Windows 7 – Windows Upgrade Option Program
While many customers will purchase a PC with Windows 7 pre-installed, some will participate in the Windows Upgrade Option Program. The program provides these customers who purchased a PC with Windows Vista the option to install Windows 7 when it becomes available in October. For general information on the Windows Upgrade Option program, please refer to Windows Upgrade Option site or visit the OEM Communications Extranet.
For customer support, the Windows Upgrade Option program will be running until January 31, 2010. Media fulfillment for participating customers will start on or shortly after October 22, 2009. Customer support organizations should plan around the projected redemption rates and the corresponding support volume generated from customers inquiring about how to install the upgrade during this time period.
Support professionals should be aware of the following issues customers may encounter and provide guidance to help the customer make the best decision for their situation.
Overview of Setup and Upgrade:
For technical support, there are some general setup considerations and issues:
| System Requirements: For the Windows Upgrade program, customers that participate in the program will be sent a corresponding version that maps to the OS level they purchased. Ex. Vista Home Premium = Windows 7 Home Premium. Users should meet the minimum requirements. Recommended Following are the minimum hardware recommendations for Windows 7:
Minimums Windows 7 will not install if you do not meet these minimums:
Maximums Windows 7 uses the following as maximum supported hardware configurations:
When installing on systems with greater than these values, Windows 7 will only use up to the maximum value. So a 32-bit installation of Windows 7 on an 8 GB RAM system will only show 4 GB available for use. In this particular case it will actually show less than 4 GB, due to limitations in the x86 architecture. Upgrade Advisor: This program checks for software or configurations that could lead to problems during setup. The Upgrade Advisor will be available for download from Microsoft.com before Windows 7 general availability. Much like the Compatibility Report in Windows 7 Setup, the Upgrade Advisor provides you with a list of any warnings or blocks for upgrading your computer. The requirement areas checked are: · Software compatibility o Programs o Current Windows version · Hardware compatibility · Windows features that will be removed This information is displayed in the report, along with guidance on how best to migrate from your current configuration to Windows 7. Example report screen: Features Removed during Upgrade: Certain features will be removed after Windows 7 installation. Support professionals will need to ensure there is a replacement or alternative if the application or feature is critical to the customer. The following Windows Vista features will be removed: · Movie Maker · Photo Gallery · Windows Mail · Windows Calendar · Meeting Place This does not apply to Windows Live programs with similar names. Windows Live programs for mail, photos and movies should be migrated during the upgrade. Note: Data files for these removed Windows features are migrated during an upgrade so that they will be available for use in an alternate program.
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In addition to the above, several other items installed as add-on software for Windows Vista Ultimate Edition, are also removed as part of the Upgrade process: · Ultimate Extras o Windows DreamScene and DreamScene Content Packs o Microsoft Tinker o Hold Em Poker Game o Windows Sound Schemes · Language Packs o Installed language packs are removed during the upgrade. You will need to reinstall language packs after the upgrade is complete. Note: Windows 7 upgrade migrates personally provided content for DreamScene. Only content included in the Ultimate Extras provided DreamScene Content Packs are removed during the upgrade. Message for Ultimate Extras:
Certain features will be removed after Windows 7 installation. Support professionals will need to ensure there is a replacement or alternative if the application or feature is critical to the customer. The following Windows Vista features will be removed: · Movie Maker · Photo Gallery · Windows Mail · Windows Calendar · Meeting Place This does not apply to Windows Live programs with similar names. Windows Live programs for mail, photos and movies should be migrated during the upgrade. In addition to the above, several other items installed as add-on software for Windows Vista Ultimate Edition, are also removed as part of the Upgrade process: · Ultimate Extras o Windows DreamScene and DreamScene Content Packs o |
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