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Upgrade from Windows 7 RC to Final Product
Upgrade from Windows 7 RC to Final Product
- When the retail version of Windows 7 and Windows 7 Upgrade Disks are released, will I be able to use the upgrade disk to go from RC to retail or will i have to do a full clean install?
Also - what price will I be looking at for the upgrade disk?- Moved byGeorgio - Support Engineer Friday, October 02, 2009 10:24 PM (From:Getting Ready for Windows 7)
1 person got this answerI do too
Answers
The final, released version of Windows 7 will require a "clean install" if you have Windows 7 RC1 installed.
Microsoft has not officially announced any pricing structure for Windows 7 upgrade as of this date.
Carey Frisch- Proposed As Answer byDavid - Support EngineerMSFT, ModeratorMonday, June 08, 2009 1:32 PM
- Marked As Answer byChris - Support Engineer Sunday, June 14, 2009 11:50 AM
All Replies
The final, released version of Windows 7 will require a "clean install" if you have Windows 7 RC1 installed.
Microsoft has not officially announced any pricing structure for Windows 7 upgrade as of this date.
Carey Frisch- Proposed As Answer byDavid - Support EngineerMSFT, ModeratorMonday, June 08, 2009 1:32 PM
- Marked As Answer byChris - Support Engineer Sunday, June 14, 2009 11:50 AM
- You will need to do a clean install of the final version of windows 7. I am not sure on the pricing.
- I understand you can't just "upgrade" from RC1 but is there an easy way to transfer your files to the retail release or do you have to start from scratch ?
- Proposed As Answer byAzrael9002 Friday, June 19, 2009 2:52 PM
- I must admit I do understand how people feel as it would make sense to just do an Upgrade. Lots of people initially thought they were helping towards the final product but it does seem to the people out there that it was just a clever advertising technique used to distract people from the fact that they hated Vista (by the way I like Vista, yeah it is a bit bloated but it does work).
like XP was to 2000 I hope that 7 will please people over Vista - so Windows 7 you got big XP boots to fill.
Oh yeah here's a question for ya, lots of users will go for windows 7 and continue to use XP on virtual machine or even win98 will their old licences cover the usage. i.e. 10 students in a class looking at the old operating systems and software via virtual machines, will the licences for the old machines cover them (thats if the licences haven't been shredded in today's green age).
:-) - As was said in the post above mine. We the people (many of us anyway) thought that when we downloaded RC-7, we were doing something to help. I come here looking for an answer to a specific question and low and behold! I see that as of July and Aug. of this year (I think it says), that RC7 will start to basically mess up every two hours. So here's the million dollor question. Should I/we just go ahead right now and wipe our hard drive and reinstall our Xp/xp pro? Is the retail version going to hit the shelfs in July or Aug., when all of a sudden our system will be possesed? I saw nothing where it was writen that the retail version would be avaiable. So if not, then this seems as was mentioned. Nothing more than an advertisment ploy! An under handed grab of the privates on the consumer public.
Windows 7 seems to be the right answer for us devout Xp users who wouldn't put Vista on a thing we own. But if this is the way Microsoft is going to continue doing buisness, then I for one may just drop Microsoft and go to another operating system.
I have nothing bad to say about the operating system. It worked flawlessly on the clean install onto my now 2 day old computer. I had only one problem ( still do) and that was and is, that I can't find a driver yet for my coprocessor. I do concur however, that there should be a Windows 7 upgrade install for the retail version for we that installed the RC-7 version. Yes, I read where it was typed that we should not install RC-7 onto our main computer. But some of us only have one computer. And yes in hind sight now, I can fully understand why that was stated, it was a C.Y.A. statement. - If you've but one PC there is the matter of creating a small partition to test Windows 7. This is not at all difficult as I've done it entirely myself and probably am way less computer savvy than most about these forums.
I must say I am not at all biased for or against but this endless whining and threatening to "take my business elsewhere" is incomprehensible. I CAN pay for a product I like when it is released to the public and be grateful for the opportunity to use it (free of charge) to help MS and familiarize myself. I CAN do a clean install (which I'd prefer anyway) at that time. Or not. I will. Perhaps you won't
I've read elsewhere here about those who think they are entitled too a free copy for testing. MS is not a charity people. They develop products of value and expect to be compensated accordingly. If they were a charity I'd think they'd do something other than create software and OSes. These people who complain of installations and having to pay for products are IMHO likely the same that download music saying "I'm trying before buying!!" (Yeah right.)
MS has given us all an opportunity to "try before we buy." For this I'm grateful. We're helping each other in that we get to try and they can develop from our use.
The whining is merely hypocrisy and ingratitude. One does have the option of not installing in the first place. MS has forced no one to participate in the beta or RC.
Thank you to Microsoft for letting us try their new product before it's launched :)- Proposed As Answer byRichardUSN Tuesday, July 28, 2009 10:54 PM
- Retail version will be relased Oct. 22, 2009. The Beta version begins to expire in July (bi hourly reboots). But, the RC doesn't begin bi-hourly reboots until March 1, 2010. There is a 5 month gap between retail release and when the RC starts to expire.
- I'm more than happy to buy the retail release when it appears but....no one has answered my question yet. Will it be easy to migrate all your files from RC1 to the Retail release? Of course it's easy to back up files but that's not what I'm talking about. I mean "migrate" your files across so they are in the same place and work in the same way as they did in RC1 ?
I also don't see the reasoning in not letting people do a direct upgrade from RC to Retail release. You would find millions of people very happy to do that. If they have been testing RC1 as MS wanted them to they may well have then started using it as their main OS, as I do, simply because it works so well and that is something MS should be very happy about after the Vista debacle. I have never installed Vista on any of my machines, not because it's particularly bad but because it's so bloated and heavy on system resources. Anyway, if you have millions of happy RC users out their, why then make things awkward for them by insisting they do a completely fresh installation ? - The Easy Transfer Wizard (I am assuming) will be the tool to use, to migrate your settings and files to the retail version of Win7 when released.
I understand a clean install is essential but hopefully all that time tweaking and personalising of RC will not go to waste and a transfer of those settings will be easy to implement. - I don't think anyone is asking for a "Free Upgrade".I have Vista, bought and paid for (dearly in some repects) and I was thinking about getting RC1. But I am also pre-ordering the Upgrade version of 7 this weekend from Microcenter, but if I understand what you're all saying correctly, if I put RC1 over my legit copy of Vista, and want to install 7 retail later, I'll have to wipe and install the Full version rather than the Upgrade version, whereas if I keep Vista, I can just install the upgrade version of 7. Is this what I'm reading here? Because I'd love to try RC1, but not if it adds an extra $100 to my upgrade costs and means I have to spend a number of hours backing up a few TB of data.
- The more important question:
I own a copy of XP, I clean-installed Windows 7 RC on my computer. I expect to pre-order the "Windows 7 Upgrade" version. Since this is an "upgrade" copy do I need to install XP, and then upgrade or will it simply ask for my verified CDKey on install?
- I'd like to understand this better as well. I stupidly just dashed into the RC1 without thinking about the long term effects when the official release comes out. So there's now way around it? Since I've installed RC1, I HAVE to do a clean install. I was pretty happy with how smoothly things went with my RC1 install and the fact that I didn't have to go through the hassle of a clean install. Little did I know that I was screwing myself in the long run.
- forgive me if im just being repative, but i must know, if now that the upgrades have dropped, if i have the rc can i buy the upgrade? or do i have to buy the full?
- I am like Bozilla below. I did a clean install of the Latest Windows 7 RC on and my Licensed XP Pro machine. Today the offered a sale on the pre-release of Windows 7 Professional which I purchase 3 copies. Will I have to uninstall the Windows 7 RC, then reinstall XP pro, so that the Windows 7 Professional Upgrade disk will see a licensed operatering system to install? If not then what will be the install process?
- It was said that you couldn't upgrade from the beta to the RC as they are now saying that you can't upgrade from the RC to the RTM. There was a work around available to upgrade to the RC from the beta and it worked just fine, didn't have to do a clean install. As time go on I'm sure we will learn that there is going to be some kind of work around to make this upgrade possible too.
I am like Bozilla below. I did a clean install of the Latest Windows 7 RC on and my Licensed XP Pro machine. Today the offered a sale on the pre-release of Windows 7 Professional which I purchase 3 copies. Will I have to uninstall the Windows 7 RC, then reinstall XP pro, so that the Windows 7 Professional Upgrade disk will see a licensed operatering system to install? If not then what will be the install process?
In order to use an upgrade license version of Windows 7, you must have a qualifying, compliant Windows operating system installed, such as Windows XP.
Since upgrading from Windows 7 RC1 to the final version is unsupported, you'll have to perform a "clean install" of your original Windows XP operating system first.
Then boot to the installed Windows XP desktop, insert the Windows 7 Upgrade DVD in the DVD drive and select "custom installation" to begin a clean install of the upgrade version of Windows 7.
Carey FrischI am like Bozilla below. I did a clean install of the Latest Windows 7 RC on and my Licensed XP Pro machine. Today the offered a sale on the pre-release of Windows 7 Professional which I purchase 3 copies. Will I have to uninstall the Windows 7 RC, then reinstall XP pro, so that the Windows 7 Professional Upgrade disk will see a licensed operatering system to install? If not then what will be the install process?
In order to use an upgrade license version of Windows 7, you must have a qualifying, compliant Windows operating system installed, such as Windows XP.
Since upgrading from Windows 7 RC1 to the final version is unsupported, you'll have to perform a "clean install" of your original Windows XP operating system first.
Then boot to the installed Windows XP desktop, insert the Windows 7 Upgrade DVD in the DVD drive and select "custom installation" to begin a clean install of the upgrade version of Windows 7.
Carey Frisch
Huh? You mean we can just insert our Vista/XP DVD to verify that we had the old operating system? I'm really, really regretting downloading RC1. I like it and all, but the added hassle I'm going to have when it comes time to go to the final product just doesn't seem like it's going to be worth it.
Why does MS have to make this so complicated. Like a previous user said there was a way to upgrade from the Beta to the RC1. Why can't something like this happen for the retail version (with upgrade eligibility verification, of course, through disc or serial number)? It just doesn't seem like it should be that difficult. If RC1 is close to the retail version, I see no reason why we'd have to do a clean install.
MS -- if you want people to upgrade to the latest and greatest system, you've GOT to make it easier and less painful. I know many, many people who are less computer literate who absolutely wouldn't bother with the amount of frustration and hassle it takes to upgrade.
And don't give me the "it only takes a few hours to re-install your programs. Not true. In fact, I have many programs that would be extremely difficult to re-install due to the fact that they were upgrades/downloads, etc. that require activations, etc. I may not even be able to reinstall some of them at all.
My upgrade to RC1 went beautifully since I had Vista and they're similar. I expected the Retail to go the same way. How mistaken I was to think that MS might actually do something right.- In your case it sounds like the easiest way to do it would be to simply restore your Vista from backup, then you can install the final product as an upgrade and all your installed software will be there just like it was at the point you made the backup before installing the beta or RC. You won't have to worry about reinstalling all your software and such then, and all you would need to do is put your personal preferences for 7 back into place.
As far as the ability to upgrade the beta to the RC, that was a hack and it was made clear that some problems in the beta would be brought forward by doing that. It's very common for all software manufacturers - not just Microsoft - to require a complete reinstall when moving from pre-release software to a final product. Someone may very well come up with a way to hack the final release and allow an install over top of the RC, but just be aware that doing that will NOT get you an actual full final product install - many old files will be left with bad code in them and you will likely have problems throughout the life of your system that will result from that.
Running an upgrade is not something that just happens. A tremendous amount of code has to be written telling the software exactly what to keep, what to discard totally and what to replace with something else. To make the final product capable of an upgrade from the RC would require that all this code be written (in addition to what already had to be written for the Vista upgrade ability) specifically for the RC to final upgrade - and the RC was designed from the beginning as only a temporary and disposable product. If Microsoft were to devote the resources necessary to write all the code to upgrade from what was already a disposable product, the final release would likely take longer and be more expensive, as writing this code would not happen quickly nor cheaply.
While Microsoft tends to not always be forthcoming with information, it was made absolutely clear from the very beginning that anyone who installed the beta or the RC would have to do a complete reinstall to get the final product. But again, you don't have to wipe everything to zero and start from scratch, just restore Vista and you then start with the final product in exactly the same spot you started with the beta or the RC. In your case it sounds like the easiest way to do it would be to simply restore your Vista from backup, then you can install the final product as an upgrade and all your installed software will be there just like it was at the point you made the backup before installing the beta or RC. You won't have to worry about reinstalling all your software and such then, and all you would need to do is put your personal preferences for 7 back into place.
As far as the ability to upgrade the beta to the RC, that was a hack and it was made clear that some problems in the beta would be brought forward by doing that. It's very common for all software manufacturers - not just Microsoft - to require a complete reinstall when moving from pre-release software to a final product. Someone may very well come up with a way to hack the final release and allow an install over top of the RC, but just be aware that doing that will NOT get you an actual full final product install - many old files will be left with bad code in them and you will likely have problems throughout the life of your system that will result from that.
Running an upgrade is not something that just happens. A tremendous amount of code has to be written telling the software exactly what to keep, what to discard totally and what to replace with something else. To make the final product capable of an upgrade from the RC would require that all this code be written (in addition to what already had to be written for the Vista upgrade ability) specifically for the RC to final upgrade - and the RC was designed from the beginning as only a temporary and disposable product. If Microsoft were to devote the resources necessary to write all the code to upgrade from what was already a disposable product, the final release would likely take longer and be more expensive, as writing this code would not happen quickly nor cheaply.
While Microsoft tends to not always be forthcoming with information, it was made absolutely clear from the very beginning that anyone who installed the beta or the RC would have to do a complete reinstall to get the final product. But again, you don't have to wipe everything to zero and start from scratch, just restore Vista and you then start with the final product in exactly the same spot you started with the beta or the RC.
Thanks for your reply. The only issue with that is that I have Vista Ultimate and since they don't have discounted Ultimate upgrades, which in and of itself is ridiculous, I'll probably end up getting W7 Home Premium which will force me to do a clean install anyway- My only concern for doing a clean install again from Win 7 RC, is not being able to re-install Microsoft Money Deluxe. My copy expires 10/29/09 and Microsoft plans to discontinue Money support (i.e I won't be able to reactivate it)
- I find this concept completely ridiculous. So, what you guys are saying is that MS is having us test run a new OS, thus helping them out with compatibility issues and any inconsistencies with the programming, just for giggles, and then cough up the extra cash to buy a full version? I realize that it may not be possible to simply use an upgrade version on a RC, but it's logical to think that since MS wants everyone to upgrade so badly, they would extend a similar deal towards the pre-testers for a full version. It would be a reasonable alternative to allow people with the RC currently on their machines to purchase the full version for their computers. Being MS, they should be able to verify who these users are.
darrenc1, they may not have explicitly said that you could not upgrade to the final product, but they sure didn't broadcast the information loud and clear, as is evident by the amount of people here who are angry and confused. - What I would like is just to be able to buy a key for this os - I LOVE IT!! I need the windows virtual xp for my job, work great. I love MS products, always have!! I have tried a lot of other os, spreadsheets, mail readers, MS is the best!
- I hate to do this, but just to be clear. I have Vista Ultimate upgraded to Windows7 Build 7100, which I believe is Windows7 Ultimate. I will probably pre-order the Windows7 Professional version, since the differences between the Ultimate and Pro versions aren't really significant. So it is my understanding that when I receive the final version of Windows7, I will need to revert back to my Vista OS, then re-install the new final version of Windows7? Or am I going to have to wipe my HD's and start from scratch? Can someone confirm this for me please?
I hate to do this, but just to be clear. I have Vista Ultimate upgraded to Windows7 Build 7100, which I believe is Windows7 Ultimate. I will probably pre-order the Windows7 Professional version, since the differences between the Ultimate and Pro versions aren't really significant. So it is my understanding that when I receive the final version of Windows7, I will need to revert back to my Vista OS, then re-install the new final version of Windows7? Or am I going to have to wipe my HD's and start from scratch? Can someone confirm this for me please?
Your above statement is correct and I will confirm it. If you purchase the upgrade version, you will have to revert back to Vista OS, which may or may not, retain all your program and setting and depending on your version of Vista, it may or may not be compatible with the version of Windows 7 you purchase for upgrade. If you don't have a legitimate copy of Vista, you will need to buy the full version.
Someone may need to confirm this but, I think if you have Vista Home version, you can't buy a Windows 7 Professional upgrade, you have to buy Windows 7 Home Premium or Ultimate. If so, this is true with Vista Professional, you have to buy Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate upgrade.- Hi all, I've read somewhere that you have to upgrade same level of windows that you are having installed. I mean: windows vista home premium vs windows 7 home premium
vista ultimate vs windows 7 ultimate only.... maybe I'm wrong...please verify before buying an upgrade CD that wont fit your windows already installed.
That would be great if we could upgrade from the RC installation. A lot of people have made the switch to this version and will be very disappointed if they have to make a scratch install.
MS please consider this point.... Help your users and your users will help you in return...
PS: who buy your products? please listen to your users from time to time.
I personally think this is a good move to stop a bit of all the piracy against your products.
- Edited byHeinreich Monday, July 06, 2009 1:38 AM
- I think someone will find a way to do that when it comes out, but right now, no one is able to know how
I'd like to understand this better as well. I stupidly just dashed into the RC1 without thinking about the long term effects when the official release comes out. So there's now way around it? Since I've installed RC1, I HAVE to do a clean install. I was pretty happy with how smoothly things went with my RC1 install and the fact that I didn't have to go through the hassle of a clean install. Little did I know that I was screwing myself in the long run.
I'm with you! I had a rush of blood to the head and installed RC1 over my Vista - and it went very smoothly and I'm very happy with Win7 over Vista BUT I don't see why I should have to clean install the retail version and loose several years of files and settings etc. Surely there must be another way?
Ian B
Has nobody yet found a way to uninstall Win7 to get back to the previous OS?I hate to do this, but just to be clear. I have Vista Ultimate upgraded to Windows7 Build 7100, which I believe is Windows7 Ultimate. I will probably pre-order the Windows7 Professional version, since the differences between the Ultimate and Pro versions aren't really significant. So it is my understanding that when I receive the final version of Windows7, I will need to revert back to my Vista OS, then re-install the new final version of Windows7? Or am I going to have to wipe my HD's and start from scratch? Can someone confirm this for me please?
Your above statement is correct and I will confirm it. If you purchase the upgrade version, you will have to revert back to Vista OS, which may or may not, retain all your program and setting and depending on your version of Vista, it may or may not be compatible with the version of Windows 7 you purchase for upgrade. If you don't have a legitimate copy of Vista, you will need to buy the full version.
Someone may need to confirm this but, I think if you have Vista Home version, you can't buy a Windows 7 Professional upgrade, you have to buy Windows 7 Home Premium or Ultimate. If so, this is true with Vista Professional, you have to buy Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate upgrade.
Ian B- Well this certainly needs to be confirmed by MS! It makes no sense whatsoever to do something like this. I had been running Vista Ultimate, so I installed the equivalent version of Windows 7. Build 7100 which I believe is the Ultimate version of 7. However the pre purchase pricing for Windows 7 is such that it makes more sense to go with the Windows 7 Pro version. Problem is, I have already pre-purchased Windows 7 Pro and now I'm being led to believe that I won't be able to use it and that I'll have to spend twice as much on the OS because it is thought that we have to upgrade Ultimate to Ultimate, Home to Home etc.????? This is turning into nothing more than a massive cluster F&$%!!!!!
This issue needs to be communicated to their customers in a clear and straight forward manner. We should not have to go through all this just to do an upgrade. And also, how do they justify charging twice as much for the Ultimate version, when the only stated differences between it and Pro is the Bit-locker, DirectAccess, BranchCache, and Applocker, most of which none of us would ever use?
It should be a simple matter of purchasing a registration key and using it on the version we have already upgraded to.
This is nonsense and needs to be straightened out!
I was going to do the upgrade on my wifes' system, but now I don't know if I should or not! - you can still upgrade from Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Home or Pro, but you're require to perform a clean-installation.
- Well that's just great! That really shouldn't be a big deal, since I can to a full system backup to my external drive and then do a restore back to the Windows 7 system. I just think that MS coulda, woulda, shoulda done a lot better job and put a lot more thinking into this whole situation. I guess I just don't understand their line of reasoning.
Thanks for letting me know about the upgrade tho ! - The way it was described before I downloaded RC 7100 was that all I would have to do is purchase a product key. I don't remember reading anything about a clean install. When I purchased my computer new I upgraded from Vista Home Premium out of the box to RC 7100. To say I would have to go back to Vista means I will lose everything on my computer. Why is it so difficult to offer an RC Update with purchase of product key as it was initially advertised? No one will care if it takes longer to release, just get it right!
The way it was described before I downloaded RC 7100 was that all I would have to do is purchase a product key. I don't remember reading anything about a clean install. When I purchased my computer new I upgraded from Vista Home Premium out of the box to RC 7100. To say I would have to go back to Vista means I will lose everything on my computer. Why is it so difficult to offer an RC Update with purchase of product key as it was initially advertised? No one will care if it takes longer to release, just get it right!
I think this would be the correct route. I aggree with you. Buy the On hand/provided RC key, patch the OS to any changes/updates. Continue life as normal. Microsoft! What do you say?- Not microsoft, but I say it's a bad idea. W7 has not released (officially) very many builds. The build that can actually be bought at the shops will be a long way from 7100. In the next couple of months partners get the RTM and will be reporting bugs or problems. The chances are that a key module is changed completely before general availability is quite high. A patch might not be viable or may cause systems to merrily self destruct, in which case you would be even more upset than you are now.
BETA is about testing - install it, try and break it, report the results and then install it again when you get a new build.
Never ever approach a computer saying or even thinking "I will just do this quickly".
My hangouts Format and Reload or Windrivers - I've read an awful lot of users stating how microsoft should fix the clean install to upgrade and saying that it wasn't how it was stated originally. I have to say - It was - even on the installation it stated that you should make a BACKUP of your old OS first and that microsoft is not responsible for users who didn't.
Of course microsoft will help out users and won't leave them totally dead, but let's be fair would you get a mechanic to repair your car after an accident and then say that the car was under warranty.
There is freedom of choice out there which your fathers fought for so use it. patch the OS to any changes/updates.
But do you understand that's not a little patch you would be wanting. That patch would likely be a gigabyte plus, and would result in a modification to almost every file on your computer, leaving a huge possibility of something going wrong and resulting in corrupt files somewhere. Not to mention such a patch would take hours and hours to run - patching just one file during a Windows update can take several minutes, now multiply that times a few hundred thousand files. It would be kind of like telling Dodge you want to keep your Neon but you want them to turn it into a Viper for you - all the while insisting that you won't simply get rid of the Neon and they have to start with it and somehow convert it.
Going from the RC to the final product is not just a step up in the process, it's putting a completely different product (albeit similar in outward appearance) in the place of the original product.- Unfair to do a clean install from RC-7 to RTM-7. Please, think about it.
Unfair to do a clean install from RC-7 to RTM-7. Please, think about it.
It's not about fairness, it's about technical viability. What you are asking for is roughly this - you got a free prototype car which will work for 6 months or so. You are going to buy the production version of the car when it's available.... but you want the manufacturers to come along and change out ALL the parts in the prototype to make it the production model just because you can't be bothered to move your stuff out of the prototype and into the production car.
This is not meant to be rude, just an illustration of exactly what you are asking for. Yes it is that difficult.
Never ever approach a computer saying or even thinking "I will just do this quickly".
My hangouts Format and Reload or Windrivers- This keeps coming back to car analogies which is Hardware, this is obviously not. If I put in a beta Graphics Card or Processor in my machine, sure I can understand not being able to use the official release.Yes, I understand the technical aspects of it, and why it's difficult - that's not the main issue. And yes, I know the disclaimer is there - which is why I didn't install RC7. The issue is that if you're going to help out beta testing, you should be rewarded, not punished. rewarding does not mean a free upgrade, but it should at least not require you to rollback and lose settings first or be forced to purchase the full version, which from what zdnet and all the other sites out there (and Microsoft's own history) dictates will be at least $100 more expensive than the upgrade version.As Devil's Advocate (Microsoft Advocate?) though I will say this - READ before you download and install ANYTHING. This is why I didn't download it and why you shouldn't have either if this is your only PC. Hopefully MS will either not do a public RC/Beta of 8 or they will keep this in mind and allow for an upgrade.
- The files that make up an operating system are the physical pieces of that OS, just as the tires and transmission and horn and such are the physical pieces of a car. When changes to an operating system (any software for that matter, but an OS is much more complex than any single program) are made at the level of the source code, it has system wide effects when the code is recompiled. Many people seem to be looking at this as just a big update, but it couldn't be further from that in reality. When an update is made, a relatively small piece of final code is simply plugged into the existing final code, and nothing is recompiled. When software is compiled, each new file builds off of prior files. Changing one tiny aspect of a file early in the process can result in later files looking nothing at all like they did prior to that change. They still do the same task in the end, but the change to an earlier part of the process means those later things may have to go about it entirely differently in order to accomplish that same goal.
Obviously, when a new OS is being developed, it gets compiled and tested several times at different stages. Any time a new instance is compiled from source code it will by its very nature have some degree of incompatiblity with what was compiled from the prior source code. That incompatibility can range from very minor with only a glitch here and there to rendering the OS totally unable to even boot up. In a very simplistic but visual example, if a change in the way a program generates its icon is made, since the icon lives in the menu, in explorer, on the taskbar, on the desktop, etc., all those things have to be able to understand those icons. The source code will tell it to get this information then compile itself in a way that it can understand those icons. If the entire OS isn't recompiled, that simple little hypothetical change to the icon generation process could very easily result in every part of the OS that displays an icon throwing up a fatal error. It likely wouldn't just distort the icon, it may totally prevent that entire part of the OS from even functioning at all because it simply can't understand what it's being given to display. There is no doubt that a huge majority of files in the final version will have something in them that is different from prior versions. Even files totally unrelated to a minor change can be very different after the entire OS is recompiled, since each file builds off of others. Software doesn't have reasoning abilities - it only knows what it was compiled to know, and it can't be compiled to know everything or there would be no hard drives large enough to even install it.
If you don't like a car example, think of it more like the alphabet you use to communicate. If someone changes a few letters in the alphabet, you have to be retaught how to interpret the alphabet otherwise you lose the ability to communicate. Software is retaught by being recompiled. If the letter changes to your alphabet are extremely minor (let's now put 2 dots over an i instead of 1, for example), the learning curve is non-existent and you can even just go through all your books and manually correct it. That would be the equivalent of a patch. However, if several letters are changed, new ones added and some even deleted, you would not only have to sit down and learn all the changes, you would also have to throw your books away and get new ones. The changes made between developmental versions of an OS would certainly fall into that latter category, especially considering that the entire OS is recompiled between developmental versions.
The argument that maybe they shouldn't have public testing is perhaps a valid argument. No doubt many people don't realize exactly what they're getting into. And unlike you, many don't seem to have read the information that was given to them. It seems a large number of people think the RC is nothing more than a "free trial" of the software, when that is really not at all the case. And I highly doubt they will ever put upgrade abilities into a beta product. No one includes such an option in a product that is truly a mid-point developmental version, not even for projects much smaller than an entire OS. The likelihood of problems is just too great, and of course any problems would make the final product look flawed, rather than what may really be to blame - that being a corrupt file or two from trying to upgrade rather than just replace the whole thing. - I believe what many are complaining about is the necessity of having to back out of the RC to either Vista or XP, THEN upgrading.
Many of the existing upgrade packages will see that there is a viable OS already installed, an dif it is not one of the target existing OS levels will ask you for an original install media BEFORE it starts to erform a clean install. I have done this on numerous occasions with my "Upgrade" CD for Windows XP. I have never had to install Windows 98 before using the XP Upgrade disk: all I had to do was insert it to "prove" I have it.
I'm hoping this will be the case for the upgrade to Windows 7 Pro. - Yes, the necessity to reinstall an upgrade-qualifying OS is also a complaint in several threads here. That's not a new thing in its entirety, though. XP was the last Microsoft OS that would install by asking for a disk from a qualifying product. That changed with Vista, so while that's a new concept to those who stayed with XP and never upgraded to Vista, all those who made the Vista upgrade are already aware of that change. There was in fact a glitch in Vista that would allow you to install Vista twice, instead of XP then Vista, but if you didn't have a qualifying OS on your system, you still had to do two installs with a Vista upgrade.
From an eula point of view, that change is logical. If you own one computer with one copy of XP, using the old method that single copy of XP could be used to validate a Vista or Win 7 upgrade-only install on an unlimited number of newly built computers that have no original OS on them. That method in effect gave a user the ability to get all the new OS installs they wanted at only the upgrade price for each install - when they didn't really qualify for anything more than one at the reduced price. Now I'm not a fan of MS eula's by a long shot, but if there's anything we know about MS it's that they're going to get the amount of money they want by one means or another. That being the case, every person who used the "insert a disk to prove you own it" method to get more upgrades than they were entitled to only served to drive the cost up for everyone else. My copies of Windows are legitimate, and I don't mind that extra step to prove it if it keeps the overall cost down by preventing others from cheating the system. Okay at this point what I want to know is this..
1. I've NEVER used any version of Vista.
2. I have both a leagal copy of Windows Xp Home and Windows xp professional. Both 32 bit.
3. I purchased a new 64 bit computer and decided to go ahead and just do a complete install of Windows7 RC 64bit. No Upgrade to anything. A clean install on this new computer.
So. I also notice that the Win 7 RC I have on my system is the Ultimate Edition.
Now the questions.
I get it that I must basically wipe my hard drive.
But can I, just after doing so, install say... windows xp32 bit home version then (once purchased), upgrade it to the 64 bit Ultimate win 7? Or do I have to go out and buy the 64 bit Windows Professional and install it before I can upgrade to the 64 bit windows 7 Ultimate?
Talk about being confused after reading all this!
But I too was under the impression that a simple key could have been purchased to simplify the situation. But after some thought. a key purchase would do nothing for the pre programming which Microsoft implimented into the Windows 7 Ultimate RC version, that basically makes it shut down every hour once the time has run out.
Yes, I read where we'd have to do a format and backup. But all this stuff about us having to install some other version of windows first, then do an upgrade is a bit on the silly side. It's not all that much more coding (considering they have probably been working on Windows 7 for quite sometime already and, that they do have plenty of programmers in their coffle and certainly if need be, could hire more if needed, They make plenty of money to do so.) This thinking of: "lets just put it out there (even though it's not really ready), is something many software companies have as their buisness ethic now. It's all about that grab for money. Your money. It certainly fits into the thought of grab and run before they figure it out type of thinking.
I see nothing wrong with one of the great american ways of things. IE: "capitalism". But I see a whole lot wrong with Greed at the cost of the people/consumer. And in this, I see greed getting in the way of good quality for the consumer. Not saying that Windows 7 isn't a good OP sys,. but I am saying that Microsoft certainly could do a whole lot better for the consumer.
I saw no where, where Microsoft is going to offer a full install version. And that is something I think they should be offering, even if we do have to do a clean install.
- There will be full versions offered once it gets closer to release date. Of course the full versions don't get the discounted upgrade price (historically, they tend to run about $100 more than the upgrade versions). As far as your question about 32-bit XP, yes, it will qualify for the upgrade product. You do not need to get the 64-bit version of XP. From the desktop of XP, you'll just insert the upgrade disk and choose a custom install. It will remove XP from the system and install whichever version (32- or 64-bit) that you choose.
There will be full versions offered once it gets closer to release date. Of course the full versions don't get the discounted upgrade price (historically, they tend to run about $100 more than the upgrade versions). As far as your question about 32-bit XP, yes, it will qualify for the upgrade product. You do not need to get the 64-bit version of XP. From the desktop of XP, you'll just insert the upgrade disk and choose a custom install. It will remove XP from the system and install whichever version (32- or 64-bit) that you choose.
Thank you . That certainly clairifies things for me at least.- That's my case too, I'm very satisfied with windows 7 but, I don't want to format my machine and install all again.
- That's my case too, I'm very satisfied with windows 7 but, I don't want to format my machine and install all again.
http://www.microsoft.com/money/faq.mspx - If you upgrade from Vista, the activation will remain in place.... so if you want to keep using MS Money, then install Vista now and upgrade later.
Never ever approach a computer saying or even thinking "I will just do this quickly".
My hangouts Format and Reload or Windrivers- AWP69 I totally agree with your statements here.
ESPECIALLY, "Why does MS have to make this so complicated". - How is that different from upgrading from XP or Vista, which has different internals in the first place? I think if Microsift wants people to assist with BETA and RC testing, they better think of a way to appreciate the effort being done by the testers. Hey, I am not looking for a FREE hand-out as stated earlier, I just want to be able to do an upgrade without having to re-install everything else.
What do you say Microsoft? How is that different from upgrading from XP or Vista, which has different internals in the first place? I think if Microsift wants people to assist with BETA and RC testing, they better think of a way to appreciate the effort being done by the testers.
When any new version of an OS is built, it is built to understand the prior version. Vista was built to understand XP, just as Win 7 is being built to understand Vista. This is just for the purpose of making it upgradable - but it's not a small task to give it that knowledge. For that very reason, almost every modern OS made - even linux, which is incredibly easy to upgrade - only understands the one immediately prior actual version. To make it understand additional backwards versions would not only add time and expense to the production, but would also add a large amount to the bloat.
Now, to make it understand an intermediary version of itself would also add those very same aspects. You can imagine that it would easily take several months just to write the upgrade code from one version to another. If intermediary beta versions were upgradable, the first thing that would have to happen is delay the next release by several months just to write that code - and that delay would have to come at every step, and each step would also then add to the size of the final product. All said and done, beta testers are only a tiny fraction of the total user base. From a business point of view, there is no justification whatsoever to add time, expense and size to your product (that will then effect every user of that product) just to appease a group that comprises far less than 1% of your customers.
Specific to upgrading from beta code to release code, you also have to keep in mind that beta code is just chock full of debugging code. If you try to upgrade it, you get two options. Either you have to remove and replace every file - which means everything you would want in an upgrade is gone anyway (your settings, your installed software, etc.) and in reality you have a clean install. Or, alternatively, if you want to keep the knowledge in those files (your settings, programs, etc.) you have to actually keep those files. When you leave those files with outdated beta code, obsolete debugging code, etc. still in them, you are just asking for problems down the road. Your system will forever run slower than it would otherwise, as every time you click on something it's trying to run obsolete code that otherwise wouldn't be there in a clean install. You will very likely run into incompatibility problems somewhere, as some piece of obsolete debugging code will throw an error when you try to install something - and you'll never be able to install it because that code will always be there throwing that error. You may even encounter hardware issues, that again you will never be able to get past, as two different sets of instructions may be conflicting (one new set of instructions from a current driver, and a part of the OS that has old beta code and gives conflicting instructions).
No doubt people will find a way to force an install over top of the RC, and no doubt many of those same people will be back here screaming and yelling about what total ____ Win 7 is and how they were ripped off - when in reality they're the ones that caused their own problems.
No one - Microsoft is not alone in this - releases software that will upgrade over top of a beta of that software. You can't upgrade beta's of Realplayer, antivirus programs, email software - nothing - to the final product. The prior version always has to be removed. No company - again, not just Microsoft - is going to want the bad rap that their product will get if they allow it to actually upgrade to the final release, because it will bring problems with it - you can't bring the files forward without bringing the problems in those files with them.- You have answered these questions regarding not being able to upgrade from Windows 7 RC to the final version only as an
excuse for poor planning of the MS developement team. The updates that were sent out to all the testers from MS should have been integrated into a master copy of the final version of Windows 7. Once the code was completed with any final changes made, the master copy could have been sold as an upgradeable copy of the RC and installed on top of the RC with
minimum download time. But loading a clean version of this code will cause enormous problems for everyone who has
other applications installed that will have to be re-installed. MS should completely rebuild Windows 7 to load and read the computer registry and integrate itself to fit all application code already installed to prevent this catastrophy. You have answered these questions regarding not being able to upgrade from Windows 7 RC to the final version only as an
excuse for poor planning of the MS developement team. The updates that were sent out to all the testers from MS should have been integrated into a master copy of the final version of Windows 7. Once the code was completed with any final changes made, the master copy could have been sold as an upgradeable copy of the RC and installed on top of the RC with
minimum download time. But loading a clean version of this code will cause enormous problems for everyone who has
other applications installed that will have to be re-installed. MS should completely rebuild Windows 7 to load and read the computer registry and integrate itself to fit all application code already installed to prevent this catastrophy.
First of all beta code contains more code than final code, so there is no way for it to be "integrated into a master copy", unless you want the final version to contain all the debug code (makes the system run slower, prevents some software from installing, can prevent hardware from installing, etc.). That copy you want that can be installed on top of the RC simply cannot logically exist. Almost every single file will be different once that debug code is removed. Not to say it's impossible, but it's not logical. What you want is the functional equivalent of telling a car dealer you want a new car but you refuse to reprogram your radio and your intermittent windshield wiper speed settings and you demand they build an entirely new car around those two items from your existing car. It could be done, but you will not find anyone who will do it. The software program you want (something that can extract and recompile every setting and every possible piece of installed software, reconfigure it all to make it compatible with the final version, then place it all into that new OS) would take easily a couple years to write, would be absolutely huge in size and would likely cost several thousand dollars just to cover the expense of the software engineers who wrote it.
Beyond that, the RC was a disposable product all along, and that was made abundantly clear before you could even get to the download page. How much time, money and effort do you put into preserving something that you know you're going to throw away? How many hours do you spend planning how you're going to unwrap a gift to ensure the paper is fully intact, when all you're going to do with that paper anyway is throw it away? After all, you wouldn't want to poorly plan out how you're going to preserve your garbage would you, since you think MS shouldn't poorly plan how to preserve their disposable items (the RC).
If you followed the instructions, what catastrophe could you possibly have? First and foremost, you were warned not to install the software on any system that you have to rely on for any critical purpose. That being the case, there certainly is no critical software installed on your spare system that you can't do without, right? Or did you not follow that instruction? Beyond that, you can restore the backup the instructions told you to make before you installed the RC, and then you can install the final product on top of that restored backup as an upgrade from Vista - then you haven't lost any of your pre-installed software. Simply following that one little instruction would have completely avoided any problems anyone would have with losing all their pre-installed software. If there is a catastrophe, it's only because the user didn't follow the instructions. And remember, only a tiny fraction of MS customers use the beta products, so the overwhelming majority will not be impacted by this in any way whatsoever - which even further points out how illogical it is to demand that the RC be made fully compatible for an upgrade, when in reality it only has a handful of users. And people who routinely use beta products already know it ALWAYS works this way. No matter what company is putting out what beta product one thing is always the same - you have to wipe it out when you install the final product.- •Upgrades and the Win7 Release Candidate. If you're among the millions who downloaded and tried the Windows 7 Release Candidate, you won't have to reinstall Windows XP or Vista if you use the cheaper upgrade version of Win7. If you've got a Release Candidate setup that you've activated, the Win7 upgrade disk will see it and proceed. However, if you later need to reinstall Windows 7 on a clean drive using that upgrade disk, you first must install and activate a copy of either Windows XP or Vista.
straight from the horses mouth- Proposed As Answer byeasye609 Tuesday, July 28, 2009 6:07 PM
- Engelsstaub: I don't know who you are on the bully pulpit for but your thinking about the goodness of MS is so heart touching. They care-less about we testers or the total labour the converters to Win 7 will have to go through to get
their system back together because MS developers did not create an upgrade from the RC. If MS had any thouight about doing something for the testors of Win 7, they would have allowed them to purchase the $49. Home Premium upgrade of
the RC at least through August instead of cutting it off on July 11. Why July 11? Because of the money. They thought they
would lose money. And how do you think people like me feel when I have spent 2-3 days a week since last December 2008 helping these goons debug this code, I go on vacation the last of June and come back in July only to find I get no benefit
for all the work I have done. What a bunce of sorry*** these people are. - easye609: I don't know which horse you got this information from but I hope it is correct. This would solve most problems
for those who would upgrade from RC7 to Win7 Home Premium with the Win7 Home Premium upgrade. But how that would
work for those wanting to go from RC7 to the Ultimate or Pro Versions using the corresponding upgrade would be purely
speculation for me. Anyone out there know the answer? Okay I've let this lay long enough now.
"If you've but one PC there is the matter of creating a small partition to test Windows 7. This is not at all difficult as I've done it entirely myself and probably am way less computer savvy than most about these forums."
Okay well here's the other part of what you say. I HAVE A CHOICE! If my plan is/was to not do an added partition, then it was and is my choice to do or not do so and all the banter about being able to do it is mote. I had my reasons for doing it the way I did and they are good reasons and not a thing about how I put something on my system is of any concern of yours or anyone else's anyway. I shared what I felt and that was enough, as did you.
The issue was not about if you could do this or that. The issue was and still is the feeling of betrayal.
While in my original letter here, I did have a bit of wrong information, it still comes down to that of "we the people" were not looking for anything free, but rather thought and were even lead to believe, that by installing this Win RC7 we were indeed helping and yes, in doing so, we got a good glance of the new and upcoming OPS. And like you, I too am grateful for that part of it. But, as usual, what we are witnessing here in this issue, is big business trying to put something on the market before it's really ready in hopes of a comeback from what I and countless others feel was a complete failure with all the vista versions. Though I have no numbers, I will step out on a limb and comment that I think Microsoft lost big revenue with Vista.There is no way that any one can tell me and have me believe that, while in the process of creating this new Win7 operating system, that those powers that be, had a lapse of brain activity and simply forgot that they could easily program an upgrade from their trial RC7 during the process. No doubt that one of those brain processes did look at it and figure in cost cuts and perhaps in this area is one area they decided to do it.
There is a saying/clichés' that "you can't make the people happy all the time" and as is witness in this forum, this saying rings true.
But come on! I do a little on the side programming too and in no way can I compete with the brains of the programmers of Microsoft. However, knowing the little that I do know of programming, it would not be that hard (during the creation) to implement upgrade programming.
All in all, I have enjoyed Win RC7. And while when compared to system resource use with that of Win XP Professional, this Win 7 is a complete resource pig, however it has proven and does work flawlessly with only a few beginning bobbles. For that part, I give a thumbs up to Microsoft.
For betrayal or the feeling that we the people got from it... lets just say in the area of good customer relationship Microsoft; you might want to look into it a bit deeper and try not to leave confusing or misdirection into your ploy. You did say that we would have to do a wipe and reinstall and that was honest. But really, you know you could have done better and so do we.
- Okay I believe I had gotten an e-mail at some point that was offering we, the rc 7 installers, a discounted price for when Windows 7 hits the fan. However for the life of me, I can't find that e-mail (might be in my old computer).
The ultimate version pricing is $219.99 USD. Sure would like the discount. Anyone know where that page is? Or is it/was just a promotional and is over? - Tony: Yes it was a promotion for $49.99 which ended July 11, 2009. A lot of the testers missed the cutoff.
- Hi there! - I am about to a new PC with 12 gig RAM and am dying to install my Photoshop CS4 and starting working in 64 bit with full RAM access.
That said, aside from the $$ - the software installation on a new PC will take hours if not days.
My hardware vendor told me that I could install the RC7 on my computer, Xfer Files and Settings from my working Vista machine and later buy the full version of Windows 7 and to a "Repair" install.
He said all applications and settings would remain working on my (semi-new) Windows 7 machine.
BUT if this doesn't work, I've lost the integrity of the data that I've transferred from the Vista machine.
Will this work: Can I do an upgrade using the "repair" feature?
Frankly I don't know how anyone can say that this work, considering that since the final version is out, no one can have tried this.
Is there away to get to work now with Windows7 and not have to totally start over 2 months from now?
Advice/Comments?- Proposed As Answer byinformationau Thursday, August 20, 2009 4:56 AM
- Thank God, for Leopard on an Apple Mac!
Everything flows from one stream to another, with little, or no hiccups. Operating systems relate and communicate with other operating systems, (including Linux and Windows).
Ce la vie!
I like using Windows7; and it is certainly better than Vista, and it is a quantum leap far past XP, but XP was good in itself, as being easily manipulated for the operator/user, and while Vista flowed somewhat more smoothly than XP, it was really never as good as Windows7 was, or ever will be.
Why Leopard?
I build and repair all types of computers, Linux, Apple and Windows machines; and as far as machine compatibility and repair points go, Macs are far in advance of Windows.
Loading Linux takes less time than either Apple or Windows, and many Linux systems allow the use of a LiveCD trial. (I hope Microsoft reads this!!!)
Explore the possibilities before deciding on the path that you want to take. Remember that it is always possible to turn around and backtrack along the way, then take another turning on the information superhighway.
Windows may be clear, but there are other avenues to explore.- Proposed As Answer byinformationau Thursday, August 20, 2009 5:05 AM
- So we, that installed RC 7 and who missed that date of before July 11 are basically S.O.L? We just have to wait for it to now show up on the store shelves now and pay retail? No more discount?
- Well said. I agree.
- Hi Carey Frisch:
I am one confused Windows user.
I have W7 RC installed on my machine.
When I receive the CD final version on October, will I be able to simply do a clean install over the RC?
Thank You - Yes, you will have to do a complete new installation. boot up on the new CD and go from there. it will keep what it needs and will install. BUT most of your programs and settings will have to be re-installed. Also don't be supprised if things like sound and video are not working correctly, untill it is all finished and it starts to get all the updates. Micxrosoft and The Windows 7 group have a very large data base for drivers, and when things are not working right away, allow your system to do alot of updates, and you will be supprised that things will now start working. Good luck.
- You the first comment I have read that the October W7 upgrade will work directly from a boot. That is what I had hoped for.
Thanks.
KI6BO - could have got another drive to install the rc even if it was an external
- You didn't HAVE to do a clean install from Beta to RC, however, the reasons why you were strongly advised to do a clean install rather than an overwrite would seem to be foolish to ignore.
THe same reasons apply (AIUI) to the RC to final version changeover - do a clean install and save the agony.
Dave
Dave - I have tried RC1 because of problems with Vista. Because I did not purchase Vista directly from MS I do not qualify for support. I had to do a clean install to go back to Vista(which promptly crashed again after 3 days) and went back to Win7. Win7 takes some getting used to but is not worth the headache of a clean install to Vista. Wait for the 'money' version.
- I understand the retail price will be $159.00. If you can buy in the military exchanges it will be $99.00
- The same could be said in upgrading from any previous operating system.
Microsoft changed things by releasing RC as an usable operating system.
I would imagine and "upgrade" from RC would be like an upgrade from Vista.
All the appropriate drivers will be replaced by current ones.
In fact the RC was so good most of us have installed (at Microsofts urging and to all our benefits), many programs, to be sure that Windows 7 is compatable.
I am not about to reinstall 30+ programs, there is no way that can be done in less than 4-5 hours, and an upgrade from RC should take no more than an hour. - There seems to be a lot of these questions. So as I just finished telling some one else, you CAN upgrade from RC or Beta to the Final following this guide:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/3075/how-to-upgrade-the-windows-7-rc-to-rtm/
But, as it says in the bottom of this article, since the RC and Beta were Ultimate editions, you can only upgrade to an Ultimate final edition of Windows 7. So if you want Home Premium or Professional, you'll need to backup and re-install. Because who wants to pay 100$ more for just Bit Locker and "Ultimate extras", I'd just get Professional.- Proposed As Answer byReiflexx Wednesday, October 28, 2009 10:12 AM
- "Microsoft changed things by releasing RC as an usable operating system."
There we differ. ISTM in this day and age an operating system cannot be allowed to connect to internet if it doesn't have a viable and effective security package. W7 Beta and early RC1 did not, so any internet testing by users had to have been done through swarms of virus's, trojans and every other sort of sewer rat. Not a lot of useful product testing there!
Secondly, realising it's too late for 7, but the user upgrade process is a shambles and needs extensive refinement. I accept that a clean install of a new system might be required, but the means of transferring applications is not good enough and assumes a level of technical interest (never mind skill) on behalf of the user which is simply not available.
I don't care if it radiantly logical, beautifully architectured and wonderfully complete; is it simply and easy to do by the bloke who doesn't give a whatsit if Mr Gates lives, dies or rots in ____, can he do it for himself?
Maybe I'm being simple, but if I have the product keys for two operating systems and the application programs are compatible with both, why can't I have a piece of simple transfer s/w?
Hey, but 7's great tho', isn't it?
Dave
Dave "Microsoft changed things by releasing RC as an usable operating system."
There we differ. ISTM in this day and age an operating system cannot be allowed to connect to internet if it doesn't have a viable and effective security package. W7 Beta and early RC1 did not, so any internet testing by users had to have been done through swarms of virus's, trojans and every other sort of sewer rat. Not a lot of useful product testing there!
Secondly, realising it's too late for 7, but the user upgrade process is a shambles and needs extensive refinement. I accept that a clean install of a new system might be required, but the means of transferring applications is not good enough and assumes a level of technical interest (never mind skill) on behalf of the user which is simply not available.
I don't care if it radiantly logical, beautifully architectured and wonderfully complete; is it simply and easy to do by the bloke who doesn't give a whatsit if Mr Gates lives, dies or rots in ____, can he do it for himself?
Maybe I'm being simple, but if I have the product keys for two operating systems and the application programs are compatible with both, why can't I have a piece of simple transfer s/w?
Hey, but 7's great tho', isn't it?
Dave
Dave
Hit the nail on the head with this one, I couldn't agree more!
It should be a case of, insert the disk, run the upgrade, insert previous OS product keys or disk to prove eligibility, all programs/files remain in place (regardless of what the previous OS was), job done! This is what Jo Public expects, but not what Microsoft delivered. Microsoft seems to think everyone in the world is tech-savvy and able to jump through countless hoops to get to Win7. How wrong are they!
- Proposed As Answer byststevenson007 Thursday, November 05, 2009 3:59 PM
Microsoft seems simply to hate its customers. MS doesn't just exploit its customers, it pushes their face in the pavement.
"It should be a case of, insert the disk, run the upgrade, insert previous OS product keys or disk to prove eligibility, all programs/files remain in place (regardless of what the previous OS was), job done! This is what Jo Public expects, but not what Microsoft delivered. Microsoft seems to think everyone in the world is tech-savvy and able to jump through countless hoops to get to Win7. How wrong are they!"There seems to be a lot of these questions. So as I just finished telling some one else, you CAN upgrade from RC or Beta to the Final following this guide:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/3075/how-to-upgrade-the-windows-7-rc-to-rtm/
But, as it says in the bottom of this article, since the RC and Beta were Ultimate editions, you can only upgrade to an Ultimate final edition of Windows 7. So if you want Home Premium or Professional, you'll need to backup and re-install. Because who wants to pay 100$ more for just Bit Locker and "Ultimate extras", I'd just get Professional.
www.howtogeek.com has a lot of answers that Microsoft doesn't want you to know or doesn't know itself. I found this out when the 'Official' Microsoft propaganda didn't fix my PC's Hibernation function. HowToGeek's solution solved my problem, NOT Microsoft! Because MS says this IS the answer doesn't mean it's YOUR answer. Microsoft is in business to make MONEY, not friends!!! You CAN upgrade from the RC Ultimate, BUT, ONLY to a Windows 7 Ultimate. It's not worth the extra money to me. Maybe you can afford it, I can't.There seems to be a lot of these questions. So as I just finished telling some one else, you CAN upgrade from RC or Beta to the Final following this guide:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/3075/how-to-upgrade-the-windows-7-rc-to-rtm/
But, as it says in the bottom of this article, since the RC and Beta were Ultimate editions, you can only upgrade to an Ultimate final edition of Windows 7. So if you want Home Premium or Professional, you'll need to backup and re-install. Because who wants to pay 100$ more for just Bit Locker and "Ultimate extras", I'd just get Professional.
www.howtogeek.com has a lot of answers that Microsoft doesn't want you to know or doesn't know itself. I found this out when the 'Official' Microsoft propaganda didn't fix my PC's Hibernation function. HowToGeek's solution solved my problem, NOT Microsoft! Because MS says this IS the answer doesn't mean it's YOUR answer. Microsoft is in business to make MONEY, not friends!!! You CAN upgrade from the RC Ultimate, BUT, ONLY to a Windows 7 Ultimate. It's not worth the extra money to me. Maybe you can afford it, I can't.
Actually you can upgrade from the RC to any Windows 7 retail version. See here ! Google is your friend, but Microsoft isn't :)
Of course, this is not recommended or supported by Microsoft, so you do this at your own risk!- micro999 wrote:
>
>
> Microsoft seems simply to hate its customers. MS doesn't just exploit
> its customers, it pushes their face in the pavement.
>
> "It should be a case of, insert the disk, run the upgrade, insert
> previous OS product keys or disk to prove eligibility, all
> programs/files remain in place (regardless of what the previous OS was),
> job done! This is what Jo Public expects, but not what Microsoft
> delivered. Microsoft seems to think everyone in the world is tech-savvy
tless hoops to get to Win7. How wrong are
> they!"
>
Umm no, they don't hate their customers. They just expect if you are
going to run BETA software that you are tech-savvy enough to know what
you are doing. There are MANY people that were running the RC or earlier
that honestly had no business doing so because they didn't understand
what they were running. They just saw "free windows 7" and jumped on it
without understanding that they were TESTING the software and that it
WOULD have bugs, crash, wipe out data, etc... then get all mad when it
glitched and lost something. Then they get all mad when they try to
simply put the Final Product version over the RC or a beta and then
can't understand why the computer is acting odd, then they blame MS for
putting out a buggy product. Nope, its their fault for not RTFM. - I tried 7RC because Vista kept crashing and MS didn't have any answers.
I tried 7RC because Vista kept crashing and MS didn't have any answers.
Nod... and while I didn't use vista due to all the horror stories I had heard, I stayed with winxp 32bit. Got a new 64 bit puter though and decided to try RC7 on it, since it was a clean computer. But I will not be installing the new operating full version wof win 7 in any form. WHY! Cost! pure and simple. I'm not paying 150 bucks just so I can downgrade to professional windows 7 instead or the $200.00 + for Ultamate. Instead, I'll just buy a new copy of win xp pro 64 for 75 dollors and be done with it. No biggy, since both will require a full wipe of my hard drive to install anyway. I wouldn't dare try to follow the upgrade procedures. I'd stand a good chance in doing that, of messing something up. It's easy enough to just copy what files I want to keep to an external hard drive and wipe the main computers hard drive and reinstall.
Yes Microsoft, you have a decent Operating sysytem, but this customer isn't going to be jumping through hoops for it or you, nor am I going to even think of paying that price for it. It might even be time to seriously start looking at Apples Mac. Good luck, there are people of which money is of no concern, but this Joe public watches my pennies. I have to in these days and times. Even if I do make 1k a week atm it could change at a moments notice to be far less for me.micro999 wrote:
>
>
> Microsoft seems simply to hate its customers. MS doesn't just exploit
> its customers, it pushes their face in the pavement.
>
> "It should be a case of, insert the disk, run the upgrade, insert
> previous OS product keys or disk to prove eligibility, all
> programs/files remain in place (regardless of what the previous OS was),
> job done! This is what Jo Public expects, but not what Microsoft
> delivered. Microsoft seems to think everyone in the world is tech-savvy
tless hoops to get to Win7. How wrong are
> they!"
>
Umm no, they don't hate their customers. They just expect if you are
going to run BETA software that you are tech-savvy enough to know what
you are doing. There are MANY people that were running the RC or earlier
that honestly had no business doing so because they didn't understand
what they were running. They just saw "free windows 7" and jumped on it
without understanding that they were TESTING the software and that it
WOULD have bugs, crash, wipe out data, etc... then get all mad when it
glitched and lost something. Then they get all mad when they try to
simply put the Final Product version over the RC or a beta and then
can't understand why the computer is acting odd, then they blame MS for
putting out a buggy product. Nope, its their fault for not RTFM.
No RC 7 wasn't a "beta" version? By the time RC7 was able to be downloaded, the bugs had been pretty much done away with. In fact I did not run anything but the last version of RC7 and am still running it and it has been flaw free. So noo you're wrong in your guess that everyone that downloaded rc7 is computer savvy. Installing a program on a computer is hardly rocket science. It's simply a matter of clicking a mouse button for the most part. If the software is done well that is. Yes, one needs to be a bit savvy for an early beta version, but then again, Microsoft didnt' offer that version to just everyone like they did RC7.
Yeah as stated. The price is too high and I don't' care waht anyone says otherwise. Microsoft could have made installation a lot better and should have. There is no excuse for a multi Billion dollar company to be taking such short cuts as they did this time. Wrong is wrong, and complacency, excuse making and pointing the finger at the wrong side or individual/s should never be a final answer.
- There seem to be lots of references to car buying so... If I traded in my old car, and test drove a new one, I would still want credit for my old car! I don't want a free car but at least a legitimate trade offer would be nice. They offer this feature with radios, tvs, hard drives, dvdburners, game software, virtually every tangible retail item out there has a trade in upgrade offer. Even your PC if you bought a system bundle can be traded up with the manufacturer. In the instance of MS7, we are supposed to feel as though our feeble intellects cannot fathom how difficult it would be to legitimize the RC, or even use the upgrade from it rather than a full install. If MS was offering to let us trade in our XP for a discount cool, I did that with my playstation! One and Two! And a phillips radio! And I just upgraded 2 80gb ide harddrives with seagate for 500gb sata's for 60$. I don't think anyone expected a freebie for letting MS test their product on us(another imperfection in the above analogies, we were not the ones getting a test drive!), however the common courtesy of a reach-around would have been in order. I know that in tech forums you run the risk of some dungeon master with a god complex thinking he has proved you know less than him, but this is common sense from a consumer standpoint not a tech debate. I don't care how it works but I shouldn't pay full price for the new one since I traded in my old one and helped them test market the new one. That only requires consumer knowledge not the technical expertise to say how many things must be done. In order to offer a discount for the rc users it would require what technical jibber-jabber? None.
- Hello Chris! Upgrading RC to RTM is possible. Infact it's very easy! Microsoft is only teasing you! Here is the link: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/3075/how-to-upgrade-the-windows-7-rc-to-rtm/
Best wishes: Tomi R.
