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Cheap/free upgrade offer

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Simsy

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Posted November 11, 2009 at 2:40PM

Folks,

I've been tasked with getting a laptop as a present, for my mum, on behalf of my dad...

I/we want it to have Win 7 rather than Vista... (I considered Linux, including the new "eldy" version, and have ruled them out!)

If I buy a new laptop that has Vista installed, and qualifies for the "free" upgrade, does the disc that I'll subsequently get allow a real upgrade from the installed Vista, or will it be a disc that checks for a valid product and then does a full clean install?

Or does it vary from maker to maker?

The ones I'm currently considering are from Acer, Asus and Toshiba.

Thanks in advance,

Regards,

Simsy

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john bunyan

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Posted November 11, 2009 at 4:15PM

My local repair shop favours Asus and Toshiba for ease of repair.
I would try to get the supplier to install Windows 7 before delivery; I have heard of "free" updates costing varying amounts in admin fees. I would have thought most suppliers are ready wit W7 by now and am thinking of buying my wife a laptop like the one you are buying and do not want to confuse the issue with Vista. (I still have XP on my desktop and am migrating to W7 via a dual boot system XP/W7)

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Simsy

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Posted November 11, 2009 at 4:44PM

isn't going to happen!

The upgrade offer comes from the suppliers, not the retailers. I've looked at the process...

You get the laptop, register it and apply online for the upgrade disc... costing varies, but less the £20.

Thanks anyway.

Anyone else been through this and know the answer?

Regards,

Simsy

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john bunyan

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Posted November 11, 2009 at 6:53PM

See Here re Asus:
click here

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961

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Posted November 11, 2009 at 6:57PM

Don't go this route

Get one with W7 installed

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Simsy

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Posted November 12, 2009 at 7:51PM

there are bargains to be had if I go for a Vista machine.

It's not my money, so I need to be wise about it!

Anyone else know the answer to my question?

And thanks for that john bunyan... it was revealing, even though it was ACER not ASUS you pointed to!

Regards,

Simsy

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peter99co

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Posted November 14, 2009 at 1:45PM

Tesco are selling Windows 7 upgrade for £63 at present.

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Mi Casa

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Posted November 14, 2009 at 7:31PM

Simsy,

"there are bargains to be had if I go for a Vista machine"

You bet! I bought an Acer/Vista laptop end of September reduced by over £150 and went down Acer's Windows 7 upgrade route.

The disks were an Acer upgrade disk and a windows 7 disk.The cost was £12.38.

The installation was a breeze with the option of a clean install.All drivers were found without the need to bother Acer's support site!

I've been on win7 for a couple of days now and other than a problem with a Belkin peripheral being non-compatible I have to say that I am well pleased!

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Simsy

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Posted November 14, 2009 at 8:30PM

That's the sort of response I was looking for...

However, I'm not exactly clear what you mean by, "The disks were an Acer upgrade disk and a windows 7 disk."...

So you got 2 discs...
Am I right in thinking that you mean you could either;

Upgrade to Win 7 using the Acer upgrade disc
or
Clean install using the Windows disc.

Or have I misunderstood? Your reference to "all drivers being found" suggests to me that you did a clean install. Did you?

Thanks in anticipation.

Regards,

Simsy

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Simsy

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Posted November 14, 2009 at 8:31PM

How long did it take for the discs to arive?

Thanks,

Regards,

Simsy

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Mi Casa

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Posted November 14, 2009 at 11:09PM

The two disks are :

Acer Upgrade DVD - Drivers and applications and Windows 7 Upgrade Media.

I ordered them about end of September and they arrived October 29th taking into account the fact that win7 didn't release until October 22nd.

Yes I did a clean install.

Basically you run the Acer Upgrade DVD until prompted to run the win7 DVD.Choose "Custom" install i.e. a clean install and when prompted rerun the Acer Upgrade DVD to update any drivers/applications.

In all from start to finish it took about 40 minutes.

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