Windows 7 upgrades 50% off at Amazon

Robert Hallock (Thrax)

June 26, 2009 3:23 AM ET in News, , ,

Now that Microsoft has outed the pricing structure for Windows 7, Amazon has opened preorders for the October 22 launch of the new operating system.

As a special incentive to get your preorders in, the etailer is offering 50% off the upgrade editions of Home Premium and Professional; the deal drops the price to $49 and $99, respectively.

windows7sale

33 Comments:

  1. ardichoke
    26 Jun '09, 7:33 am

    Also NewEgg, Fry's and a number of other e-tailers.

    Complete list here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/buy...pre-order.aspx

  2. MiracleManS
    26 Jun '09, 11:01 am

    Dear god awesome...

  3. mirage
    26 Jun '09, 1:22 pm

    There should be only one version, Professional, at a price of $100 (full). This is just pre-ripoff price. I am not holding my breath for Windows 7 at all.

  4. Leonardo
    26 Jun '09, 3:20 pm

    Upgrade - for Vista and XP? I've read that's only for Vista, but I've also read it works for both.

  5. Missileman
    26 Jun '09, 4:05 pm
    Quoting Leonardo

    Upgrade - for Vista and XP? I've read that's only for Vista, but I've also read it works for both.

    The reason for that is kinda simple. It will allow an upgrade from Win Xp, but will wipe hard drive so it becomes a clean install, but it will upgrade from Vista in what we think of as a traditional upgrade keeping all files and folders and settings.

    So you have to back up using file transfer wizard if you are running XP, install Windows 7, and then transfer your data back in. Vista you can upgrade over it.

    Does this make any sense?

  6. Thrax
    26 Jun '09, 4:06 pm

    An existing Windows XP installation cannot be upgraded to 7; you'll still need a clean installation. However, when Windows 7 upgrade editions ask you for a prior version of Windows, Windows XP is a valid SKU.

  7. Buddy J
    26 Jun '09, 4:57 pm

    This is great. I'm in for the Win (7).

  8. Thrax
    26 Jun '09, 4:58 pm

    This is the first Microsoft operating system I have ever bought. Every prior OS I have legitimately received for free.

  9. Leonardo
    26 Jun '09, 5:20 pm

    Missileman, Thrax, thank you for the clear replies. Sounds like a winner to me.

  10. ardichoke
    26 Jun '09, 5:38 pm
    Quoting Thrax

    This is the first Microsoft operating system I have ever bought. Every prior OS I have legitimately received for free.

    Same here Thrax. It makes me feel kinda dirty.

  11. DrLiam
    26 Jun '09, 6:26 pm

    Looks like I got until July 11 to decide if I want 50% off. Going to be a tough decision whether to leave XP behind or not.

  12. Missileman
    26 Jun '09, 6:37 pm

    You might not want to wait that long. As I said earlier in another thread Microsoft has put strict limits on how many low cost upgrades each retailer can sell. The deal clearly states until July 11 or while supplies last. They appear to be going fast as NewEgg has already cut the 3 per customer limit to 1 per customer.

  13. GnomeWizardd
    26 Jun '09, 7:12 pm

    Just pre ordered my copy

  14. Leonardo
    26 Jun '09, 7:40 pm
    Going to be a tough decision whether to leave XP behind or not.

    Liam, if it weren't for the positive reviews of Win7 by knowledgeable, tech-experienced people here, I'd be inclined to hang with XP/SP3 as long as possible.

    It's time to move forward. I think Windows 7 is worthy of purchase. The Amazon pre-order discount was the final indicator for me.

  15. Cliff_Forster
    26 Jun '09, 7:57 pm

    Hmmmm, will the upgrade copy work with my current Windows 7 RC 7100 set up?

    Otherwise I might wait to see what happens when they release some multi seat OEM licenses a little later on. Building systems on the side, I could always use a few more.

  16. Zuntar
    27 Jun '09, 8:05 pm

    Home premium or professional........ hmmm
    Is remote desktop worth the $50?

  17. mirage
    27 Jun '09, 10:35 pm

    I use VNC to access my Windows XP server's desktop behind my firewall over SSH tunnel. You just need ssh and vncviewer on the remote computer which are available on every OS. UltraVNC server is compatible with Windows 7 and I am pretty confident Freesshd would work too. When you are running sshd, you get a secure remote console (text) and sftp server as well.

  18. ardichoke
    28 Jun '09, 7:55 pm

    Professional also has a built in Windows XP emulator... to allow you to run any programs that won't work under 7 as if they were running in Windows XP. Not sure how well that works or if it would make Pro worth it for you but it was a factor in me ordering Pro instead of Home.

  19. Nate_LapT
    29 Jun '09, 10:00 am

    now if only I had $89 right now.
    oh, I work for a retail supplier :P 10% discount.

  20. Norge
    29 Jun '09, 3:13 pm

    Is Professional what most of the Icrontic crowd is going to upgrade to? Is there a huge benefit to Ultimate over Professional? The idea of potentially missing features bugs me but I didn't see anything on the list for Ultimate other than drive encryption that really interested me. I think I can do without drive encryption as well.

  21. Snarkasm
    29 Jun '09, 3:15 pm

    Ultimate is a lot less useful than it might have been in Vista. All you're missing is Bitlocker encryption and better language support.

    Pro will be suitable for me, and I opted for Ultimate previously with Vista.

  22. Thrax
    29 Jun '09, 3:17 pm

    Ultimate is practically worthless. Home users should never consider Ultimate, and only the most security-minded businesses should give it a second look.

  23. Snarkasm
    29 Jun '09, 3:19 pm

    Doesn't the Business edition contain BitLocker support, though? So why would they need Ultimate?

    I think Ultimate is actually just for e-peen at the moment. There aren't even Ultimate Extras out anymore. I think it might just be there for a clear upgrade path for Vista Ultimate users.

  24. Norge
    29 Jun '09, 4:16 pm

    Thanks for the good answers. Professional it is!

  25. Zuntar
    1 Jul '09, 11:44 am

    I went with the Pro version XP mode and Remote Desktop FTW.

  26. chrisWhite
    2 Jul '09, 7:01 pm

    I just don't know what I want to do yet. I use Remote Desktop but I'm perfectly willing to switch to VNC or switch back to LogMeIn if it comes to that. VNC is a bit better for my mixed Mac & PC laptop/desktop combo too. XP Mode seems useful but I've only found one program that doesn't run in 7 for me yet and I have VMWare so I can always just go that route if I need to. Thoughts?

  27. Snarkasm
    2 Jul '09, 7:02 pm

    I don't know why techies wouldn't get Pro, but that's just me. I like having bells and whistles.

  28. mirage
    2 Jul '09, 7:15 pm
    Quoting chrisWhite

    I just don't know what I want to do yet. I use Remote Desktop but I'm perfectly willing to switch to VNC or switch back to LogMeIn if it comes to that. VNC is a bit better for my mixed Mac & PC laptop/desktop combo too. XP Mode seems useful but I've only found one program that doesn't run in 7 for me yet and I have VMWare so I can always just go that route if I need to. Thoughts?

    VNC w/SSH-tunnel works fine for me. I also agree that XP mode will not be that useful. My only problem has been the ugly blue theme of Office 2003 which I could handle without XP mode.

  29. chrisWhite
    2 Jul '09, 7:20 pm

    I do most of my Office stuff on my Mac these days with iWork, Office 2008 isn't nearly as good as 2007 but I like the interface, well, when I've switched it from blue to black anyway.

  30. mirage
    2 Jul '09, 7:49 pm
    Quoting chrisWhite

    I do most of my Office stuff on my Mac these days with iWork, Office 2008 isn't nearly as good as 2007 but I like the interface, well, when I've switched it from blue to black anyway.

    Office 2003 interface has no theme options and is not aware of Vista Aero theme - naturally. I disable theme support in the compatibility options of executable in File explorer. I need Office since we exchange too many documents with others for collaborative editing tasks. People cant get very impatient with incompatibility issues.

  31. primesuspect
    7 Jul '09, 6:47 pm

    Newegg is also offering 50% discounts on Win7 until July 11th:


    Once You Know, You Newegg

  32. Thrax
    7 Jul '09, 6:52 pm

    As reported on 26 June.

  33. chrisWhite
    7 Jul '09, 7:47 pm
    Quoting mirage

    Office 2003 interface has no theme options and is not aware of Vista Aero theme - naturally. I disable theme support in the compatibility options of executable in File explorer. I need Office since we exchange too many documents with others for collaborative editing tasks. People cant get very impatient with incompatibility issues.

    Sure, I understand that. That is why I mentioned using Office 2007 though, it's such a good suite IMHO.

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