Recommended Posts

just buy an ultimate OEM copy, it will be much cheaper but without the fancy box. no way im paying what they want for retail and no one knows yet if we can do a clean install from an upgrade disk.

Well, if I can come across an Ultimate OEM copy, then I'll probably spring for that.

But honestly, Professional edition seems fine for me. I'd probably even settle for Home Premium if it's cheap.

I believe the standard argument is that the taxes are higher over here. Also, UK prices seem to reflect the cost of developing all the other European localised versions although it's not clear why that's the case.

You could argue that various features like Media Center require a lot of development for local markets but that's pretty hard to justify when you consider how long it takes to get them to develop something that's compatible with TV over here :angry:

The taxes aren't enough to account for a 40% price difference though ($49.99 vs ?49.99) but really this issue is a double edged sword. People in the EU upgrading get ripped off, but people in the EU buying a new copy get a fantastic deal if what I heard is true about ?49.99 being the price of a retail edition, with no upgrade option offered.

Also, can someone more in the know than me confirm if the E editions of Windows 7 being released in the EU will still have IE8 offered via Windows Update, it is kind of annoying to me that European citizens don't get the choice of whether they want IE in their install or not.

Yeah, here's where I see the problem and confusion. MS is offering "upgrade" pricing but hasn't as-yet explained the requirements for one to be able to "upgrade." I am running XP on an OEM license. I have no XP disc whatsoever. I have nothing but an HP restore disc which is just an image of the original system. So what happens on Oct 22 when I pop in that Win7 "upgrade" disc that I bought six months ago for 50 bucks? Is it going to read my OEM license from the registry somewhere before it erases my entire HDD and reformats to do a clean install? Is it going to ask for my XP disc (which I don't have)? Is it going to ask for an XP license which I should be able to find on an OEM label somewhere on the machine, as someone else suggested? Those are all questions that I would like to have answered before I plunk down money for an "upgrade" disc. If I just have to type in a product code during the install for the prior XP license, that's fine.

Damon

Here are the pre-order upgrade prices:

* US: Windows 7 Home Premium ($49.99) and Windows 7 Professional ($99.99)

* Canada: Windows 7 Home Premium ($64.99) and Windows 7 Professional ($124.99)

* Japan: Windows 7 Home Premium (?7,407) and Windows 7 Professional (?14,073)

* UK: Windows 7 Home Premium (?49.99) and Windows 7 Professional (?99.99)

* France and Germany: Windows 7 Home Premium (?49.99) and Windows 7 Professional (?109.99)

Check out the "Pre-Order Windows 7 Cheaply" section of the Ars Technica article for exact windows of when these prices are available in your country.

One the first page you say that it is the full install, not upgrade. It saying "Pre Order Upgrade prices" throw me off.

The taxes aren't enough to account for a 40% price difference though ($49.99 vs ?49.99) but really this issue is a double edged sword. People in the EU upgrading get ripped off, but people in the EU buying a new copy get a fantastic deal if what I heard is true about ?49.99 being the price of a retail edition, with no upgrade option offered.

Also, can someone more in the know than me confirm if the E editions of Windows 7 being released in the EU will still have IE8 offered via Windows Update, it is kind of annoying to me that European citizens don't get the choice of whether they want IE in their install or not.

i guess you can blame your council for taking away that 'choice'

I've never done this so forgive me if I'm wrong but I believe the process to do a clean install with an upgrade disk goes something like this:

- install Windows Vista/7 from the upgrade disk (format destination drive at this point)

- Windows will be installed but you won't be able to activate it because it's just an upgrade version.

- pop the installation disk back in your drive and upgrade the installation that you just performed.

- You can now activate Windows Vista/7

I'm assuming that 7 will work the same as Vista based on Paul Thurrott's advice. This should allow you to do a clean install and you won't need an XP/Vista disk.

The taxes aren't enough to account for a 40% price difference though ($49.99 vs ?49.99) but really this issue is a double edged sword. People in the EU upgrading get ripped off, but people in the EU buying a new copy get a fantastic deal if what I heard is true about ?49.99 being the price of a retail edition, with no upgrade option offered.

One other cost that Microsoft have quoted in the past is the cost of running their UK office out of REading and the taxes that attracts. The taxes include all sorts of things like corporations tax, CGT, VAT and so on. I agree that it seems unfair that prices are so high over here but those are the reasons they give.

Personally I think they keep prices high in the UK because the pound has been worth so much up until lately. It makes sense to take us much as you can in a country with a strong currency.

One other cost that Microsoft have quoted in the past is the cost of running their UK office out of REading and the taxes that attracts. The taxes include all sorts of things like corporations tax, CGT, VAT and so on. I agree that it seems unfair that prices are so high over here but those are the reasons they give.

Personally I think they keep prices high in the UK because the pound has been worth so much up until lately. It makes sense to take us much as you can in a country with a strong currency.

I disagree with that, if anything it should be priced lower to keep pricing in line. At current rates, $49.99 = ?30.53, vs the actual price of ?49.99 is a 39% price hike for UK users. Quiet unacceptable IMO

So as per usual US users get all the gravy and UK / European users get ripped off? have to say I am pretty disappointed by that

Yes, that's how it normally is :crazy:

However, this time it's different: The EU gets the full version for the price listed, while the others get only the upgrade version :p

^-- or just turn off IE in your every-other-version-of-Windows version using Turn Windows Features On or Off. If hiding access (Vista & IE) wasn't enough for you, IE-as-an-optional-component should meet your desire if you don't have an 'E' version. And if you need it back to test some HTML/page you're working on, or if Firechromefari breaks, it's easy to add back in.

So wins all around there here for IE haters. :)

(IE user myself, but to each their own.)

No, you can not upgrade from Windows Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Professional. Please see the Windows 7 Upgrade Test Matrix document for more information: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...;displaylang=en

I should clarify: I always do clean installs, so whether or not I could do an in-place upgrade is not my concern. I was wondering, from a licensing perspective, if MSFT allows going from Ult->Pro with the "upgrade" disc.

......If I just have to type in a product code during the install for the prior XP license, that's fine.

Damon

I am in the same boat as you and I have asked the same question of Jeff. He said (in a prior post) he was waiting to hear back about the details of an upgrade, but I don't see anything yet. It would be nice to know for sure soon, like before July 11.

Here's hoping typing in the product code will work, because I if I have to get a full-priced version, I might as well just suck it up and get a new system with it preloaded. Which will only be bad for an already tight budget.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Microsoft released Windows 11 KB5094149 / KB5095971 / KB5094156 Setup, Recovery updates by Sayan Sen Earlier this week Microsoft released its newest Patch Tuesday updates (KB5094126 / KB5093998 on Windows 11 and KB5094127 on Windows 10). Alongside those, Microsoft also released new dynamic updates. These Dynamic Update packages are meant to be applied to existing Windows images prior to their deployment. Dynamic Updates also help preserve Language Pack (LP) and Features on Demand (FODs) content during the upgrade process. VBScript, for example, is currently an FOD on Windows 11 24H2. This time both recovery and setup updates were released for Windows 11 as well as Windows 10. The company writes: "KB5095185: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 11, version 26H1: June 9, 2026 This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment (WinRE). After installing this update, the WinRE version installed on the device should be 10.0.28000.2269. KB5094149: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 11, versions 24H2 and 25H2: June 9, 2026 This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment (WinRE). After installing this update, the WinRE version installed on the device should be 10.0.26100.8655 KB5095971: Setup Dynamic Update for Windows 11, version 23H2: June 9, 2026 This update makes improvements to Windows setup binaries or any files that setup uses for feature updates in Windows 11, version 23H2. KB5094156: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 11, version 23H2: June 9, 2026 This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment (WinRE). After installing this update, the WinRE version installed on the device should be 10.0.22621.7219 KB5098815: Windows Recovery Environment update for Windows 10, version 21H2 and 22H2: June 9, 2026 This update automatically applies Safe OS Dynamic Update (KB5094154) to the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) on a running PC. The update installs improvements to Windows recovery features. KB5094154: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 10, versions 21H2 and 22H2: June 9, 2026 This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment (WinRE). After installing this update, the WinRE version installed on the device should be 10.0.19041.7417. KB5094153: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 10, version 1809 and Windows Server 2019: June 9, 2026 This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment (WinRE). After installing this update, the WinRE version installed on the device should be 10.0.17763.8880. KB5094152: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 10, version 1607 and Windows Server 2016: June 9, 2026 This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment (WinRE). After installing this update, the WinRE version installed on the device should be 10.0.14393.9234." Microsoft notes that both the Recovery and Setup updates will be downloaded and installed automatically via the Windows Update channel.
    • Quantum Error Correction Validated in Nature: Microsoft and Quantinuum Log 800-Fold Improvement Two years after the original press-release announcement, independently peer-reviewed results published in Nature on June 10, 2026, have confirmed that Microsoft and Quantinuum achieved an 800-fold reduction in quantum error rates on real trapped-ion hardware — the largest gap between physical and logical error rates ever independently validated.    What Quantum Error Correction Actually Does — and Why Breaking Even Is Hard https://www.techtimes.com/articles/318329/20260613/quantum-error-correction-validated-nature-microsoft-quantinuum-log-800-fold-improvement.htm   Quantum Computing Wiring Bottleneck Cracked by HKU Silicon Carbide Chip at Qubit Temperature Engineers at the University of Hong Kong have built the first cryogenic control chip that operates at the same temperature as superconducting qubits — 10 millikelvin, or just one-hundredth of a degree above absolute zero — without generating the heat that has forced every competing approach to park its electronics hundreds of meters of cable away. https://www.techtimes.com/articles/318325/20260613/quantum-computing-wiring-bottleneck-cracked-hku-silicon-carbide-chip-qubit-temperature.htm  
    • RevPDF 4.5.0 by Razvan Serea RevPDF is a free, fully offline PDF editor for Windows, macOS, and Linux that lets you edit text and images directly inside PDF files — no internet connection, no account, and no cloud uploads required. Unlike bloated alternatives that demand subscriptions and constant connectivity, RevPDF fits in under 60MB on desktop while delivering a complete editing toolkit: annotate, redact, sign, compress, split, merge, convert, and reorganize pages, all processed locally on your device. Smart font matching ensures edited text blends seamlessly with the original, and multi-language support includes RTL scripts such as Arabic and Hebrew. Where most PDF editors force you to choose between features and simplicity, RevPDF manages both. You can build interactive forms from scratch with text fields, checkboxes, and dropdowns, permanently redact sensitive data before sharing, draw freehand on contracts and diagrams, and add custom watermarks — all without a single file leaving your machine. Edit Text and Images Directly Inside PDFs RevPDF supports true inline PDF editing — not just annotation layers on top of a document, but actual modification of existing text and images within the file. A smart font-matching engine identifies the font used in the original document and applies it automatically when you make edits, so changes blend naturally with the surrounding content. You can reposition elements, resize images, and update text across single pages or entire documents. RevPDF 4.5.0 release notes: This is one of the biggest updates to RevPDF yet. A lot of things people have been asking for are finally here. New Features Auto Redaction Permanently redact sensitive text and areas from your PDFs before sharing. Clean, irreversible, and fully offline. Comments, Links & Bookmarks Add comments for review, insert clickable links, and create bookmarks to jump around long documents without scrolling forever. Find & Replace Search across the whole document and replace text in one go. Long overdue. Split Pages Vertically or Horizontally Split any page down the middle, vertically or horizontally. Perfect for scanned books or double-page spreads. New Drawing Tools More tools for freehand drawing and markup, better for annotations, sketches, and detailed notes. Continuous Scrolling in Editor The editor now scrolls continuously through pages instead of jumping between them. Working through long documents is a lot smoother now. PDF Metadata Editor View and edit the metadata stored inside your PDFs, including title, author, subject, and keywords. Better Font Matching Text edits now blend in more naturally by doing a better job of matching the original font. Tabbed PDF Viewer Open multiple PDFs at once in tabs and switch between them without going back to the home screen. Add Links Insert hyperlinks anywhere in your PDF, to external URLs or to other pages within the document. Share & Print Shortcuts Share or print directly from the editing screen, home screen, and viewer. No extra steps. Minor Updates Paste images directly from clipboard into your PDF New image editing tools for more control over images inside documents Bug Fixes Fixed file saving issues on Windows and Linux Everything still works fully offline. No login, no cloud, no account. Your files stay on your device. Download: RevPDF 4.5.0 | 58.0 MB (Open Source) Links: RevPDF Home Page | Github | Screenshots 1 | 2 Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Interesting. I'm not using a VPN with my phone. I tried though my home internet (Rogers) and my cellular internet (Telus) using their respective DNS servers and both trigger the dialog above.
    • Three days after Anthropic launched Claude Fable 5 as the most capable AI model it had ever released to the public, the United States government ordered it switched off — and now the company is refunding customers who paid to use a product that vanished almost overnight https://www.techtimes.com/articles/318342/20260613/us-government-pulls-anthropics-fable-5-offline-now-come-refunds-vanished-ai.htm  
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      agatameier earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      agatameier earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      ssd21345 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Contributor
      MarkHughes4096 went up a rank
      Contributor
    • Dedicated
      jordanspringer earned a badge
      Dedicated
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      507
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      175
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      139
    4. 4
      ATLien_0
      91
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      76
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!