Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Perhaps in an effort to make it easier for users to upgrade to Windows 7 from XP or Vista, Microsoft has released an official upgrade chart—and to put it simply, the chart seems a little overwhelming at first glance.

Diving in, to try and make some sense so you can make sure you are going in the proper direction here’s what you need to know: The chart has your current operating system going down the left hand side.  You will have to first choose your OS, whether it be XP or one of the many flavors of Vista, then pick either 32- or 64-bit.

Once you have that down, you will then choose (from the top) which version of Windows 7 you are upgrading to—either Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate.  And again pick either 32- or 64-bit.

Now that you have those both chosen, you will be able to find out if there is a “Custom Install” required or an “In-Place Upgrade.”  Just to try and clarify those options a little, Custom Install is really referring to a clean (or new) installation meaning you will need to start over.  Then In-Place Upgrade is referring to what many people would like to do, just upgrade their current installation.

Wow, all that just to explain which route you will need to go, sadly if this looks confusing for the geeks out there, I can already hear the phone ringing and the emails being sent from family member and friends needing help choosing the correct option.  With that, I will end with a nice (read: sarcastic) Thanks, Microsoft.

Read [Mossblog]