV NovaTD
    HP CP1515n Color Laser
    Sony BD-5300S-0B Blu-ray Writer
    Microsoft LifeCam Cinema
    APC 750i Smart UPS
  • Operating System
    windows 10
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Pro 3
    CPU
    1.9GHz Intel Core i5-4300U (dual-core, 3MB cache, up to 2.9GHz with Turbo Boost)
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4400
    Monitor(s) Displays
    12" Multi Touch
    Screen Resolution
    2160 x 144
    Hard Drives
    128GB
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Keyboard
    yes
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
Thank you for the response richc46, that's given me a few things to think about.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield (G0) 2.4 Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS Striker Extreme
    Memory
    4 GB (4x1) DDR2 OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sparkle GeForce 9600GT 512 MB
    Sound Card
    ASUS Supreme-FX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    20" SAMSUNG SyncMaster 250 BW
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Caviar 250GB SATA
    PSU
    OCZ GameXStream 850 Watt
    Case
    Generic Case
    Cooling
    NH-U9B Heatsink
    Keyboard
    Generic Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Mouse
    Internet Speed
    ~ 10Mb
Welcome

Legally, no. Once you upgrade the version that you upgraded from is legally dead. All of this is explained in the EULA. The agreement that is part of every purchase. Always remember when you buy a DVD, you do not own that OS, just the right to use it per the agreement.

IN additiion an OEM cannot be used on another machine

So if I was to fork out the extra money for the full retail version, would it be possible to do an upgrade from within Vista, therefore keeping my old product key intact for use at a later date (dual boot, etc...)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield (G0) 2.4 Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS Striker Extreme
    Memory
    4 GB (4x1) DDR2 OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sparkle GeForce 9600GT 512 MB
    Sound Card
    ASUS Supreme-FX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    20" SAMSUNG SyncMaster 250 BW
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Caviar 250GB SATA
    PSU
    OCZ GameXStream 850 Watt
    Case
    Generic Case
    Cooling
    NH-U9B Heatsink
    Keyboard
    Generic Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Mouse
    Internet Speed
    ~ 10Mb

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Hindsight is a wonderful thing... If only I was aware of this in 2007 when I built my system, but at the time windows 7 was but merely a sperm in Microsoft's eye :D

So if I understand you correctly, if I upgrade to Win 7 (Retail) from this Vista installation and in the future I win the lottery and can afford to build another machine, I would be able to install Vista OEM on the original machine and reinstall Win 7 on the new build?

I have a decent, but NEVER perfect grasp of Computing, however Licensing is a large blur which you just cleared up somewhat. Cheers.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield (G0) 2.4 Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS Striker Extreme
    Memory
    4 GB (4x1) DDR2 OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sparkle GeForce 9600GT 512 MB
    Sound Card
    ASUS Supreme-FX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    20" SAMSUNG SyncMaster 250 BW
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Caviar 250GB SATA
    PSU
    OCZ GameXStream 850 Watt
    Case
    Generic Case
    Cooling
    NH-U9B Heatsink
    Keyboard
    Generic Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Mouse
    Internet Speed
    ~ 10Mb
Yes your are correct

These facts are always true

OEM: can only be used on one machine

Retail: can be used on any number of machines, but only one at a time.

Upgrade: the system that you upgraded from is dead.

The only problem is that Windows 8 is right around the corner and if you win the lottery you will probably want that.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Nice one,

Anthony
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield (G0) 2.4 Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS Striker Extreme
    Memory
    4 GB (4x1) DDR2 OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sparkle GeForce 9600GT 512 MB
    Sound Card
    ASUS Supreme-FX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    20" SAMSUNG SyncMaster 250 BW
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Caviar 250GB SATA
    PSU
    OCZ GameXStream 850 Watt
    Case
    Generic Case
    Cooling
    NH-U9B Heatsink
    Keyboard
    Generic Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Mouse
    Internet Speed
    ~ 10Mb
Ty for the rep and kind words. They are very appreciated.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
No worries m'lord!
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield (G0) 2.4 Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS Striker Extreme
    Memory
    4 GB (4x1) DDR2 OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sparkle GeForce 9600GT 512 MB
    Sound Card
    ASUS Supreme-FX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    20" SAMSUNG SyncMaster 250 BW
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Caviar 250GB SATA
    PSU
    OCZ GameXStream 850 Watt
    Case
    Generic Case
    Cooling
    NH-U9B Heatsink
    Keyboard
    Generic Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Mouse
    Internet Speed
    ~ 10Mb
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