Posted on June 25th, 2009 by Jon Honeyball

No upgrades to Windows 7? Microsoft is doing us a favour

$Microsoft\'s Windows 7 upgrade offer... except it isn\'t$ Microsoft’s pricing and upgrading plans for Windows 7 in Europe are bordering on a farce. You can’t upgrade from a previous version of Windows, but you can elsewhere in the world. You can buy the upgrade product but you will get full retail box instead.

And it won’t come with Internet Explorer 8, in a strangely “the sky is falling down” reaction to the antitrust spat with the EU. Microsoft hopes that this is enough, the EU doesn’t appear to be convinced.

But this could be a marvellous thing indeed. By forcing you to wipe the machine and start afresh, it is possible to ensure that all that accumulated crap is wiped from the machine. A clean OS is a happy OS.

But there’s more – wiping the machine means you need to have a working and tested backup/disaster recovery plan in place. If you don’t have one, go buy a USB hard disk and a copy of Norton Save & Restore 2. Do the backup that you have been meaning to do. Wipe the machine and install Windows 7, and then go back to Vista if there are problems.

But there’s even more – why not stuff some “cheap as chips” extra RAM into the computer and go for the 64-bit version? It really is time that we left the 32-bit world behind, and a machine wipe/reinstall is the ideal time to get into the 64-bit era

So despite all the squirming, handwringing and collective moaning and whining, I say “thank you” to Microsoft to force some end users to open their eyes, look about and then move forward. Pity they didn’t have the guts to do it to their American customers.

Tags: 64-bit, backup, Microsoft, upgrade, Windows, Windows 7

Posted in: Software, Windows 7

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32 Responses to “ No upgrades to Windows 7? Microsoft is doing us a favour ”

John Gray Says:
June 25th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
“But there’s even more – why not stuff some “cheap as chips” extra RAM into the computer and go for the 64-bit version? It really is time that we left the 32-bit world behind, and a machine wipe/reinstall is the ideal time to get into the 64-bit era”

Why not? The one word “drivers”…
SimonF Says:
June 25th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Or take a long hard look at what you could get instead…

Mac/Linux/FreeDos/Win3.11

If there is no IE how do you load Firefox?
Daniel Says:
June 25th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
You get firefox by downloading the installer to a USB stick on your work/friend’s PC.

Every time the OS is changed all my PC games refuse to work. XP to Vista cost me the re-purchase of several games. Will they now be compatible from Vista 32-bit to Win7 64bit? I have my doubts…
Jim Says:
June 25th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
IE8 still comes in the box, just on another cd
John Hind Says:
June 25th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
John Gray: I installed Windows 7 RC 64bit on my loaded machine which previously ran Vista 32bit. The only driver problem I had was my HP Photosmart 3210 printer with network connection. I had to revert to using the USB connection which works fine using the driver in the Windows 7 distro. Contrary to reports, some of these drivers were unsigned but installed without problems.

John Honeyball: Why do you not tax your Microsoft contacts why they do not ship 64bit and 32bit on the same DVD (all apps, not just Windows). This would make it much easier for people to try 64bit knowing they can easily revert if they cannot live with it.
Hoola Says:
June 25th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
I don’t know what all the complaining is about…

Download firefox or whatever browser you like first, burn to disc if you don’t have usb stick, then install Windows 7.

I always to a clean install with every upgrade of operation system it ensures smooth running.

As for the comment on drivers all my hardware worked, but before I installed I downloaded all the new drivers from the manufacturers web sites before installing a new version of windows.

All my games have worked when I upgraded to Vista and also when I upgraded to Windows 7 rc.
stasi47 Says:
June 25th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
@SimonF

Hi Simon, you can always use “the geek” way to download FireFox:

In command prompt type:
C:
CD \
FTP http://ftp.mozilla.org
as user name type: ftp
as a password type: joe
then type the following:
BIN
cd /pub/firefox/releases/3.0.1/win32/en-GB
get “Firefox Setup 3.0.1.exe”

The example above will download setup file of Firefox 3.0.1 and place it into C:\

good luck!
stasi47 Says:
June 25th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
oh the blog added http:// to the ftp address!
this is of course undesired!
you should only type: FTP ftp . mozila . org

without spaces between the dots
Phil Says:
June 25th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Disagree.

My PC is a few months old, doesn’t have a bunch of accumulated crap on it. In fact I’ll have to reinstall every app that I currently have installed. I’ll also have to manually reconfigure all the preferences for all these apps. It took me weeks to get the PC the way I like it and I’ll have to re-do all that.

I have a backup of all my data.

I don’t need more RAM. 4 gig is enough for me for a while.

Effectively I will have to expend a lot of time and energy to install Vista SP3.

No, MS aren’t doing me a favour.
Phil Says:
June 25th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Oh and as for Norton Save and Restore 2. The reviews on Amazon.co.uk are hardly glowing recommendations.
Steve Cassidy Says:
June 25th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
I’ve had 64 bit Vista, and XP, and now Win 7. Thus far I haven’t been seriously inconvenienced by lack of driver support; but on the other hand I haven’t been wowed by some monstrous speed gain from the 64-bit world. Biggest single speed gain I have had lately is from motherboards that mirror the boot volumes intelligently, and from SSD drives. Doubtless a few years down the track, 64-bit will start to matter – but honestly, I’d rather the driver writers and the optimisers took a leaf out of Apple’s book with Snow Leopard, and took the “recession holiday” as an opportunity to tighten up some of their existing code.

Incidentally: when upgrading, why go to the hassle of wiping your current disk, when you don’t know for sure where all your stuff is kept on it? Buy another new disk, drop that in, and put win 7 on that, then when it’s all over and done with, re-attach the old disk; there’s all your stuff.
jon honeyball Says:
June 25th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
I’ve used norton save and restore 2.0 in my lab since it came out for backups/restores/images over dozens and dozens of machines. Gigabytes of stuff. It has never failed to work for us, unlike some imaging tools which use a linux (knoppix) boot disc and which wont see Intel’s sata raid controller chipset.

I can only say as I find it… S&R works here. Ghost 14 is the same product, just with server ftp support.

As for 32-bit versus 64-bit — the 64-bit drivers will have been written recently, and are (in my experience) far less likely to include all sorts of old crud.

jon
Chris Says:
June 25th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
I don’t quite understand why PC Pro is spreading FUD with this issue. Clean installs are a non-starter for people who are not OS-geeks and Microsoft will eventually have the time to do the necessary regression testing required to provide an upgrade version of Windows 7. Personally I am going to wait for an upgrade version, save some money and take future reporting on this issue from PC Pro with a large pinch of salt.
Matthew Southgate Says:
June 26th, 2009 at 2:01 am
stasi47 Can tell you come from the linux hide away.
Alex P Says:
June 26th, 2009 at 7:15 am
It’s true, no-one in my family would be comfortable doing an upgrade nevermind a clean install. It would be very interesting to read a survey on what percentage of people would be able to.
stasi47 Says:
June 26th, 2009 at 11:04 am
@Matthew Southgate

Not really, I am just the old dinosaurs dating the pre-WWW era, that’s when all software was served by ftp servers and the only way you could get it was by using ftp client either under dos or unix.

But indeed, recently, it still helps a lot , especially when your X-windows is crashing and you badly need some library to make it work.
Danny Thomas Says:
June 26th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
I am inclined to agree with Jon on this however, it is highly inconvenient for most home users. For example, I have a Sony Vaio which comes with a variety of additional software, some of which has real value to me (for example a full and licensed copy of Acrobat). It is a big leap of faith to assume that these will re-install without issues as I am sure that Sony and Adobe will have taken steps to prevent piracy.

I look forward to a shiny 64Bit Windows 7, but I fear I will lose a number of useful tools.
jon honeyball Says:
June 26th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
“I don’t quite understand why PC Pro is spreading FUD with this issue. Clean installs are a non-starter for people who are not OS-geeks and Microsoft will eventually have the time to do the necessary regression testing required to provide an upgrade version of Windows 7. Personally I am going to wait for an upgrade version, save some money and take future reporting on this issue from PC Pro with a large pinch of salt.”

Except you are missing the point. The package at launch time in the UK will be labelled “upgrade” despite it being the full version. The punter will get home and find it isnt an upgrade, but a wipe and install.

Precisely what is FUD about this???
muck Says:
June 26th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Are you sure that it will say on the box that it is an upgrade version? I was under the impression that they were selling the full version for the upgrade price. That would be a PR disaster claiming it was an upgrade when it wasn’t
jon honeyball Says:
June 26th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
ms uk’s pr chap was most insistent that they were calling it an upgrade. I argued long and hard that it wasnt an upgrade, but they are afraid that by saying it is not an upgrade, users will not believe that they can buy and use it.

It all comes down to the definition of the term “upgrade”. I think an upgrade has the intrinsic capability of “install and leave existing stuff in place”. But ms is taking a broader view of the word than that.

And yes, I agree it could be a pr disaster. And yes, I told him that too
muck Says:
June 26th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
so have they decided never to make a European Upgrade Version? I heard that they were not going to release an upgrade at launch because there was not enough time to fix it up. If they call the full version ‘Upgrade’ then the upgrade version can never be launched. Heh that was a confusing sentence
jon honeyball Says:
June 26th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
My understanding is that a real upgrade version is coming after christmas. At which point the “upgrade (full)” version will be rebadged “full” and the “upgrade” badge will be moved to the new “upgrade” version.

Clear on that? good….
muck Says:
June 26th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I would advise nobody to buy Win 7 in January then. You never know whether it’s just an old upgrade or a new upgrade. I’m confused. Why did I read this blog
David Says:
June 26th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
The problem I have is that my Sony laptop came with some useful stuff on it – particularly the ful version of Acrobat. Being Sony they don’t supply individual installation files, so if I want to put Windows 7 on I’m going to have to lose Acrobat – not exactly ideal given how much this costs if bought as a standalone package.
Chris Says:
June 26th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
“You can buy the upgrade product but you will get full retail box instead.”

That read to me that Microsoft were not offering an upgrade until later. FUD.
David Says:
June 26th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
You’re saying it’s like medicine, you don’t like it but its good for you. Trouble is Microsoft aren’t doctors who are positions of power and respect, and people are gonna be angry. An upgrade thats not an upgrade? – who needs the EU when you have kamikaze PR men like that. I can’t wait to see this pile-up!
Colin Says:
June 27th, 2009 at 11:20 am
I agree with Jon Honeyball, the best thing to do is get rid of Vista completely. I’ve just installed Windows 7 RC1 on a new partition (thank you PCPRO) and everything works better.
All of the Sony Vaio software and drivers work perfectly. Even Quicken 98 which I couldn’t get to work on Vista, installed without a hiccup or hesitation.
Good riddance Vista.
big_D Says:
June 28th, 2009 at 9:52 am
The best thing is always to do a complete re-install. I’ve done that with Linux, OS X and Windows. A fresh start is always nice and brings fewer nasty surprises later!

It is a pain having to re-install all the apps under Windows – much easier under OS X and Linux – but it is generally worth it – just remember to deregister Adobe products and the machine, if it is registered with iTunes.

I’ve been using 64-bit for a while and haven’t had any driver problems.

As for the non-technical users, they either “upgrade” their OS when they buy a new machine or they get some tech-literate friend or service to come and do it for them… I’ve upgraded several machines in the last 12 months, from Windows 95/98 or 2000 to Windows Vista – all involved copying the old data onto a USB drive and then copying it onto the new Core 2 Quad Vista machine that replaced the old one.

The only real disappointment with Vista were the start-up times. The old Pentium 133 with Windows 98 would boot to the desktop in under 5 seconds, Vista needed about 30 seconds!
besb Says:
June 29th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Pricing UK Rip off. Using preorder prices in the example
OK you get the full version (almost, -ie -mail -media player) 60% more $_£ conversion than US
Even if I accept that why is it 11% dearer in UK than Europe- is the UK in Europe?
You cant upgrade,( ignoring the goods and bads about that) but fresh install download and install firefox then reinstall some 20 apps/games and their custom settings /templates say 10 hours @ £15 per hour Total cost UK cost £200. (150+50)
Only one oem vista system involved. which could be happily upgraded for
US 50$- GPB £30
Therefore getting from vista to win7 UK is a factor 666%
Can Microsoft UK please address this – I am willing to download from MS US store and even give $50 in hard cash if they dont trust British banks or credit cards
I thought this was a global solution
Paul Says:
June 29th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Before you all rush in various directions to buy or not buy your software, let me relate a recent problem with the windows XP validation process.

Today my PC failed Vailidation report the version installed was not valid in the region I was in. Actually it turned out that the COA on my machine was from a PC manufacturers Corporate purchase batch.

How to tell:
Click Start, Right Click ‘My Computer’, Click Properties.

Look at the right hand side of the window under Registered to when you will see a string of numbers.
xxxxx-012-xxxxxxx-xxxxx
if it reads -OEM- it is OEM
& if it is -640- it is corporate or system builder.

This came from MS UK Tech support, and of course you can only tell once the software is installed
or you have a lengthy conversation with MS on a 0870 number whilst they run a check on the COA.

Before you ask it came from a large Component & PC retailer in the UK.
Roger Watson Says:
July 17th, 2009 at 7:45 am
I’m not rushing to change my engine. Last time I did, speaking metaphorically, I found the cigar lighter; windscreen wipers; washers and radio didn’t work. Not only that, but some of my old tapes wouldn’t play in the new cd system and I’ve got a lot of old tapes that I like to listen to.
Eyes down for Windows 7 upgrade bingo | PC Pro blog Says:
August 6th, 2009 at 10:24 am
[...] though the upgrade path has now been opened, I’d still echo Jon Honeyball’s earlier advice and recommend that everyone undertakes a clean install. Not only does this give you the freedom to choose whichever version of Windows 7 you want [...]