Customer Reviews

Microsoft Windows 7 Anytime Upgrade [Starter to Home Premium]

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This product is only for computers running Windows 7 Starter, so if you are hoping to upgrade from XP or Vista with this kit you are out of luck. If you bought a Windows 7 netbook, chances are you have Windows 7 Starter and have already noticed a few shortcomings of the "netbook-friendly" OS. Among those are the inability to change the background or theme without assistance of 3rd party software, no Windows Media Center, and lack of Aero enhancements such as Glass (translucent borders) and Peek (thumbnail previews of open windows). Starter also lacks a 64-bit version and caps memory at 2GB, but the Atom processors in most netbooks are 32-bit and only support up to 2GB RAM.

Windows Anytime Upgrade is a convenient way to increase functionality without spending extra on a full upgrade kit. The case contains only a product key, no disc, so no external DVD drive is needed. Windows 7 installs all of the components for all versions regardless of which is being installed, locking features to all but their respective variant. This means that there is nothing extra to be installed and allows for the entire upgrade to finish in roughly 10 minutes.

The biggest problem with the Anytime Upgrade is that it can only be used to go from Starter to Home Premium. With regular upgrade packs, you can move to a particular flavor of Windows 7 from Vista, XP, or a lesser version of 7. If you wanted to, you could revert to your previous Vista/XP/7 and use the upgrade on another eligible computer. For a savings of roughly $40, you lose a lot of flexibility. If you decide to transfer the upgrade license, it has to be to another computer running Windows 7 Starter. [Note: I have not tested to see if you even can transfer an AU license, but a regular upgrade can be moved]

Bottom Line: If you missed out on the upgrade kit preorder sale, this is the cheapest way to upgrade your netbook to fully-fledged Windows 7 and take advantage of some of the new features. The fast, painless installation is perfect for netbooks preloaded with Windows 7 Starter, but useless for anything else.

---NOTE FOR TABLET USERS: Microsoft has available for download a package for multitouch display devices that is only supported in Windows 7 Home Premium or higher. If your tablet comes preloaded with Starter, you will not be able to install that update. If your netbook falls into this category, then this Anytime Upgrade comes with a stronger recommendation as it allows far more natural interaction that is otherwise severely limited without.

---EDIT: According to the license agreement, if you use an Anytime Upgrade (not a retail upgrade) on a computer, the license is inherited from the previous OS. If you AU an OEM build, the kind that comes preinstalled on retail computers, the AU is now an OEM product and not transferable to a new computer. HOWEVER, that does not mean that if your netbook breaks, your upgrade is lost forever. As long as the base hardware (read: motherboard) on a replacement is the same model as the original, it should work. This is based strictly on the licensing agreement; I have not tested to confirm.

---EDIT 7-09-2010: I finally had the need to test out the transfer of an Anytime Upgrade license and I can confirm the above. Since Windows 7 Starter edition only comes with an OEM license, ANY upgrades (AU, Upgrade, or retail pack used as an AU) to it inherit that OEM license and cannot be transferred from one computer to another. Use caution when using any form of upgrade with Windows 7 Starter. That said, this is the cheapest option to upgrade Starter to a full version, so if you are going to lock in that upgrade, no sense wasting the extra money on a more expensive set that will provide the exact same results.

So far, I am very happy with the Windows 7/Starter on the eeePC. I installed the 2GB upgrade, but I have decided I don't really need the upgrade to Home/Premium:

Screensaver: I have read that these have little use with flat panel displays. The best approach is to turn the display off to extend the life of the back lighting. This you can do with 7/Starter.

Desktop Background: Don't these tend to become invisible after a while anyway?

Aero Effects: Can I live without it? Yeaahhh.

Themes: Again, so what?

I use the netbook for net surfing, ebooks, forums, email and a little blogging. Bookworm Adventure runs nicely. 7/Starter does all of these things very well. The look of Starter is attractive and pleasing. I can't see how a $77 desktop background will make these things perform any better.

Does what it's supposed to do. The "No discs, no delay" is deceiving. When you order from Amazon, you don't just get the upgrade code emailed to you instantly, you actually have to wait for a package to be delivered. There is no disc, just the upgrade code. Seems like it could be done online so you don't have to wait several days for a little card to be delivered. A waste of time and packaging. The delivery method is the reason I'm giving it a lower number of stars.

Windows 7 Starter needs to be done away with. Just because you have a small portable laptop does not mean that you want only a few basic features. Shame on Microsoft for making this version that almost forces an experienced user to upgrade. It's just a ploy to get more $$$.

The fact that I had to buy this in the first place made me upset, because my computer was gimped by it's own operating system. The netbook I bought this for came with a 64-bit processor and windwos 7 starter 32-bit. I thought that by upgrading with this it would come with the 64-bit version, being as it says: "Takes full advantage of the power and multi-tasking capabilities of the latest 64-bit PC" and "Takes full advantage of 64-bit PC hardware and memory." But it does not. In fact after doing more research the microsoft site says it cannot upgrade a 32-bit operating system to a 64-bit. But here's the worst part, windows 7 starter does not come in a 64-bit, so it is impossible. So why is this description mentioning anything 64-bit?

This is a upgrade designed specifically for netbooks that come installed with Windows 7 Starter. This is many netbooks these days, and Win 7 Starter is a crappy, stripped down OS. It's like half an OS.

The anytime upgrade was easy to install, and now that it's on my netbook, I'm thrilled with the functionality. However, I can't give it 5 stars for the following reasons.

1) Microsoft should have never designed or offered such a crappy product as Win 7 Starter, and users should have to fork over this much money for a basic level of functionality that you get with any computer.

2) Amazon falsely advertises this as "No disk, no delay". While there's no disk to worry about (which would be awful, since netbooks don't have disk drives), this isn't exactly instant. Instead of being able to download immediately (which would make way too much sense), you get a box in the mail. Inside of the box is a plastic case, which holds a bunch of paper, which holds the key code to download the upgrade. It's ridiculous that you can't immediately download and install something so simple, and that customers are forced to pay shipping, wait, and add waste to landfills for it.

Everything about this just irritates me. But buy it. You need it. And even if you don't *actually* need it, you'll want it and you probably won't be happy with your netbook without it.

As a netbook buyer, I was disappointed to find that Microsoft thought so little of my business they only included a half an operating system - Windows 7 STARTER? I decided maybe I was being cheap somehow, so I invested in the upgrade to Windows Home Premium, and now I'm asking myself WHY. There doesn't seem to be anything IN this product other than the ability to put on your own desktop picture. OK, maybe a little more than that, but so far I've found no usefulness and I'm sorry I spent the money. Apparently the upgrade allows you to watch videos/movies IF you also go out and buy an external DVD, but again, this isn't what I purchased my netbook for, so spending more for accessories I don't need in order to justify the updgrade seems a bit whacko.
Nope, sorry I bought this one.

I chose to upgrade Win 7 Starter version which was originally installed on my new Asus Netbook in order to gain more features and networking compatibility. The installation of the Upgrade to Home Premium was a flawless, easy procedure and I could not be more pleased with my purchase. My laptop was upgraded to Win 7 Premium but I did not feel that was necessary for a netbook. Also, I think Amazon is the absolute best!

I have an Eee PC with Windows 7 Starter. I researched the benefits of Home Premium and I can't justify $80 to upgrade to Home Premium on my Eee PC. Unless you really need a Home Premium feature, why spend the money? On a desktop PC, I could understand, but for a netbook, Windows 7 Starter should work fine... I just recommend you upgrade to 2GB of RAM if you can. Spend the money to upgrade your RAM instead (if you only have 1GB).

I do agree with some other reviewers that W7 Starter should be omitted and offer W7 Home Premium as the starting level of W7. Essentially you are paying $70-80 for a nice plastic box with a product key card inside. I somehow doubt that the air inside the case is "special" enough to warrant the cost.

I'll try my best to stick to the review of this product and not MS's architecture and release strategies. The install is pretty easy by finding the anytime upgrade icon in your start menu. The initial change will take about 10 minutes and a few reboots. Another initializing sequence will follow when you start up the computer and probably takes 10+ minutes to complete. You will also have to validate the product key online within a few days. Just click on the link in the control panel screen. Probably most of you will be using this on a netbook that was built with W7 Starter to control the build cost. I doubt many desktops or notebooks are sold with W7 Starter.

I was pleased with my Toshiba NB505 Netbook even with the starter edition of Windows 7. Not all that picky about my wallpaper etc. But...big But...Windows 7 did not allow full functionality of my Windows Media Player. To be specific, I could not play my movies. Now, I know there are many other advantages to the full Windows 7. I read many of them in the many reviews (I love Amazon!!!) You can check those out for yourself. I didn't see this issue however and that's why I will zero in on this this subject for your literary enjoyment. I am able to copy movie DVD's on my desktop computer. (The software to do this is free and simple). Netbooks don't have a disk reader so the flashdrive is of utmost importance when it comes to backing up, and/or transferring files. Cutting to the chase, I copied one of my commercial movies from my desktop to a flashdrive. I plugged it into my new Netbook and lo and behold, Windows Media player refused to handle it because the full functionaliy was not assigned to the Starter Edition. I loaded my new Windows 7 code yesterday. It was easy-schmeezy lemon squeezy. Took about 30 minutes for installation. I plugged in my flashdrive upon which I loaded a full commercial movie file (The Town w/ Ben Afleck). Son-of-a-gun, my Netbook's Windows Media Player sucked up my movie files and played my movie perfectly!!! I now have an awesome DVD movie player in addition to all the stuff I expected such as email, online websites, social media, and personal files using Microsoft Excel and Word. I love this thing with the new capabilites. Yes, I changed my wallpaper to total awesomeness!