Notebook brands

[Harrison]

To upgrade an existing copy of Vista to a different version you have to use the Windows Anytime Upgrade feature built into the OS.

Details of the upgrades are available here. And according to that page it costs £112.03

There is also an FAQ page here. And a 32bit to 64bit FAQ here.

However, if you own a 32bit copy of Vista you are entitled to a 64bit copy of the same version of Vista. Only Ultimate comes with both versions in the box though so you have to order the 64bit version of Premium if you wanted to stick with that one. Go to this link and it gives details on how to order a 64bit DVD using the product key you already have for Vista.

[Demon Cleaner]

Thanks for the links, only question is, do I really need to upgrade Premium to Ultimate? What do I get more? It's still 112£.

[Harrison]

I've added a bit more info to my last post. Have a look at the last link which takes you to a page to get a free copy of the 64 bit version of Vista Premium. You just have to pay for the shipping costs.

It isn't really worth upgrading from Premium to Ultimate for general use and gaming. Ultimate combines the features of Premium and Business editions, so if you don't need the business parts it won't be any different to the one you already have. All you really get extra is remote desktop, system backup, bitlocker drive encryption and a couple of other things. If you needed to use VPN then Ultimate is also recommended.

[Demon Cleaner]

Hm, I will use VPN, but I have original software for that. But thanks for the other link, I'll do that, if it's only the shipping costs.

[Demon Cleaner]

However, if you own a 32bit copy of Vista you are entitled to a 64bit copy of the same version of Vista. Only Ultimate comes with both versions in the box though so you have to order the 64bit version of Premium if you wanted to stick with that one. Go to this link and it gives details on how to order a 64bit DVD using the product key you already have for Vista.

If I try with my serial I get following message:

We're sorry, the following error(s) have occurred:
No Offer Found

[Harrison]

I've not seen that message myself. However I just did a quick google search and found others saying they are having the same message after entering their product key. And some of the replies are saying it is because the product key is already in use by the existing installation of the 32bit version.

This reply in a forum post might explain why:

Well I called Microsoft this morning and spoke to a very helpful lady on the
alternate media customer support line and she has explained that there are
some problems with the online system at the moment and they are not sure when
it will be fixed. She was able to take my product key and do a manually
replacement media order for me though, so I am very happy!

Maybe you should try the same?

[Demon Cleaner]

Maybe you should try the same?

I just read this:

The ability to get the 64bit version of Vista, by mail, is for the purchasers of a Retail copy of Vista, only.

The reason that page exists is because the Retail copy of Vista only comes with the 32bit version, but buying a Retail copy of Vista licenses you to use either 32 or 64 bit versions.

OEM copys of Vista (the ones that come with a computer, pre-installed) are only licensed to use the version of Vista that came with the computer.

[Harrison]

That is annoying. However, I have read in a few places that a Vista product key will activate both 32bit and 64bit versions of the same version of Vista regardless of if it is a key from a retail or OEM copy. Therefore you could try downloading a 64bit copy of Vista Premium from a torrent or newsgroup and then activating it with your existing key.

I'm sure that should work.

[Demon Cleaner]

Could probably work, but is there a possibility to install over the already existing OS? I don't want to do it again from scratch, it's fully set up now and it took me long time.

[Harrison]

Sadly not. You can upgrade an existing version of Vista to another (Premium to Ultimate for example), but you cannot upgrade a version from 32bit to 64bit because the codebase and actual OS structure is quite different.

When you actually use a 64bit version of Vista you instantly notice things are a little different. The Program Files directory is split into 2 (one for 32bit and one for 64bit applications) and the same is true of the registry which is split into extra branches to cater for both code bases. And other things like the Control Panel have native 64bit versions installed.