Supported & Unsupported Windows 7 Upgrade Paths
Posted July 22, 2009 – 6:34 pm in: Windows 7As the Windows 7 is coming to MSDN, TechNet, and Connect subscribers on August 6th, it’s time to think about Windows 7 upgrade options again. Microsoft has also released updated Windows 7 upgrade paths info document that outlines some key factors that you need to remember while upgrading to Windows 7.
XP to Windows 7 in-place upgrade is not supported, but you can upgrade Vista to Windows 7.
Unsupported Windows 7 upgrade scenarios:
* Upgrade to Windows 7 from Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows XP, Windows Vista RTM, Windows Vista Starter, Windows 7 M3, Windows 7 Beta, Windows 7 RC, or Windows 7 IDS is not supported.
* Also upgrade to Windows 7 from server operating systems such as Windows NT Server 4.0, Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 is not supported.
* Cross-architecture in-place upgrades (for example, x86 to x64) are not supported.
* Pre-release in-place upgrades across milestones (for example, Windows 7 RC to Windows 7 RTM) are not supported.
* Cross-language in-place upgrades (for example, en-us to de-de) are not supported
* Upgrades from Windows Vista to Windows N, Windows K, Windows KN, or Windows E are not supported.
* Cross-build type in-place upgrades (for example, fre to chk) are not supported.
* Cross-SKU upgrades (for example, Windows 7 N to Windows 7 K) are not supported.
Supported Windows 7 upgrade paths:
Be ready to upgrade your Windows to Windows 7 Enterprise, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate editions.
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3 Comments
according to this chart I can’t upgrade from vista ultimate to windows 7 professional. is this true? I purchased the upgrade a couple weeks ago. does this mean I have to return it and purchase a full copy of windows 7 ultimate. after using vista ultimate I found I didn’t need the extra stuff and want to just go with a professional version.
@Cherryottis
It’s true as the chart is released by Microsoft two days back only.
@Cherryottis
You may not be able to do an in-place upgrade from Vista Ultimate to 7 Pro, but you should be able to do a clean install of 7 Pro by backing up all your files to a separate hard disk. It’s a bit more work, but at least you won’t have to return anything (especially good if you bought the upgrade when it was on sale like I did). I always do a clean install, no matter what, anyway. Hope you haven’t canceled your order