Win 7 license

ljt · 19 Oct 2009 at 21:52

Right, hopefully the following will make sense!

I currently have;

1 Desktop with Vista 32bit Retail version on
1 Laptop with Vista 32bit OEM (the one that comes installed with the laptop)

I have purchased;

1 Win 7 HP - Retail with 32/64bit discs - 64bit for my desktop
1 Win 7 HP - Free upgrade of the 32bit on my laptop

However, my laptop came with 4gb of ram in. Why they installed 32bit vista on it i don't know - i can only assume it was some sort of compatibility issue with some vendors software.

The free upgrade I get for the laptop is only like for like (i.e. 32bit Win 7 disc).

What I want to know is can I use the Win 7 64bit disc from my retail copy, but then use the serial i get with the free Win 7 32bit upgrade??? Is this legal

Thanks

Lee

Nymins · 19 Oct 2009 at 21:55

From what i gathered when i posted a similar issue a few days ago, that the upgrade copy (im guessing from Dell or the like?) is an OEM upgrade, meaning that the key is locked to that disk and version. I think thats what it means, don't hold me to that

ljt · 19 Oct 2009 at 22:03

Yeah its via Acer.

doh, i hope that isn't true

The only way if that is actually true is to use the retail copy of vista i'll be taking off my desktop and install 64bit Vista instead, atleast then it'll actually be able to address all the ram it was given!

I really hoped I could put 64bit Win 7 on as I read it can improve battery life by up to 20% on laptops due to its more efficient cpu cycle control

Nymins · 19 Oct 2009 at 22:05

I was in the same boat. Bought an Inspiron 15 of Dell Outlet. It said it had Vista Home Premium installed and i assumed it was 64bit since the laptop came with 4Gb ram, but it turned out to be the 32bit. Even though im eligible for a free upgrade to Win7, they only ship the version that came with your laptop originally, so im getting the 32bit version.

No idea why, but as you said it could have been a software issue. Luckily i got Vista 64bit anyway, so i just used it, but still.

m4cc45 · 20 Oct 2009 at 07:42

Can you now go back to the vendor or even Microsoft and ask for x64. They used to do this on Vista where it came with 32 bit you could send off for 64 bit and it would cost around £7.

Worth an ask. I know the recovery disks on my HP laptop for Vista say 32 bit but when you do a recovery it does ask what you want.

M.

Meatball · 20 Oct 2009 at 09:31

I'm in exactly the same situation mate, I purchased an Acer laptop with 4Gb of ram and was surprised when I saw it came installed with Vista 32Bit. I had Vista 64Bit media so that was soon sorted by reinstalling with the key on the COA.

My upgrade to Windows 7 is arriving tomorrow but in 32bit form and I've already got Windows 7 64Bit RTM (from MSDN) installed on it ready to activate with the key I receive. I'll let you know whether it accepts the key or not, looks like it wont though

.

Is the licence we receive an upgrade licence? On the support website where my W7 upgrade was ordered this seems to suggest so:

Question: Can I only do clean installation for Windows 7 to my PC with Windows Vista or I can only do upgrade installation?
Answer:You can do either a clean and upgrade installation of Windows 7 to your PC originally loaded Windows Vista. Note that only a clean installation of Windows 7 is allowed if you have downgraded the OS from Windows Vista to Windows XP.