Is Windows 7 worth the upgrade from Vista?

[pinoy3000]

Hey guys. I built my computer 3 years ago and as we all know, Windows is self-destructive and slows down as time progresses. I was thinking of doing a fresh install again but it result in a loss of important softwares and etc that I wish to keep. Although I can install them again as I have the original disc and what not, it will just take some time.

Now, I am wondering... Microsoft sells Windows 7 Upgrade to Professional for only $30.00 and is available to any college students with a .edu e-mail.

My question is, will it be worth the upgrade from Windows Vista to 7? Also, it is an upgrade option and not a fresh install option... so I will get to keep the programs currently installed in my primary drive. But, will upgrading act like it was a fresh install and my PC will be as fast as if it was just installed freshly? (not sure if this makes sense haha).

But yea, what do you guys think? Please respond I am in desperate need of help. Money is also now becoming a problem.... as a college student, I am now learning the true value of money haha.


*EDIT*
Meh... sorry I posted it in the wrong section. If moderators could move it please

Also, I have Windows Vista Premium and according to the upgrade thingy, I can only upgrade to Windows 7 Basic or Windows 7 Ultimate. The only OS that can upgrade to Windows 7 Professional is if you have Windows Vista Business.

What is Microsoft thinking? They offer a cheap alternative upgrade to college students to Windows 7 Professional but they require you to have Windows Vista Business installed in order to do so? I mean.... how many college students even have the Business version of Vista installed on their computer?

Ugh... Ima give them a call or something tomorrow.

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

The upgrade disc can be used as an install from scratch if you use it right. I bought my $30 upgrade to Pro but only had XP on my netbook (the PC I bought it for). I used a Windows 7 Pro CD (in USB stick form but the ISO came from Microsoft) to install Windows 7 Pro on my netbook (without entering a key, entering the upgrade key here fails as it isn't an upgrade). After this you'll have a 30 day installation of Windows 7 running. While at the Windows 7 desktop just put your CD (or USB drive in my case) back in the PC and it will come up with an "Install Windows 7" box. Proceed through the steps and it will ask if you want to upgrade to Windows 7, go along with the "upgrade" and it will reinstall all the OS files (this is stupid, but the end result is that it flags the new copy as an upgrade and you can register it successfully). In essence, you upgrade Windows 7 Pro Fresh Install to Windows 7 Pro Upgrade Install. This can also be done with a Vista install at first (even one that isn't activated). The only thing you need is a Windows Vista or Windows 7 CD that you can install with, there are many places to get this (Microsoft had them up for download when they were doing the student discount).

As far as I know the student discount was discontinued in January, that promotion was an end of 2009 thing. I bought my upgrade copy in December. Unless they're doing another promotion you may be reading outdated information.

 

[pinoy3000]

The upgrade disc can be used as an install from scratch if you use it right. I bought my $30 upgrade to Pro but only had XP on my netbook (the PC I bought it for). I used a Windows 7 Pro CD (in USB stick form but the ISO came from Microsoft) to install Windows 7 Pro on my netbook (without entering a key, entering the upgrade key here fails as it isn't an upgrade). After this you'll have a 30 day installation of Windows 7 running. While at the Windows 7 desktop just put your CD (or USB drive in my case) back in the PC and it will come up with an "Install Windows 7" box. Proceed through the steps and it will ask if you want to upgrade to Windows 7, go along with the "upgrade" and it will reinstall all the OS files (this is stupid, but the end result is that it flags the new copy as an upgrade and you can register it successfully). In essence, you upgrade Windows 7 Pro Fresh Install to Windows 7 Pro Upgrade Install. This can also be done with a Vista install at first (even one that isn't activated). The only thing you need is a Windows Vista or Windows 7 CD that you can install with, there are many places to get this (Microsoft had them up for download when they were doing the student discount).

As far as I know the student discount was discontinued in January, that promotion was an end of 2009 thing. I bought my upgrade copy in December. Unless they're doing another promotion you may be reading outdated information.

thank you for the reply. The discount is still valid as I am able to purchase it using my .edu email and etc. But after reading everything you just wrote, it seems like more of a hassle to upgrade to Windows 7 in my case. Haha! It might be better if I just keep Windows Vista as I have yet to encounter any problems with it... aside from the slow boot time which takes roughly around 1-2 minutes... it boots fast but its non responsive for a minute or so after I log-in.

Oh well.... I might just wait for Windows 8 and when I build my next PC or something

 

[Adamman715]

It will not be as fast as you first got the computer, because all of your original files are still on it in a folder called Windows.old. This will not make your computer any faster, but Vista sucks

It is worth the upgrade though.

 

[KSoD]

thank you for the reply. The discount is still valid as I am able to purchase it using my .edu email and etc. But after reading everything you just wrote, it seems like more of a hassle to upgrade to Windows 7 in my case. Haha! It might be better if I just keep Windows Vista as I have yet to encounter any problems with it... aside from the slow boot time which takes roughly around 1-2 minutes... it boots fast but its non responsive for a minute or so after I log-in.

Oh well.... I might just wait for Windows 8 and when I build my next PC or something.. then install Mac OS on my current PC by that time haha.

No it isnt. If you read Calc's response he told you how to do the upgrade FROM XP not Vista to Win7. All you will have to do is boot to your desktop, insert the Win7 Disk and upgrade. It will take a few hours to complete the process but that is all you do.

Answer a few questions and away you go. It converts everything and does it all automatically. So i fail to see how it is a hassle. It is as simple as inserting a disk. I think you mis-understood what Calc said.

You need to read the FAQ thread and run the Upgrade Advisor. That will tell you what software you need to remove before the upgrade and what drivers you will have to update.

Waiting for Win8 which wont be out for another 2+ years is NOT a good idea.

 

[pinoy3000]

No it isnt. If you read Calc's response he told you how to do the upgrade FROM XP not Vista to Win7. All you will have to do is boot to your desktop, insert the Win7 Disk and upgrade. It will take a few hours to complete the process but that is all you do.

Answer a few questions and away you go. It converts everything and does it all automatically. So i fail to see how it is a hassle. It is as simple as inserting a disk. I think you mis-understood what Calc said.

You need to read the FAQ thread and run the Upgrade Advisor. That will tell you what software you need to remove before the upgrade and what drivers you will have to update.

Waiting for Win8 which wont be out for another 2+ years is NOT a good idea.

Sweet. So I bought the $29.99 upgrade version of Windows 7 and then on the download link they sent me, I had the option to download the ISO which took only 10 mins to download the 3GB file. Burnt it to DVD using the Windows 7 USB/DVD thingy and it worked! Now I am running on Windows 7, its amazing how much space I was able to save in the primary hard drive. Windows Vista was taking a lot of hard drive space, lots of updates and shizzle.

So far, Windows 7 is running smoothly. No problems yet. I did have to install my driver for my Realtek Wireless thats built into the motherboard... but that wasnt hard to find.

Now... just gotta wait for my new hard drive to arrive so I can finally start oganizing it and storing all my data on that drive. I have all my Programs and Games (well most of the programs) installed on the D drive. All Windows, Adobe, and the big name softwares are gonna be installed on the C:\ drive.

 

[WhiteFlare]

You can try to do the upgrade, but be warned, upgrades are never good (lots of bugs and other problems). Ive been told its best to just do a clean install.

 

[Yami]

Upgrades can be buggy but the vast majority of them are fine; I don't think Microsoft would have included the option if it rarely worked. But yes, a clean install is pretty much always preferable.

 

[Halcyon]

Remember that your old files will go to a Windows.old folder so you won't necessarily lose all your information. You cannot merely move your software over, but for files that doesn't need to be installed (photos, documents, etc), you can just move it to your current Windows documents.

After you're sure you have everything you need from your old Windows, feel free to delete the Windows.old folder. Make sure you do not need anything else from it though.. I've made that mistake a time or two hah.