Upgrade Options For Windows 7 Compatibility Testing - "It's pretty simple"

If you're planning on adding Windows 7 to your compatibility testing soon, then you need to know about the different upgrade paths. It should come as no surprise that these paths can be confusing despite Microsoft's claim that "It's pretty simple". Based on the information from their website, I've been able to distill the choices into a couple of tables that may be useful if you are planning on upgrading soon.

This first table lists the price points for upgrading. As you can see, the upgrade costs for Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional are very reasonable. The catch is that you have to pre-order soon.
*Up to three copies each of Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional with this promotion
**The offer begins on June 26, 2009 and will continue while supplies last, or until July 11, 2009, whichever comes first

RTL's compatibility test lab has a large number of Windows configurations and these upgrade prices will certainly help keep costs down. However, the Microsoft website says the limit is 3 copies, while c|net says "the program covers a maximum of 25 PCs for an organization". We've made an initial order with Amazon to ensure we get some copies. I did not see a limit statement when I ordered. If you're interested in ordering from Amazon, I've included links for both Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional upgrades below. You'll save $70 on Windows 7 Home Premium and $100 for Professional.

This next table lists the different Windows 7 upgrade installation options. For the most part, upgrading will require a clean install.

See, it is pretty simple.