Windows 7 Vista Ultimate To Win 7 Pro?

[BobHelms]

I tried searching on this topic but I must be "search facility challenged" because I can't find any answers. I have a new Lenovo laptop with Vista Ultimate 32. It has no apps (other than bloatware) installed. I've cloned it and I want to get it converted to W7 ASAP. The "free" W7 32 upgrade from Lenovo is "being processed", hence I don't know when I'll get it. Meanwhile I've found a deal on a retail W7 Pro upgrade. If I do the clean install thing does anyone know of potential problems since I'm stepping down 1 grade? I doubt that I will ever need BitLocker so not running W7 Ultimate is not a show stopper for me. Plus the retail Pro upgrade has the 64 bit version and I have 8GB of memory on the laptop. So I'll try a clean install of the 64 bit version and see how far I get with getting my XP apps up and running. TIA for you help.
Bob Helms

 

[BobHelms]

Hi Bob & welcome to Windows 7 Forums Nice thing about here is it proves you actually are a good searcher since here you will find the answers you seek.

So you are going to clean ("Custom") install Windows 7 64-bit (x64). Good for you!! Good choice. And since going from 32-bit to 64 there is no other choice (available). Actually, chances of having problems w/ a clean are much lower than when an in-place upgrade. Save critical data, of course and programs & apps will, of course, have to reloaded.

As far as XP apps, remember Windows 7 Pro has XP Mode running in Windows VPC, so, you're off to the races.

Enjoy

Drew

"A scan a day keeps the nasties away!"

Hi Drew,
Yea I know about redoing the apps, lots of grunt work. I was concerned about the W7 Pro install process getting upset about knowing that Vista Ultimate was it's predecessor when it came to entering the license key. I'll give it a go and let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the help!

 

[pweegar]

Vista 32 to Windows Ultimate 64 bit

Bob,
I recently did a similiar upgrade. My HP desktop had Vista Ultimate 32 bit installed. (BTW I LIKE Vista!). I am currently taking a class at a local community college and was able to buy Windows 7 U;timate 64 bit for a very good price.

I installed Windows 7 with little or no problem. I thought my ATI 4350 video card driver might have been a problem, but the driver was installed! My Epson printer installed without problems, etc.

The ONLY problem I had was with breaking partitions. I can not. The install would not let me change the size. I had kept an XP partition I had (was using it for games). After the install, I tried to delete this partition, but Windows 7 wouldn't allow it. Too many primary partitions, I believe.

Otherwise, I really like Windows 7. It's new, so there are some difference to learn/over come, but no real big deals. I thing I really dislike is IE 8. ARGH. I may try to install IE 7, after my class is done (it's an online class).

And regarding the XP and virtual pc. They are NOT included with windows 7. This is a seperate download. There are 2 files. It's easy to do, just follow the directions on MS's website.

Good luck!