Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade

  • Windows 7 Home Premium (includes 32-bit & 64-bit versions) makes it easy to create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music–you can even watch, pause, rewind, and record TV
  • Make the things you do every day easier with improved desktop navigation
  • Start programs faster and more easily, and quickly find the documents you use most often
  • Make your web experience faster, easier and safer than ever with Internet Explorer 8
  • Easily create a home network and connect your PCs to a printer with HomeGroup

Product Description
If you’re already running XP or Vista, you probably know some of the many benefits of being a Windows user. Now, with the Upgrade Version of the latest Windows edition, you can get current with all the best new and classic features of the world’s most popular operating system, all without paying the full price for the new version.Amazon.com Product Description
Upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium. Windows 7 Home Premium makes it easy to create a home network … More >>

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade

5 thoughts on “Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade”

  1. I’ll admit, I’ve been running Windows 7 for six months now: the preproduction version of it and have just upgraded to the gold code. So I have quite a bit of experience with the operating system. Let’s get to the nitty gritty:

    Should you upgrade from Windows Vista? YES! I mean it – upgrade today.

    Windows 7 is quite simply faster, more stable, boots faster, goes to sleep faster, comes back from sleep faster, manages your files better and on top of that it’s beautiful to look at and easy to use. Even the preproduction version of Windows 7 was better than my Vista with SP2.

    Should you upgrade from Windows XP? Maybe, but for different reasons.

    XP is a good operating system and if you don’t need to add new hardware or software, XP is good. However, XP is old as an operating system. Also chances are that if you’re running XP, you might not meet the minimum requirements for Windows 7 – check the compatibility site at Microsoft to see if your system will support Windows 7. That said, Windows 7 is light years ahead of Windows XP in terms of functionality, ease of use, etc – to me it’s worth buying a new system.

    64 bit or 32 bit?

    If you don’t know what I’m talking about, that’s ok skip this section. If you have a core2 duo or core 2 quad or a multi cpu machine, go with the 64 bit OS, it handles memory and the CPUs much better. If you have a single core CPU, one CPU or run special programs that require 32bit, then stick with 32 bit for now.

    BEFORE INSTALLATION:

    I recommend you have:

    -a core 2 duo or core 2 quad machine

    -4gig of RAM (That’s about $50 in today’s market)

    -good hard drive with (200 gig – it doesn’t need that much but that’s another $50)

    -back up your files to a USB drive like Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDME5000TN (Midnight Black)

    -check to make sure your computer is compatible with Windows 7

    INSTALLATION:

    Installation was very straight forward. You put in the CD and reboot your machine. You might have to enter your bios and enable the “boot from CD” option. Once the machine reboots a nice screen comes up to guide you through the installation. You have the option to upgrade your PC or do a clean installation. I did an upgrade and it brought in all of my files and settings from my windows Vista system. It worked great.

    The upgrade did take about 2 hours for me so definitely consider.

    I noticed that early on in the installation the operating system went out to Microsoft’s site to look for the latest and greatest updates, so I think this should help Microsoft respond quickly to any hiccups with compatibility.

    WHAT DOESN’T WORK:

    The driver from my old HP Inkjet printer for 2001 doesn’t work on Windows 7 so there are some things that will not transition. I had to use a generic HP driver which doesn’t give me the quality that I got from an injet – so overall, I’m up and running with that printer but I’m degraded on the inkjet front. That said, I recently upgraded to a HP CP2025DN Color LaserJet Printer that I love so no real loss there. I’ll likely pick up a cheap inkjet for the occasional photo that I might need to print. Everything else upgraded.

    BENEFITS

    -faster boot time

    -faster go to sleep

    -faster wakeup

    -faster about 20% to 30% faster at running applications than my Vista – seriously (but those are my results without any benchmarks or anything like that, just seeing how fast Adobe Illustrator loads, and how fast all the applications respond)

    -joining wireless networks is much easier

    -the interface is just plain beautiful

    -my wallpapers are now a slideshow that can be set to change every few minutes (I’m not stuck with the same picture)

    -Gadgets – these are wonderful little small applications that you can drag onto your desktop. I have a weather gadget and a calendar gadget on my desktop that tell me

    -Better taskbar management – hovering over the taskbar icons shows me mini windows of what’s running

    -Better file management – I can organize my files into Libraries that are sortable not only by type but by folder or other data. It’s great! I can browse through my presentations or illustrator files!

    -Windows Media appears to be smoother which I love.

    -You get some virus protection and firewall with Windows 7 but consider something more comprehensive like McAfee Total Protection 3User 2010. Yes, it’ll make your computer run a bit slower but

    CONS:

    – Some older programs might not work and some drivers might not be available like my inkjet driver.

    – Other than that, there aren’t too many drawbacks to Windows 7 – it’s a great OS.

    WHICH VERSION SHOULD I GET?

    I got the ultimate version because I have clients who ask, “is your hard drive encrypted?” — I wanted to be able to say yes and have sensitive data encrypted one of my computer volumes – Bitlocker is only available in the Ultimate version. Ultimate also includes Multilanguage support.

    If you’re a home user that doesn’t do a lot of networking, you might consider just the home premium edition. If you’re using a laptop and connect to networks at work, you might want the Professional version of the operating system to help you with domain joining. Also Windows Professional gives you the option to run applications in XP mode so if you have old applications you can use that nifty feature. I already have 1 application running in XP mode – it’s nifty to run an old application.

    NOTE:

    The box contains both the 32 bit and 64 bit OS.

    OVERALL:

    It’s very hard to write a comprehensive review on an entire operating system so I didn’t even try – I’m sure magazines will devote entire articles to the operating system and several books will come out. My goal here is just to give everyone a glimpse of what I’ve found to date with this new OS. I do hope this has helped you in making a decision.

    Hats off to Microsoft on Windows 7. It’s more of a refined Windows Vista than an entirely new operating system but it was needed. Thank you.

    Rating: 5 / 5

  2. Windows 7 Home Premium is the best version to choose for older machines and/or simpler networks. The “Backup” offered in 7 Pro can be done easily with free tools, and unless you need complex networking, 7 has what it takes to manage a home network. Last, the ‘XP Mode’ promised in 7 Pro and above will only work on hardware new enough to support “Virtualization Technology” (stop by Microsoft’s website to learn more). This isn’t the same as “XP Compatibility Mode”, which you will still have for all versions of Windows 7 (there’s a great video explanation of this on CNET’s website in their Windows 7 Center at CNET TV).

    Some very important things you need to know about upgrading:

    1) There are two types of upgrade: “in-place” (where a Vista machine upgrades to 7 and you get to keep all your programs) and “clean” (where you lose all your old programs and settings).

    2) Anyone going from XP to 7 will have to go “clean”.

    3) Anyone going from a different Vista to 7 (for example, Vista Home to 7 Pro, or Vista Ultimate to 7 Home) will also have to go “clean”.

    If you have to do 2) or 3), all is not lost–I’ll explain in a moment.

    Before you even buy 7 for your machine, stop by Microsoft’s website for two things:

    a) download and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. Run it with every device connected to the machine that you’ll ever want to use in 7. It’ll thoroughly examine your machine for any roadblocks and give you good advice about upgrading.

    b) Go to the Windows 7 Compatibility Center and double-check anything that came up negative in the Upgrade Advisor (or didn’t show up at all). This site lists detailed compatibility info on a LOT of different devices.

    Anything major, like a video card or sound card driver, I’d recommend double-checking with the manufacturer’s website to be sure. This almost burned me on two of the machines that I upgraded.

    Last, make a backup. There’s a free tool called Macrium Reflect that can do this for you.

    Do you have to do a “clean” install, but just want to carry over your user accounts and settings? Microsoft makes a program called Windows Easy Transfer that’s already in Vista (and can be downloaded from Microsoft for XP) that will export your accounts and settings and let you import them back again. It’s very easy to use and does a good job of putting your accounts back together again, even going from XP to 7.

    Do you have to do the “clean” install, and you don’t want to reinstall all your programs? Laplink has an offer for $19.95 that will let you use a special version of their program “PC Mover” to upgrade one machine one time. Read the documentation in detail.

    The most important thing to doing a “clean” install is that in the Upgrade setup you choose “Custom”. Windows will take all of your major files and place them in a folder called “Windows.old”. PC Mover and the Easy Transfer program will use this folder to reconstruct your system from, so this is VERY important.

    I wish I had more space to go into detail here…bottom line is, if you plan ahead a bit, upgrading to 7 will go very easily (and if it doesn’t, you’ll have something to fall back on).
    Rating: 4 / 5

  3. I have now installed this on 3 Vista computers, and I must say that the result is underwhelming. By now, we can expect computer journalists to hype any Windows release; and to certain extent they are right – 7 does work better, but not that much better or differently from Vista if you have installed all updates and security releases from Microsoft. I had to uninstall anti-virus and selected other programs, some of which did not have listings in the “Programs and Features” Control Panel section. All of my upgrades took 2 to 3 hours; journalists claiming 45 minute upgrade times must not have had many programs installed on their computers. Once programs identified as potential problems had been removed, the upgrades completed uneventfully; and it works OK once installed.

    Value-wise, I think that the single computer upgrade is a loser for Vista users at current price levels. If you have two or more computers, the Home Premium 3-computer “family” upgrade is borderline. I will pass judgement on XP once I upgrade my one remaining XP computer. Honestly, this is what should have been the Vista release; so we have paid top dollar for Vista, then close to top dollar for an incremental upgrade. Meanwhile, Apple is charging $29 for the OS X Snow Leopard upgrade ($49 for 5 computers!). That’s probably the right price for this Win 7 upgrade. If users ignore the hype and wait a bit, I suspect that the price for single computer upgrades may drop like a rock.
    Rating: 3 / 5

  4. Here comes Windows 7, nearly three years after Windows Vista and eight years after Windows XP. By most accounts, Windows 7 is what Vista should have been. Do we finally have a worthy successor to XP?

    ** CLEAN UPGRADE UPDATE BELOW 10/29/09 **

    PRO’s:

    – Fast startup and performance

    – Stable

    – Nice aesthetic and functional changes to the desktop

    – Improved networking, power management & security

    – 32-bit & 64-bit versions included

    – Windows Media Center

    – Windows XP Mode (Professional & Ultimate only)

    CON’s:

    – User Account Control still annoying

    – Upgrade can be challenging

    – Expensive

    ** CLEAN UPGRADE UPDATE 10/29/09 **

    It seems that a lot of upgraders have been complaining about the upgrade process, especially from XP. Most of us expected to be able to format our hard disks and be prompted for either the XP disc or product key. Alas, this is not the case. The upgrade is much more complicated than it should be and some workarounds have been discovered

    Method A (simplest)

    If you already have an older version of Windows on the hard drive, finish the Custom Install, without entering the product key. After installation, go to your System Properties and click the link to activate Windows. Enter your product key and it should activate. This has worked for me twice.

    Method B (hardest)

    If Method A doesn’t work, try the registry hack.

    1. Finish the custom install without entering the product key then click Start and type regedit.exe into the “Search programs and files” box.

    2. In the registry, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup/OOBE/. In the pane on the right, you’ll see an entry for MediaBootInstall. Double-click on it and change the value from “1” to “0” and click OK.

    3. Close regedit and go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories then right-click on Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator.” You’ll get a UAC alert, click Yes.

    4. At the command prompt, type: slmgr /rearm and hit Enter. Reboot.

    5. Now try to activate. If it fails, make sure there are no pending Windows Updates to install. If there is, install them, reboot and start over from Step 4.

    Method C (most time consuming)

    Perform the Custom Install and skip the product key. Once completed, run the upgrade again from within Windows 7 but this time, enter the Windows 7 upgrade key and then activate Windows.

    ** END UPDATE **

    I had been running the Windows 7 release candidate for 3 months and the full version 2 weeks before official release date. The experience convinced me to finally upgrade my Windows XP systems to 7. This review briefly touches upon some of the key features and enhancements of Microsoft’s latest OS.

    PERFORMANCE & STABILITY

    One of the welcome enhancements Microsoft made was start-up time. The shutdown time has been improved as well. Also, in my non-benchmarked experience, Windows 7 has been at least as fast as XP if not faster. The kernel changes and ability to run the 64-bit version probably has a lot to do with that. Most benchmarks from around the Internet seem to support my observations.

    64-BIT

    I am elated to finally upgrade to a 64-bit operating system in order to take advantage of more memory support and modern processors. I have Intel Core 2 Duo processors in both my systems with 4GB of physical RAM but XP only allowed 3.25GB for system use.

    DESKTOP

    At first login, you’ll notice the changes to the taskbar. The taskbar is no longer just a place to store quick launch icons and view open windows. It now provides functionality in the form of Jump Lists, which allow you to select your most frequently opened files or links from the apps you have “pinned” on the taskbar. The clock and calendar are improved and the Show Desktop icon is now integrated in the far right corner. Other desktop enhancements include Aero Peek, Aero Shake, Snap, new themes and wallpapers. You also get gadget support. All of these features combine to create a much improved and enjoyable desktop experience.

    LIBRARIES

    Windows 7 introduces a new feature called libraries. Previously, your system had shortcuts to My Documents, My Music, My Pictures, etc. which had files residing in only those specific folders. Files can now reside anywhere on your system and be organized inside libraries. It’s similar to how many music and photo applications organize files.

    NETWORKING

    Even as good as XP was, networking was cumbersome. Windows 7 makes connecting two or more Windows 7 systems together easy, using HomeGroup. This enables easy sharing of files and devices. One downside is that HomeGroup is only supported between Windows 7 systems. File transfer performance between computers has been vastly improved and connecting to a wireless network has never been easier on a Windows machine.

    SECURITY

    Security in Windows 7 is good and comes with Windows Firewall and Defender. Still, you’ll probably want to invest in a more comprehensive Internet security suite, like Norton. User Account Control (UAC) has been tweaked in order to give user accounts more flexibility in controlling their own security as well as providing more detailed information so the user can make better decisions about whether to allow certain actions. Coming from XP however, it is still annoying. Also, in Windows 7 Ultimate, you can encrypt entire hard drives as well as external portable storage devices, like USB thumb drives. Though this is a welcome integrated feature, much of the functionality can be found in a popular open-source program called TrueCrypt.

    POWER MANAGEMENT

    Power management has been improved overall and you should be able to squeeze more battery life out of your laptop, even when using your DVD drive. Sleep and resume has also been improved. XP wasn’t always consistent when entering or resuming from sleep mode, but Windows 7 has been perfect.

    WINDOWS MEDIA CENTER

    I’ve only briefly played around with WMC but it looks promising. It has some fun options for media, especially when you’re connected to the Internet. It may even be an adequate replacement for component DVR’s should you choose to use it as the centerpiece to your entertainment center. The biggest advantage for me is that Windows 7 now includes a DVD decoder. This means that I can now watch DVD’s natively. WMC is available in all Windows 7 editions except Starter.

    WINDOWS XP MODE

    For applications that ran in XP, but won’t on 7, there is now XP Mode. It isn’t perfect and your system has to have virtualization support and turned on. Go to your system BIOS to check. If supported, then install Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode. Check your hardware if you intend to use XP Mode. XP Mode is available in Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate editions.

    RECOMMENDATION

    If you’re an XP holdout, like I was, I recommend upgrading. Vista SP2 users may have less reason to upgrade but might want to just for the changes to the taskbar and the UAC improvements. For users who don’t need to use their computers in a corporate environment, then Windows 7 Home Premium edition is a good choice. If you decide on Windows 7 Home Premium and need to upgrade more than one PC, I recommend Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade Family Pack, which is an excellent deal. I’m guessing most power users will choose Professional. I suggest a clean install for best results. If you’re a Mac OS X user, there is probably nothing in Windows 7 compelling enough for you to consider switching.

    SUMMARY

    Windows 7 is the premium Microsoft OS that Windows users have been waiting for. It’s fast, secure, stable, visually appealing and fun to use. Windows 7 will make your old system feel fresh and new again. New system owners with Windows 7 pre-loaded can feel confident that they’re getting the best Windows OS ever produced.
    Rating: 4 / 5

  5. I have been using Windows 7 Ultimate for a few weeks now. I have also used Windows 7 Premium. All in all, I think Microsoft did a really good job.

    Here’s what I like about Windows 7:

    – Driver Support: I didn’t have to hunt for one driver. Win7 recognized everything including my TV tuner card and front panel A/V ports.

    – New Task Bar: Easy access to apps… but did MS rip off Apple’s dock? 😉

    – Jump Lists: You are only a right-click away from accessing recent documents, folders , web sites, and even recent remote computers.

    – Snap: A quick way to resize windows. I can quickly make 2 windows take up my entire 24″ screen.

    – Home Group: File sharing that’s easy for anyone to use.

    – New Windows Explorer and Libraries: You basically have quicker access to the “major” types of files on your computer (i.e. documents, music, photos, etc.). It’s a simple change but a welcomed one. Plus you can create your own Libraries. (I added libraries for “E-Books” and “Software Installs”)

    – Seems to use less memory than Vista.

    What I don’t like:

    – Expensive: If you have an XP or Vista system that is running fine, I don’t see a compelling reason to shell out $[…] yet. If Win7 turns out to be more secure, this alone would justify the upgrade.

    – The Backup application isn’t flexible at all. I’d prefer to be able to select which files to backup and when, instead of “all files at one time”.

    – I don’t know if it ships with Internet Explorer 8, or if I installed it via Windows Update. I just know that I have compatibility issues with it. Stick with 7.

    Other things that I have not figured out yet that another Amazon user might tell me via comments: 🙂

    – When you click an application on the taskbar that has multiple windows open, the windows pop up, giving you a chance to pick which one you want to go to. I’d prefer to go back to the last window opened. This 2 step process irks me.

    – I’m able to easily re-locate folders that reside in the “c:usermy-user-name” folder to another disk (right-click > properties > location). I don’t see how to move the actual “c:users” folder itself.

    – I couldn’t shrink the C: drive to anywhere close to the available space, even after multiple defrags. I might have to start over from scratch to set up my partitions the way I want.

    Should you Upgrade!?!?!?!?

    As I stated above, if you have a system that runs XP and Vista fine, I don’t see a compelling reason to pay $[…] to upgrade to Windows 7. You should just wait until you buy a new computer that comes with Windows 7. If you want to see the differences between Win7, XP, and Vista, check this out:

    http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/software/microsoft/WindowsVsWindowsLarge.jpg

    If you can upgrade to Windows 7 for free (or really cheap), I think you should upgrade. Unless you have a specific requirement to run XP (or less likely, you need to run Vista), Windows 7 is the way to go. At the least, it’s going to perform better than Vista, and it will be compatible with future software. XP and Vista eventually are going to die.

    Should you pick Windows 7 or Vista?!?!?!?

    Vista will die eventually so there’s no reason to pick Vista over Windows 7.

    Which Edition of Windows 7 should you get?

    Most users will be fine with Premium:

    http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Windows-Home-Premium-Upgrade/dp/B002DHLUWK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=software

    If you need to upgrade multiple machines, consider the CHEAP family pack:

    http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Windows-Premium-Upgrade-Family/dp/B002MV2MG0/ref=amb_link_85673411_11?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

    Windows 7 Clean Install vs Upgrade?!?!

    I always vote for a clean Install. I know re-installing all of your programs is a hassle. I just think it’s better to rid yourself of orphaned files, orphaned registry entries, unused programs and updates, etc. You might even get rid of spyware that you didn’t even know you had!!! Before doing a clean install, just make sure that:

    – You have all the serial numbers for your apps.

    – You have Windows 7 compatible drivers for all of your devices and internal cards.

    – You back up all of your data to another drive before performing the install.

    Hope this helps.

    Rating: 4 / 5

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