Courtesy of Microsoft

Jun 27, 2009 11:10 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft ripped through the last translucency veil covering Windows 7 and made the pricing details for the operating system public. Furthermore, the company also started selling the platform, albeit it is only accepting pre-orders at this point in time, since Windows 7 will only be released to manufacturing next month, and will be launched on October 22, 2009. And to top it all off, the software giant also published a document detailing the upgrade paths from older versions of Windows to Windows 7.

The Windows 7 Upgrade Test Matrix went live earlier this week, and was live for a few days, before being pulled down. At the time of this article, the resource is no longer available for download from Microsoft. The information was offered not only through the Microsoft Download Center, but also via TechNet. Although on the Download Center the info was released this week, on TechNet it had been available since earlier this month, and last updated on June 17th. This is the download link offered by Microsoft, but the matrix is no longer available.

And, thanks to the Bing cache, Windows 7 Upgrade Test Matrix continues to be accessible. At the same time, Google cache offers a view of the Windows 7 Upgrade Test Matrix as it appeared on June 24th, 2009. As the label infers, Microsoft used the documentation in order to outline the upgrade paths for the next iteration of the Windows client. Microsoft aimed to deliver an insight into both the supported and unsupported upgrade paths for the successor of Windows Vista, covering all the editions of the operating system, as well as the SKUs of its precursors.

One aspect that is worth mentioning is related to the preliminary nature of the document. The Windows 7 Upgrade Test Matrix, now no longer offered to the public, indicates that Microsoft was, indeed, running a test. This suggests that the information included in the documentation was not finalized and that it is subject to change. I have included a screenshot from TechNet in the article illustrating the matrix of Windows 7 upgrade paths, but the info is available through Bing cache.

Upgrading from Windows 95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000, XP to Windows 7

Microsoft has said before that users won't be able to upgrade in-place from Windows XP to Windows 7. However, customers running XP have the possibility to buy upgraded media of Windows 7 and perform clean installs. One way to circumvent the limitations imposed by Microsoft is to actually upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista, a move which is supported, and subsequently upgrade from Vista to Windows 7. And, believe it or not, the double upgrade trick actually works. Users only need a copy of Vista to act as the intermediary step (this operating system doesn't require activation).

Of course that there are additional upgrade options to jump from Windows XP to Windows 7. One scenario in particular stands out from the crowd, and involves Hardlink Migration with the help of the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010. The User State Migration Tool, a component of the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010, is a solution capable of transferring user settings for applications and the desktop as well as user files from XP to Windows 7.

According to the test matrix, however, there is no way to upgrade Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT4, Windows 2000 or Windows XP to Windows 7. In the graphic, this option features an “X” symbol, used to indicate that “Upgrade is not supported. An error message appears in the Compatibility Report or in a Setup dialog box,” according to Microsoft.

Upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7

According to the Windows 7 Upgrade Test Matrix, users of the RTM edition of Windows Vista (the one released at the end of January 2007) won't have the option of upgrading to Windows 7. Microsoft's documentation indicates that upgrades to Windows 7 are supported only for Vista Service Pack 1 and SP2 editions to corresponding SKUs of the latest Windows client.

When it comes down to Vista-to-Windows 7 upgrades, “Cross-architecture in-place upgrades (for example, x86 to x64) are not supported. Cross-language in-place upgrades (for example, en-us to de-de) are not supported. Cross-build type in-place upgrades (for example, fre to chk) are not supported. Cross-media type in-place upgrades (for example, Staged to Unstaged or Unstaged to Staged) are not supported,” Microsoft reveals.

Vista to Windows 7 upgrades:

- No upgrade options for Windows Vista Starter (SP1, SP2), not even to Windows 7 Starter; - Windows Vista Home Basic (SP1, SP2) 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) can be upgraded to Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium and Ultimate 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64); - Windows Vista Home Premium (SP1, SP2) 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) can be upgraded to Windows 7 Home Premium and Ultimate 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64); - Windows Vista Business (SP1, SP2) 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) can be upgraded to Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64); - Windows Vista Enterprise (SP1, SP2) 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) can be upgraded to Windows 7 Enterprise 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64); - Windows Vista Ultimate (SP1, SP2) 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) can be upgraded to Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64); - No upgrade options for Windows Vista Home Basic N (SP1, SP2), not even to Windows 7 N or E; - No upgrade options for Windows Vista Business N (SP1, SP2), not even to Windows 7 N or E.

Upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 7

For Windows 7 Milestones, Microsoft has revealed that:

- Windows 7 M3 to Windows 7 Beta in-place upgrade is supported; - Windows 7 M3 to Windows 7 RC in-place upgrade is NOT supported; - Windows 7 M3 to Windows 7 RTM in-place upgrade is NOT supported; - Windows 7 Beta to Windows 7 RC in-place upgrade is supported; - Windows 7 Beta to Windows 7 RTM in-place upgrade is NOT supported; - Windows 7 RC to Windows 7 RTM in-place upgrade is supported.

At the same time, the company notes that, “Beta to RC paths are not supported.” and that, “RC to RTM paths are not supported.” For the jump between Windows 7 RTM editions, Microsoft has defined three paths: “RIU = Repair in-place upgrade is supported. This is a Microsoft Customer Service and Support scenario where the user performs a ‘Windows 7 SKU’ to ‘Windows 7 same SKU’ in-place upgrade as a means of repair (for example, upgrading Windows 7 Ultimate to Windows 7 Ultimate. RIUx86 = Repair in-place upgrade is supported for x86 only. WAU = Windows Anytime Upgrade is supported. WAU uses the Transmogrifier platform to transform a lower Windows 7 SKU to a higher Windows 7 SKU (for example, Windows 7 Home Basic to Windows 7 Ultimate.)”

Windows 7 to Windows 7 upgrades:

- Windows 7 Starter RIUx86 upgrades Windows 7 Starter, and WAU upgrades to Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate; - Windows 7 Home Basic RIU upgrades to Windows 7 Home Basic, and WAU upgrades to Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate; - Windows 7 Home Premium RIU upgrades to Windows 7 Home Premium, and WAU upgrades to Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate; - Windows 7 Professional RIU upgrades to Windows 7 Professional, and WAU upgrades to Windows 7 Ultimate; - Windows 7 Enterprise RIU upgrades to Windows 7 Enterprise; - Windows 7 Ultimate RIU upgrades to Windows 7 Ultimate.

Upgrading N/E/KN Windows 7 editions

With Windows 7, just as it was the case with Windows Vista, Microsoft will offer two special editions of the operating system, the N and K SKUs, because it is obliged to do so by the antitrust authorities in Europe and Korea. In addition to these two editions, because of the objections the European Antitrust Commission had related to the Windows – IE bundle, in Europe Microsoft will also make available the E flavor of Windows 7, namely the operating system with the browser stripped off.

- Windows 7 Starter N, E, or KN RIUx86 upgrades Windows 7 Starter N, E, or KN, and WAU upgrades to Windows 7 Home Premium N|E|KN, Professional N|E|KN, and Ultimate N|E|KN; - Windows 7 Home Basic N, E, or KN RIU upgrades to Windows 7 Home Basic N, E, or KN, and WAU upgrades to Windows 7 Home Premium N|E|KN, Professional N|E|KN and Ultimate N|E|KN; - Windows 7 Home Premium N, E, or KN RIU upgrades to Windows 7 Home Premium N|E|KN, and WAU upgrades to Windows 7 Professional N|E|KN and Ultimate N|E|KN; - Windows 7 Professional N, E, or KN RIU upgrades to Windows 7 Professional N, E, or KN and WAU upgrades to Windows 7 Ultimate N|E|KN; - Windows 7 Enterprise N, E, or KN RIU upgrades to Windows 7 Enterprise N|E|KN; - Windows 7 Ultimate N, E, or KN RIU upgrades to Windows 7 Ultimate N|E|KN.

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