With the release of Win 7 today, I thought it might be good to have a bit of a price check thread so that we can identify the best prices around town...

Retail

Harvey Norman
Home Premium - $266
Pro - $376
Ultimate - $397
(Bonus TV Tuner)

Officeworks
Home Premium - $268
Pro - $378
Ultimate - $398

DSE
Home Premium - $268
Pro - $397
Ultimate - $419

JB Hifi
Home Premium - $292
Pro - $438
Ultimate - $462

Other Options

OEM
(Note: With OEM editions, you need to choose between 32bit and 64bit at time of purchase, Retail copies come with both media)

Umart
Home premium - $119
Pro - $169
Ultimate - $229

MSY
Home premium - $110
Pro - $168
Ultimate - $225


Technet Plus Subscription
10x licences to use basically any microsoft product.
$512 AUD / year

(Note: There are 15% and 25% of promo codes floating around. Google is your friend.)

i don't know about this 'paying for windows' thing

the professional upgrade is available for $50 on the microsoft its not cheating promotion page.

http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/itsnotcheating/default.aspx

wonder if they will have the other versions on there

last edited by ravn0s at 09:50:23 22/Oct/09

Its a good thing to pay for. Trying to break activation is f***ing annoying.

Considering you use it all the time, its not that big an outlay really.

They need all the monies to pay for massive f*** off in your face ads on Fairfax.

http://www.gronks.com/qgl/TheAge_Win7Ad.jpg

Technet versions ftw!

f*** you.

say that someone has a version of windows xp they acquired via the linux iso super highway

if they bought the windows 7 upgrade, would they be able to load it up on that windows xp?

how do they go when they format? they will need to keep their windows xp load it up and then update it each time?

does anyone know what the go is with the m$ action packs for win7? i've heard that you can get some ppl together n buy an action pack that gives ya several licenses for a discount but i'm too ambivalent about it to research any further than this post :D

$229 from umart looks alright tho! :D (edit2) ,,, oh that's the oem price :(

(edit) highly doubt it paveway. usually upgrades require a genuine install with key code n s***.



last edited by demon at 10:34:53 22/Oct/09

I agree with mongie, if there is one piece of software that you should pay to have a legit copy of, it should be the operating system.

A mate gave me a copy of XP Pro a while back and during a format I decided to try it (instead of my legit XP Home) and it just wasn't worth the hassles.

Any update (such as Media Player etc, alot of which are automatic) would send it in a spaz and spewing out 'Dodgy Copy' messages. I just formatted again and put Home back on.

Sure you can probably get around it, but still.... it is the software that runs your computer.


last edited by mission at 10:21:51 22/Oct/09

JB Hi Fi is the cheapest across all platforms, a price drop came through yesterday and it will be cheaper than catalogue price listings.

Wasn't there a thread about the prices for university staff and students? I'm a student and I have some money? Ever since my vista key was invalidated I figure that it'd be cool to have another legit version of a windows OS.

i swear to god in this case my linux iso's for my OS were actually legit linux iso's.

Yeah, its worth paying for just to avoid the hassle. Whats the deal with OEM though, you have to buy hardware at the same time to be able to get the OEM version? How much do you have to buy?

Technet versions ftw!

+1

yeah i just don't upgrade the windows media player and dodge the genuine advantage update

i mean, if i had a dodgey copy

per chance..

I dont want to say it.. but.. gamedude prices..

WINDOWS 7 Home PREMIUM 32bit DVD Edition OEM $ 179

WINDOWS 7 Home PREMIUM 64bit DVD Edition OEM $ 189

WINDOWS 7 PROFESSIONAL 32bit DVD Edition OEM $ 199

WINDOWS 7 PROFESSIONAL 64bit DVD Edition OEM $ 209

WINDOWS 7 ULTIMATE 32bit DVD Edition OEM $ 289

WINDOWS 7 ULTIMATE 64bit DVD Edition OEM $ 299

The Umart prices in the OP are better than that

you know, I might actually go buy windows 7 if I hadn't been converted to osx by my sexy ass laptop sometime in 2007
I'm going to get me a new MBPro instead

Damo, Umart (in OP) is cheaper for OEM

*edit: beaten. Shutup woman, get on my horse.

khel, thats with hardware purchase though isn't it..

gamedude looks like those prices are just for software only dont have to buy anything else.

I think the point is paveway, unless you're really cheap, I think its worth it to not have to worry about avoiding that s***.

Apparently some people sign up to US technet, with a 25% discount code it ends up being less than $300 AUD.

I think I'll still just buy a retail copy here though.

Damo those prices seem higher than U-marts if i'm not mistaken

edit:

gamedude looks like those prices are just for software only dont have to buy anything else.

those are OEM editions - ie you need hardware to purchase them

you have to buy some hardware to get oem copies afaik.

I think the point is paveway, unless you're really cheap, I think its worth it to not have to worry about avoiding that s***.

wot? ~$400 to have updates on auto-install rather than manual! :P coz really, that's all it takes to 'avoid the s***' :P

bleh! $400 is too much, i woulda bought it if it was around the $200 mark.


last edited by demon at 10:41:14 22/Oct/09

yeah i might actually get it sometime soon heh

JB seems to have upped their prices!

I also e-mailed Umart. To get OEM pricing, you just have to buy some "internal" hardware. My example of a HDD was fine.

but, you don't get both copies, you have to choose from 64bit or 32bit.

From SMH.

A family pack being offered in the US to cut software costs for home users will not be immediately available in Australia.

"We are going to test it in a few markets around the world. If it is successful there, we will launch it within three to six months in other regions," DeBragga said.

we got quoted 249 ex-tax for pro upgrade from dell, quant. 25

and yes, upgrade can be installed to blank drive - asif there's any other way you'd do it. in fact the upgrade-over-existing is only available for vista

in fact the upgrade-over-existing is only available for vista

And sounds like a potential disaster.

you have to choose from 64bit or 32bit.

The code works with either, it's just you only get 1 copy of the media.
So if doing 2 or more machines get at least 1 of each

f*** i'm so out of date.. i'm still running winxp sp1 .. doh

Thanks Jim, execpt you still have to have Windows Vista or XP installed and activated to be able to install from an upgrade disc.

It will do a clean install (wipe data and store old os files in a Windows.OLD folder) but it won't install from a blank HDD.

Quote from MS Win 7 forum...

Starting with 7, they're supposed to be implementing the policy that was planned for Vista, which requires that the qualifying OS be fully installed rather than simply inserting a disk to prove you have one. Having it fully installed allows Microsoft to get the number of the qualifying product and link it to the upgrade, thus allowing them to verify that the prior OS is only used for one upgrade, rather than using 1 instance of Vista to qualify as an upgrade for several computers. It also allows Microsoft to determine that the qualifying OS should be considered dead, and if they see it phone home later (as a dual boot or in another system) they could declare it non-genuine. Remember, once you upgrade you're no longer allowed to use the qualifying OS - but in the past MS has never had a way to know.

last edited by mongie at 11:42:45 22/Oct/09

asif not have haxored versions of WinXP that allows full updates. nubs.

ps, trying to get the upgrade to Win7 from Vista on my new laptop but the page is f***ing out and doesnt like my Serial number@#$*!&

they're making it way too confusing, f*** vista and f*** windows 7
there is nothing wrong with windows xp

lol

There is a fair bit wrong with XP now...

not the way i use it

They should throw in a copy of win7 if you purchase an SSD for those prices...

Just buy a HDD and get the OEM version. Then all you have to do is move the HDD to the new pc if you ever want to move the OS.

OEM licensing is bullcrap anyway, they should be charging the OEM pricing for normal sales.

Just got my daily annoying e-mail from City Software...

Home Premium - $265.
Pro - $379.
Ultimate - $389.

just bought the win 7 pro upgrade from "its not cheating", can i upgrade from the win7rc with that?

well you're pretty f***ed if you can't hey jab lol

pretty sure you can upgrade from the Beta or the RC.

Then all you have to do is move the HDD to the new pc if you ever want to move the OS

Nah it'll probably detect the change of mobo,videocard,ram,cpu and send out a "you'll have to call microsoft to reactivate your installation" baloon every few minutes

just bought the win 7 pro upgrade from "its not cheating", can i upgrade from the win7rc with that?

Also want to know the answer to this. I have a legit vista I can install if not but effort++

In terms of using Win7 RC as your "previous copy of windows" - no you can't.

You can only upgrade from and activated copy of XP or Vista

In terms of using Win7 RC as your "previous copy of windows" - no you can't. You can only upgrade from and activated copy of XP or Vista

gay, looks like im gonna have to dust off winxp

I'm tempted to make this my first officially bought OS.

Should I make the plunge?

Its a pretty good OS greazy :D

Compare it to XP. Better, different or worse?

Also, it seems like dstore.com.au is selling 3pk win7.
http://dstore.com.au/computers/MSOEM-3PK-WIN7-PRO-%2BFREEAGENT-500G/10881661.html
MSOEM 3PK WIN7 PRO +FREEAGENT 500G
MSOEM 3PK WINDOWS 7 PROFESSIONAL 32BIT WITH
FREEAGENT GO 500G EXT HDD
(SILVER)
Please Note: This is an OEM product.

I thought it wasn't available in Australia?

Technet/MAPS seriously its not that expensive for the volume of s*** you get and its all legit

I thought it wasn't available in Australia?

Its a 3 pack of OEM ... oO
and its 3 times the cost of 1 licence oO
And You'd have to buy something to make it OEM .. say 3 hard drives

ie. not the family pack
(designed to suck people in looking for family packs I guess)

Do you think there would be anything stopping you from importing it from the US?

Ultimate retail is $219US, which is about $240 AU at the moment. Compared to $400 here.

Talk about bulls***.

last edited by mongie at 15:27:57 22/Oct/09

Updated pricing...

Harvey Norman
Home Premium - $266
Pro - $376
Ultimate - $397

Officeworks
Home Premium - $268
Pro - $378
Ultimate - $398

JB Hifi
Home Premium - $292
Pro - $438
Ultimate - $462

DSE
Home Premium - $299
Pro - $449
Ultimate - $469
(I think this is all RRP)

Mongie think I asked that month or so ago, someone said you can't because it would be region locked or something like that.. Doesn't aus and USA have some free/fair trade agreement ?

There's nothing stopping you from buying from the US as far as I can tell. Just my 2c.

Re: Harvey Norman "Pro" price. Says $376 on main site (here) but when you click on it (here) it says $449.95.

Just had a look around and it seems Home Premium and below only support one physical processor. Professional and above support 2.


last edited by Seven at 16:02:35 22/Oct/09

I guess shipping would be the only annoying thing.

Yeah why would it matter what country you buy from?

Euro versions have IE8 as an option (due to anti trust)
Some versions will have types of encryption removed (US export laws)
Our version they like to charge more for (cos they can)

That's why it matters.

*edit*
GL finding someone who will ship it to Australia anyways. Amazon won't for instance.

And Express shipping from the states would nullify a lot of the price gaps.

last edited by Obes at 16:24:36 22/Oct/09

last edited by Obes at 16:24:59 22/Oct/09

This I believe is the OEM license

http://oem.microsoft.com/downloads/Public/sblicense/2008_SB_Licenses/FY08_SB_License_English.pdf

Summary, you can buy the OEM version with no hardware at all but unless you install it onto a PC and then sell that PC to someone, you are violating the license.

Why do you need the disc anyway? As far as I know MS offer it for download and you can just buy a key from a place like g2play.net ?

Forget shipping, pal, we're in the DIGITAL AGE.

http://www.g2play.net/store/Windows-7-Ultimate-64-bit-Multilingual-Version-Digital-Download.html

it's strange that. i still like having the disk. how do you install a digital download of windows onto a formatted machine?? is it just a iso you burn the first time you download it?

its still $200 and I've seen no compelling argument to migrate away from XP

Why do you need the disc anyway? As far as I know MS offer it for download and you can just buy a key from a place like g2play.net ?

Forget shipping, pal, we're in the DIGITAL AGE.

http://www.g2play.net/store/Windows-7-Ultimate-64-bit-Multilingual-Version-Digital-Download.html

an even casual glance reveals that site to be super dodgy

if you're going to buy it online, buy it from the MS store as a digital download. It's the same price as the retail version. I just had a quick look and the US store seems accessible to Australians - I got to the payment page with the US price. And it's f***tons cheaper than the Aussie store after conversion.

shutup teq.
reso how big is the file. can you burn it on a disk. and have you done it?

Sweet so to be legit with OEM all you have to do is sell your pc to someone for 5c, have them get an OEM copy of windows 7 and install it then sell it back to you for 5c.

Trog, did you bother even checking out? No country field and state dropbox field is only for US.

Probably can't purchase without a US billing address on your CC either. And even there's probably something else stupid like it technically not being legitimately licensed because you're using it in a different country than you bought it in or something.

It's all a bit ridiculous.

And even there's probably something else stupid like it technically not being legitimately licensed because you're using it in a different country than you bought it in or something.

Yeh this. I think I read somewhere that if I take my laptop to another country I'm in technical breach of about a hundred MS licensing agreements.

And even there's probably something else stupid like it technically not being legitimately licensed because you're using it in a different country than you bought it in or something.

Yeh this. I think I read somewhere that if I take my laptop to another country I'm in technical breach of about a hundred MS licensing agreements.

I don't recall reading anything in my MS licenses about territory so I find this unlikely; got any example licenses?

I'm just going to buy it retail from harveys. Its sad, but its only like $100 a year, and I spent $100 on s*** yesterday from Woolworths.

As for why Upgrade from XP... the list is endless, if you can't find a reason yourself, I'm not going to waste my time convincing you :D

I've seen no compelling argument to migrate away from XP

really? how about that its awesome? or that Microsoft have announced mainstream support for XP has ended?

Trog if that were true why woldn't you just buy it from China ?
Home premium RRP is RMB 699 (under $120) (that's full retail not upgrade, not OEM)

Trog if that were true why woldn't you just buy it from China ?
Home premium RRP is RMB 699 (under $120) (that's full retail not upgrade, not OEM)

wouldn't it be in chinese?!

I recently switched from maps to technet plus. Found a 15% off code on the net. So for the cost of one copy of win7 I run legit ms software on all my PCs. It's an annual fee but is nothing in the scheme of things.

So how long until my RC copy runs out? is there any real urgency in actually going out and buying this do to the current dollar value or something?

I need to buy a new set of headphones and some more RAM and i'd rather be chucking my cash on those if I can.

So how long until my RC copy runs out? is there any real urgency in actually going out and buying this do to the current dollar value or something?

June 1, 2010
No rush
Wait for it to be out for a while. The RC is ultimate anyway. Then you'll find a decent price drop before June. They're both Windows 7, it's not like the internet will hi-5 you for buying it at day zero.

wouldn't it be in chinese?!

Control panel, regional and language options.
Set language to whatever the hell you like.

They don't language cripple their products.

Its a good thing to pay for. Trying to break activation is f***ing annoying.

literally takes 30 seconds, not that I do it.

I'll do what I did with vista, wait a few months for it to drop in price then go get it (yeah I bought vista, wanna make something of it? punk). I've been bitten by OEM s*** before so I won't be touching that with a pole, retail ftw.

I recently switched from maps to technet plus. Found a 15% off code on the net. So for the cost of one copy of win7 I run legit ms software on all my PCs. It's an annual fee but is nothing in the scheme of things.

on all your PCs? the technet page implies its just for an individual user... does the license extend to multiple PCs as long as they're all "yours"?

As far as I knew maps allows 10 install lic where as I belive technet is only 1 single its been a while since I even looked at technet though. Maps was $830nzd annually

I also belive that technet has levels as well much like the gold / pat partners etc

last edited by HerbalLizard at 19:38:05 22/Oct/09

last edited by HerbalLizard at 19:40:49 22/Oct/09

windows 7 runs better on vmware fusion on my macbook with snow leopard than snow leopard does, weird

You can only legitimately use MAPS if your a reseller or developer of MS products.

I use the technet plus products on my desktop, my fileserver and my mediacentre pc. If i had one i'd use them on my laptop too.

I was put off from the maps because of the exams you have to do now. If i'm going to put any effort in to attending and sitting an exam, it'd be for SQL Server, not some s*** i don't need to justify cheap software.. So i let it expire, then a mate pointed out technet plus.. which seems better and cheaper.

And in regards to the reseller requirement for MAPS, they contacted me and asked if I was a reseller because my information looked a bit dodgy (Company Name=CONTRACTOR) I said no I was a contracting database administrator, with a little blurb about what I did, and they said that's fine. It seems that they just don't want small businesses that aren't involved in promoting/selling Microsoft products to get licensed cheaply through MAPS, that's all.

last edited by natslovR at 23:32:00 22/Oct/09

Thanks Jim, execpt you still have to have Windows Vista or XP installed and activated to be able to install from an upgrade disc.

It will do a clean install (wipe data and store old os files in a Windows.OLD folder) but it won't install from a blank HDD.

I just installed to a blank hdd using the same double-install method that worked for vista. At the end of the first install when you get to the license-entry page, leave the 'activate windows' checkbox unchecked and the license field empty and continue on. Then reboot and start the install again, and the existing install is enough for your upgrade key to now work, despite the previous install not being licensed+activated yet.

Any ideas how big the digi download is / will be?

Probably the same size as the beta/rc so a few gigs?

Any ideas how big the digi download is / will be?

Haven't looked at the Ultimate or other versions, but Windows 7 Enterprise is as follows:

x86: 2.23GB
64 Bit: 3.0GB

Now as Enterprise and Ultimate are practically the same, feature wise, I'd say that Ultimate would be the same in size. Also as a word of note, the size stated above is for the full RTM, not upgrade, though from experience, the upgrade is the full version.

yeh it does seem to be the full version
when I tested using an msdn retail key in the upgrade install, it allowed the install to proceed despite not having an os on the drive. the upgrade license key kept getting rejected during the first pass

mongie can you just keep the OP updated with the cheapest price and post it above that f*** off huge pic pls. thx

I would highly recommend a TechNet sub for this one. Even at full price for the online sub, $512, you are entitled to almost all MS products, and usually with 10 keys per "Retail" product, meaning that if all you do is use up the 10 Windows 7 Ultimate keys you're entitled to for 10 separate PC's, you're only paying $51.20 each.

This by far is the cheapest method, though I'm running nothing but the Enterprise version at home which with one key allows for multiple activations.

whats the dealio with 64bit?

will i see any benfit irl?

They don't language cripple their products.

Ultimate & Enterprise the only versions of Win7 that support multi-language packs. Sounds a bit cripply to me.

First post updated.

i'm an ideas man aren't i?

send me some gold now.

Got a few noob questions:

The only difference between OEM and retail is that you need to buy it with a piece of hardware and you only choose between 32 bit and 64 bit. Correct?

This leads onto my second question, whats the difference between 64bit and 32 bit OS apart from being able to use more ram?

How do I know if my CPU can run/handle 64bit? CPU = Core duo E8400.

Pretty much any recent CPU is 64-bit. You have to go back to the Pentium 4 and AthlonXP for 32-bit CPUs.

the oem license is tied to the piece of hardware you bought it with. if you ditch that piece of hardware, legally your windows license is gone too

retail version just lives on regardless

whats the difference between 64bit and 32 bit OS apart from being able to use more ram?

Pointer sizes are doubled meaning nearly all programs will consume more memory which means there may be a slight performance hit for some apps.

Potential compatibility issues with some existing 32 bit applications, though most will run fine.

Low level software like drivers etc will need to have 64 bit versions available.
This may pose a problem if you have older unsupported hardware.

32bit apps don't run natively in 64bit windows at all. They run in a windows on windows emulator/wrapper

I would highly recommend a TechNet sub for this one. Even at full price for the online sub, $512, you are entitled to almost all MS products, and usually with 10 keys per "Retail" product, meaning that if all you do is use up the 10 Windows 7 Ultimate keys you're entitled to for 10 separate PC's, you're only paying $51.20 each.

Are you sure you get 10 keys? The info page doesnt seem to go into enough detail to make this clear.

GF's uncle works at MS and is visiting from Redmond today - so my copy of Win 7 Ultimate will be $35 or so. Sold! :P

Does anyone know if windows 7 full is going to be available via

http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/itsnotcheating/default.aspx

?

It has the upgrade but not the full version.

yeah that would be awesome qmass

windows 7 pro is us$29.99 in the american it's not cheating site.

Are you sure you get 10 keys? The info page doesnt seem to go into enough detail to make this clear.

100% Positive and that's 10 keys per release:

Windows 7 Home Basic (x86) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Home Premium (x64) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Home Premium N (x64) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Home Premium N (x86) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Professional (x64) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Professional (x86) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Professional N (x64) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Professional N (x86) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Starter (x86) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Starter N (x86) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Ultimate (x64) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Ultimate (x86) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Ultimate N (x64) - DVD (English)
Windows 7 Ultimate N (x86) - DVD (English)

140 keys in total, not including Enterprise, which is one key for all releases, but with multiple activations. That's what my subscription entitles me too. Plus all Server 2003 through 2008R2, XP, and all the Vista releases. If you had that many computers it would probably work out to be less than $1 per license.

So who hosted a Win7 party?





What about a Win7 torrenting party?

haha awesome

lol that torrent one is gold

hahaha torrenting one is gold

My dad is more excited about windows 7 than I am, if I have a laptop that doesn't qualify for the free upgrade can I still somehow buy the OEM version or will I need to buy some piece of hardware as well? I've got a fairly current laptop with windows vista 32 bit but I bought it before the whole free upgrade thing.

In terms of using Win7 RC as your "previous copy of windows" - no you can't. You can only upgrade from and activated copy of XP or Vista gay, looks like im gonna have to dust off winxp

after finishing downloading the upgrade, it installed from my win7beta no problems...

Jabroney, did you have the RC or the beta?

While it works now, I'm curious to see if the upgrade works when the beta and RC versions aren't/can't be activated anymore. If anybody installs the beta/RC and doesn't activate them, then tries to install the upgrade and it works, let me know.

did you see my post earlier? it's not exactly the situation you describe, but it's pretty close. and if you're happy to blow away your old install and use a fresh one, it's probably beside the point anyway.

So after using XP 64 I was left disappointed in the 64iness.

Is it worth getting 64bit Windows 7, or just use 32 bit?

I always thought xp 64 was horrible and that vista 64 (and win7) was a lot better.

Cheers Jim. I am understandably cautious after reading that the double-install method that worked in Vista has been removed from Win7.

When you 'second' install Win7, does it take the same time again (i.e. make a Windows.OLD folder and copy the files over) or does it skip the install step and just accept the new licence key?

Reinstalling is painful enough as it is, so I'm tossing up if it's worth the $ to avoid the extra hassle/install time.

yeh it takes roughly the same time again and makes the windows.old dir - everything that existed under c: or whatever before, gets moved there so you get a clean slate in the root partition and just dump windows.old when you're done

if you've got a slow-ish pc it'd be a bit gay, but otherwise it's about 10 minutes extra tops. personally I'm pretty happy with the process, and I was doing it in a fully virtualised vm with dynamic disk mounting the actual install dvd (not an iso, which might reduce the install time due to faster media) - an actual desktop pc at current specs should be considerably faster

for future reinstalls you could probably even just image off either the first install or the second one, dump it on your nas and next time just start from there

haha @ torrenting party

Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version

Not to sound surprised, but Jim's right, it can be done. There are multiple ways it has been done and can be worked around. The upgrade is wickedly cheaper than the retail full. PLUS at itsnotcheating it's only $50, bargain.

I've got a feeling with such wide reception of Win7, "Win8" won't be so far around the corner, unlike the gap between XP and Vista. Provoking no desire to grab the full retail for Win7.

Does anyone know if evenbalance has released a Win7 update for Punkbuster yet?

oh sweet that heaps easier than what I did Seven

I would highly recommend a TechNet sub for this one

Why do people keep carrying on about getting technet?

Technet does NOT give you a license to use the products contained willy nilly on as many PC's as you like. It gives you a license to TEST and EVALUATE it in a technical environment.

Use of technet in a PRODUCTION environment, which does include general home use where the software is NOT used only for evaluation, is not covered by the technet agreement.

Pretty much what Crusher said. Technet, MSDN and the like don't cover your gaming rig, they're for testing and evaluating the Microsoft products covered under the subscription. There's no technical restrictions as such to stop you, but you're still unlicensed for that usage scenario.

it seems to me that if you had Vista 64-Bit Ultimate (i have) then Win 7 doesn't really offer much of a change apart from some superficial things like.
Aero shake
Pinning programs to the toolbar

am i wrong here? am i missing something?

i'm a late starter to Vista but i'm happy with it over all.

what's the advantage to me upgrading??

Better hardware compatibility, very noticeable performance increase (basically everything you do feels faster) + just a lot of small touches which are hard to describe but really add up.

^
That

I've never been one for the terminology 'it just works', but there, I said it.

Can't stand Macs if that makes you feel more at ease. Basically, I only had to install drivers for my video card (a necessity nonetheless) and sound card (beta drivers). Other than that, the OS has done everything else for me.

It's quick and stable, has a great program-search function, the window-snap feature is great for a student like me with PDFs and Word/Powerpoint/Excel open, combines quick launch and the taskbar, puts transparency effects to practical use. Need I go on? Oh, did I mention quick?

still not sold.....don't see to many major differences (so far)
"driver probs" - have had no driver probs with any hardware
"great program-search function" - already have Windows search unless you mean something else?
speed is no issue - 64-Bit with 8GB RAM
snap? - big deal i can resize windows all over my desktop and have been doing so for ages, and MS Office range has had side by side since 2003.

don't forget i'm talking Vista Ultimate 64-Bit so i can't really see any major differences to make me upgrade. once again i'm happy to be proved wrong but so far????

don't forget i'm talking Vista Ultimate 64-Bit so i can't really see any major differences to make me upgrade. once again i'm happy to be proved wrong but so far????

If you're not a fan of the cosmetic changes and such, there isn't a reason for you to upgrade. From the little you've said about your hardware, you won't notice any speed difference. I know I didn't.

So after using XP 64 I was left disappointed in the 64iness. Is it worth getting 64bit Windows 7, or just use 32 bit?

If you have 4GB of RAM or more, go for 64 bit.

XP 64 blew goats and took a bloody long time for it to get up to scratch.

Does anyone know if evenbalance has released a Win7 update for Punkbuster yet?

Well they no longer have an excuse not to work on it, bloody wankers.

last edited by step at 22:45:25 25/Oct/09

Better hardware compatibility

Doesn't it just use the vista driver model ?

thanks step i think you've answered my query

so could i buy a blank hdd and install windows 7 onto it using the upgrade pack from itsnotcheating? or can i just install over xp?

last edited by ravn0s at 23:22:22 25/Oct/09

Party pack. Free of charge. Came with lots of useless stuf too but can live with that!

so could i buy a blank hdd and install windows 7 onto it using the upgrade pack from itsnotcheating? or can i just install over xp?

either
note that 'installing over xp' actually means the windows7 installer will move everything into windows.old and install a clean copy of windows 7 - it won't upgrade your existing xp install

don't forget i'm talking Vista Ultimate 64-Bit so i can't really see any major differences to make me upgrade. once again i'm happy to be proved wrong but so far????

I guess if you haven't noticed the clunkiness or how cumbersome Vista is, there is no point in upgrading.

Just rang a local store and apparantly you cant get an OEM version when buying parts like you could with XP. You have to purchase a full system. f***in rawt. LOL he also said Harvey Norman bought all his full version copies. Seems like they're a bit scarce at the moment.

Who's going to uni and not requiring win7 :)

ok there's a lotta jibbah jabbah joobah going on in this thread and i just want 1 question answered based on the following:

1) I recently bought an acer laptop with Vista that qualifies for the upgrade
2) I am a full time student at QUT
3) I want windows 7 on both my laptop and my home PC (that contains a legit win XP)

WHAT ARE MY BEST OPTIONS? List options, with relevant links etc.

Thanks lovelies!

i found a copy of windows 7 at the bus stop, so i took it home and installed it

Spook, unlike piracy ... that's stealing.

i asked if anyone else owned it and they all said it wasnt theirs.

it all seems to work very well, all ms updates and everything!

THANKS... LOVELIES!

Just took the plunge and grabbed Technet ($384 after a 25% discount voucher).

I wonder how long till I can download s***.

I did the same Mongie. We should be able to DL in about 2 days apparently.

hey guys, i cant be bothered starting a new thread but i have a general question

i run vista x64, and i have two 500gb hdd. one has all my media/photos/junk on it, the other pretty much has program files (windows, office, err... daemon tools?)

if i do a clean install of windows 7, and install it to my hdd with the old windows on it, does the install format both hdds?

no, no it doesnt;

it wont format any drive unless you tell it to

ah sweet, so then I can just backup whatever files i want into hdd #2 and do a clean install on the other one, then move them all back. schweet.

cheers spook for super fast reply :D

either
note that 'installing over xp' actually means the windows7 installer will move everything into windows.old and install a clean copy of windows 7 - it won't upgrade your existing xp install

Confused.

Are you saying you don't need a legit xp/vista cd key or a legit install of xp/vista to install windows 7 upgrade from itsnotcheating?

So upgrade = full version?

nah you have to have a legit XP cd that it checks before installing greazy

thanks paveway.

Are you saying you don't need a legit xp/vista cd key or a legit install of xp/vista to install windows 7 upgrade from itsnotcheating?

I can't vouch for the media that comes from itsnotcheating, but I bought a windows 7 pro upgrade disk from harvey norman to test with, and yes that's correct - I'm saying you don't need a legit xp/vista key, cd or existing install to install + activate windows 7 pro from the upgrade media

tested/confirmed by me


last edited by Jim at 13:43:47 26/Oct/09

How much did the upgrade cost from HN?

what jim, srsly?

$380 or something stupid
we've got a bunch on order through dell which were about $270 each, but I wanted one asap to test with so I'd know what our process here would be and whether ordering the upgrade would be viable

yeah pave, I posted the process earlier in this thread, and then seven posted an even easier method

Wait, you paid for an upgrade thats worth the same amount as a full retail copy? Am I missing something here...

I'm confused...

Everything apart from QGL says that you need to have an activated windows install to install an upgrade... and now you say that you dont.

How does that work?

it would be worth just buying it from itsnotcheating and giving it a go, and on sell it for $100 or whatever if it doesn't work lolz

Everything apart from QGL says that you need to have an activated windows install to install an upgrade... and now you say that you dont.

How does that work?

do what I did - confirm it yourself

can you only use XP to upgrade?

ahh i miss the good old days of tossing in a copy of windows 98 to prove you're upgrading

i got a copy from itsnotcheating and installed the upgrade on my win7beta OS and it worked with no hitches...

Im getting win7 on payday.

I'm taking the plunge on an itsnotcheating upgrade thanks to a friend and attempting it on a maybe not so legit fresh xp install.

Im waiting a while, then getting a SSD and Win 7.

Anyone know how many copies you can get from itsnotcheating off a single email?

Purchase Limitations:
Each eligible users is limited to one purchase of either Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 (perpetual licence) per valid e-mail address and billing address.

guess this goes for win7 as well.

Everything apart from QGL says that you need to have an activated windows install to install an upgrade... and now you say that you dont.

Or...

damn thought my c: drive was on a separate hdd but its not. i will have to copy all my games over to the others, or it might be easier to buy another hdd since im running out of space.

so is this a huge f*** up by microsoft or what ?

not sure, I suspect not

doesn't matter. they get your money anyway

Okay, so windows 7 is pretty good.

What Gadgets to people recommend?

gmail notifer plus
64bit image resizer

Anyone got OEM win7 from Umart with a HDD or something... A "little fish" store told me I had to get a full system or laptop. I bought a copy of XP Home from the discshop a few years back and and they said it had to be "major Hardware"(mobo, cpu or HDD).

Can i get win7 PRO or Ultimate upgrade for XP Home? Or will the Upgrade only work to Win7 Home Premium?

last edited by Zylox at 17:38:48 27/Oct/09

As already posted, you don't even seem to need a previous version to use the upgrade installs.

Umart gave me crap about getting an OEM version saying they had to sell them with a system they build only. I bought 2k worth of PC parts from them and although they'd sell me one copy they wouldn't sell me a second.

Then I read this thread and am now downloading the itsnotcheating $50 dorra version. This is the first time I've ever paid for windows.

is the itsnotcheating upgrade download only or can you get a disc sent out?

Can i get win7 PRO or Ultimate upgrade for XP Home? Or will the Upgrade only work to Win7 Home Premium?

the upgrade doesn't care what version of xp or vista you had before

Costs an extra $14 for a back-up disk.

It's a 3GB file.

jim is corret,
tested today,
did an install with an upgrade retail copy on a blank hdd.. no prior windows information required.

With a Technet subscription, how many licenses do you get?

I put in an order with Umart today for some PC parts and Win7 Pro OEM, they emailed back saying they're waiting for one item to come in and nothing about buying the OEM version so hopefully it's ok. If they bitch they don't have to accept my money.

With a Technet subscription, how many licenses do you get?

10 per version, see my previous post.

With a Technet subscription, how many licenses do you get?

Go ya halves Twisted or anyone else for that matter.

With a Technet subscription, how many licenses do you get?

to use on your home PC? None

As mentioned a few times now, technet licensing is for evaluation and testing only. Licenses do not cover production or general use outside of testing and eval.

So if you spend money on technet, you are spending money to have invalid licenses.

Then again, some people just dont want to listen, so please, go ahead and waste your money and end up no better of from a legally licensed pov than if you bought a burnt copy at the chinese markets.

I just picked up my parts from Umart along with Win7 OEM, they didn't say anything about not being able to sell it without a system. Although what I got was almost a complete system.

With a Technet subscription, how many licenses do you get?

to use on your home PC? None

As mentioned a few times now, technet licensing is for evaluation and testing only. Licenses do not cover production or general use outside of testing and eval.

So if you spend money on technet, you are spending money to have invalid licenses.

Then again, some people just dont want to listen, so please, go ahead and waste your money and end up no better of from a legally licensed pov than if you bought a burnt copy at the chinese markets.

I use my TechNet sub as per the licensing, to evaluate and test, I may be testing a Virtual Machine running Server 2008 R2, or a full system running Windows 7 Enterprise in order to see how it runs my games or how it reacts with different hardware. Regardless the primary OS drive will be wiped within 6 months and the evaluation process will begin anew.

I just picked up my parts from Umart along with Win7 OEM, they didn't say anything about not being able to sell it without a system. Although what I got was almost a complete system.

I emailed them on release day. They said a HDD would do.

is the itsnotcheating upgrade download only or can you get a disc sent out?

you can get a disk sent out but it costs extra, IIRC it was $15 when we did it for BillyH

Go ya halves Twisted or anyone else for that matter.

It's against the licensing of TechNet to share licenses with anybody but yourself. I just talked to one of my mates at MS and I asked him about perpetual evaluation of MS products obtained through TechNet at home and he said as far as he is aware it's within the evaluation guidelines, just don't try to run a business using the licenses.

to use on your home PC? None

As mentioned a few times now, technet licensing is for evaluation and testing only. Licenses do not cover production or general use outside of testing and eval.

So if you spend money on technet, you are spending money to have invalid licenses.

I'd be using my licenses to test application compatibility across the world for MS. I love testing things from the Office Suite, to games and even websites. I know...I'm not even going to get paid...I just can't help myself, its a passion of mine to pursue a career as an unpaid tester.

I use my TechNet sub as per the licensing, to evaluate and test, I may be testing a Virtual Machine running Server 2008 R2, or a full system running Windows 7 Enterprise in order to see how it runs my games or how it reacts with different hardware. Regardless the primary OS drive will be wiped within 6 months and the evaluation process will begin anew.

all well and good so long as you are actually it to evaluate functionality and compatibility.

Buying it without any intentention of evaluating and testing, and just using it as a way to get lots of MS software cheap, isnt in the spirit of the agreement.

Excerpt from the technet licensing t&c

• Evaluation Software. One user may install and use copies of the evaluation software listed in the COMPONENTS.TXT file, even if you obtained a server license.

You may use the evaluation software only to evaluate it. You may not use it in a live operating, in a staging environment or with data that has not been sufficiently backed up.

Not overly ambiguous

They don't language cripple their products.

No-one else found this funny?

Dave?

:(

More info on upgrade version:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5198870

Just install without a key, then:

Insert the key:
slmgr /ipk YGR45-THIS9-WONT5-0WORK-D7667 (Obviously with your actual key).

Activate:
slmgr /ato

Check activation status:
slmgr /dlv

As long as nothing has just changed this should work fine with 7 since you can still install without entering a key.

I also found a site with direct ISO downloads for the ITSNOTCHEATING version of Win7, as people were complaining that the .exe installers were f*ing up.

link

Home Premium x86: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65732/X15-65732.iso
Home Premium x64: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65733/X15-65733.iso
Professional x86: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65804/X15-65804.iso
Professional x64: http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65805/X15-65805.iso