Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade

Pros: good os easy to install i found the system i built can run 32 or 64 bit versions

Cons: had to get updated drivers for some things

Pros: Windows 7 is what Vista should have been. The interface doesn't have nearly the bloat of Vista, and it's faster. I didn't have Vista stability issues, but then again, I removed the unnecessary bloat.

I do like the ability to pin items to the Task Bar. Windows 7 doesn't have the ability to build a menu after so many items are added to the Task Bar, but you can create a folder, make a new toolbar, and point it at the folder for the same effect, so I won't dock an egg for that.

The Multimedia player does a much better job of retrieving data and managing your MM files. I think the interfaces throughout the system, while many are still the same or similar to Vista, is still overall cleaner.

Cons: This was supposed to be an "upgrade" package. It didn't matter that I already had admin privileges on my account, or whether I logged into the admin account. It didn't matter that I shut down every process and service that I possibly could. It didn't matter how many times I ran the Windows upgrade utility. This system simply wouldn't upgrade. It would always fail at the very end when it was supposed to be copying programs and whatnot. A little research on the issue showed I am far from being the only one with the issue, and none of the suggestions that were mentioned online fixed the issue. It would still fail at the very end and fall back to the original OS install.

Other Thoughts: Although I'm just upgrading my home system to the OS I have worked with it at work for quite some time. I still like Windows 7, but the upgrading from a previous OS isn't a given. If you have a previous versions of Windows and want to upgrade, do it while you still get the Acronis True Image. I've used the program for a couple of years now and love it.

Something with a little more detail than the Setuperr.log that could be more easily understood would be nice for troubleshooting upgrade failures.

It does create a Windows.old directory with all your critical files, so you can still copy them over as long as you don't select the option to format the drive, but plan on having to go with a clean install, so make sure you have your software license keys for your other programs!

So far BF3 only required me to copy over the directories from the Windows.old files and reinstall Origin to bring it back to life. I'm hoping for the same with my Steam files.

Pros: Has both 32 bit and 64 bit upgrades so I can install a 32 bit version in a VM for testing with half the memory needed. I did a clean install and activated it online with no problem, never even asked for a previous install disk.

Cons: Awfully expensive when you compare it to O/S upgrades from the fruit company. Guess those guys make their money on over-priced hardware.

Other Thoughts: Worth an extra $50 to have a transferable license. Unless the policy has changed, with an OEM license MS actually expects you to buy another copy if you upgrade the motherboard and CPU on your own computer; if you ever do upgrade, tell MS the old motherboard died when you call to reactivate.

Pros: Less than full version.

Cons: Clean install required registry change to activate.

Other Thoughts: Since I had a couple XP pro licenses sitting around that I wasn't using I figured I would go with the upgrade. This comes with both the 64 and 32 bit install disks and it did a clean install fine to my new machine. The issue came in when I tried to activate using the upgrade key. It kept saying that clean installs were not supported. I figured this was crazy so I called Microsoft support. Eventually they directed me to do a registry change and run a dos command and then everything activated fine. Not hard just annoying that I had to do.

Pros: Windows 7
Easy to Upgrade from XP
Comes with both 32-bit and 64-bit disks
Ultimate

Cons: Nothing.

Other Thoughts: All the bad reviews are from people who don't know how to install it.

Pros: Installed without a hitch. I had Windows XP and once the installer saw I had a qualifying OS already on my system I was able to do a clean install. What a treat. No self respecting geek would ever do an "upgrade"

Cons: UAC, User access control. Asks you if you want to do ANYTHING and requires a yes or no answer. This can be turned off but I ike it. It prevents me from making mistakes and thinking twice about my actions.

Other Thoughts: Runs everything I had and more unless the program was written explicitely for an earlier version of windows they work fine. Never need XP virtual PC.

Pros: Very easy to do a clean install & update (Make sure all BIOS settings are "Default", Then add RAID,ACHI... Etc. if used) Write down if have OC settings (Before "Defaulting" it in BIOS) is much easier to load with default, then go back into BIOS and put your OC settings back in.

Cons: Biggest con is the MONITOR Sleep,Turn-off,Hibernate < Bunch of *** had to change settings x10 times to get it to work right should not be that hard, i check (I want my monitor to shut-off "Never") Come back to Pc after 1/2 hr. and my screen is blank WTH! Don't know about the SP1 update either seems "buggy" so far from what others DL it say, So i will wait to install later if at all.

Other Thoughts: Seems a little glitchy to me i had to install some programs twice for some reason it would not take after shut-down of Pc. Weird cause would run fine before that as program should, then next day like program would not respond or was not there... So i have to re-install the software runs fine now.

Pros: Even though this is the "Upgrade" version I had absolutely no problems doing a clean installation & having it activate right away online! I installed it as if it was the full retail version & it worked the very first try! This was after installing it from a copy I made of the disk so that it stays in perfect condition & undamaged. ;)
I wanted to start fresh & get rid of the other version of W7U x64 I was running for *cough* obvious reasons... (eyes rolling)
Now I'm sure my OS is safe, secure & clean. ;)

I've been using Windows 7 Ultimate since the RC release so I know the OS already & just love it.
This is the reason why I finally bought it after the price went down to a reasonable price range. ($220 down to $184)

Right now on Newegg the Ultimate version is cheaper than the Pro version! :o
Way cool! Newegg is the best!!! :D

Cons: None, zip, zilch, Nada...

Other Thoughts: I've read other review that says the upgrade disk wouldn't install clean for them but I had no such issues whatsoever doing it.
MS might have changed their online activation server rutines to allow for this to make activation easier. ;)

This is by far the best OS that Microsoft has ever released to date!
So for those die-hard XP fans (like me) that refused to let go, this is the operating system to finally switch to.
I love the layout of everything & navigation is 100 times faster than XP Pro ever was...not to mention the "Search" box in this OS actually works!
Takes just a second to find anything on your OS after its been indexed. ;)

Pros: I did a clean install from scratch. I did have a valid Vista key to upgrade from, but it wasn't on the disk that I was starting with. So I loaded windows 7, when it came time to activate it, it gave me an error "Cannot license an upgrade key from a clean install". So I just googled how to get around this. You need to do a simple regedit and run something from a command line and reboot. It then activated just fine. I didn't have to start over from a preinstalled XP or Vista after all. Knowledge is power.

Cons: Too expensive. Windows always was. Maybe if it worked better they could justify the price.

Other Thoughts: Ultimate includes bitlocker and language support. That's it. Get Professional if you don't care about that stuff (unless Ultimate is cheaper).

Pros: You get a disk for 32 and 64 bit system

Cons: Worst product upgrade I have ever experienced with Moicrosoft. Upgraded from Vista Ultimate 64 bit and that was a clean disk install. Nothing works right, programs refused to reload, the AVG locked most program and games ended up spending 8 hours reinstalling things I never should have had to.

Other Thoughts: If your previous system works leave it alone. A lot of bucks for such a poor upgrade product. The installation took over 3 hours alone. I have a life aside from doing upgrades!