Windows Anytime Upgrade - For Vista....

After going to windows update and subscribing to Microsoft Update my Vista Version was detected.

Windows Anytime Upgrade started up and asked me if I wanted to upgrade to Vista Ultimate. I chose yes to have a look at what the upgrade price would be for me to upgrade to Ultimate.

I tried various vendors that Microsoft recommended and found that PC World would give me Vista Ultimate upgrade for £124.00.

I have some questions though. Will I be upgraded to Vista Ultimate Retail or Vista Ultimate OEM?

I'm asking because Vista Home Premium cost me around £70 and if i get the Ultimate Upgrade from Microsoft it would mean that Vista Ultimate cost me around £200 for the retail.

Am I making sense?

If it is an upgrade to Ultimate Retail I'll order the upgrade now.

Actually, all Vista DVDs contain all versions of Vista, that means with each Vista DVD you can install the Ultimate Editon on your machine. Only the product key determines what features will be available to you.

So what Windows Anytime Upgrade does for you is to unlock the new features, that´s all. No additional product shipping, no re-install, nothing. Similar to activating a shareware product.

Yeah I just reead up on that. Once I complete the purchase MS Issue me with a Vista Ultimate CD Key.

My question still remains though. My version of Vista Home Premium is OEM. Will I get a retail Vista Ultimate CD-Key if I upgrade?

I may aswell fire off an email to MS or PC world. If they tell me that I'll get a Vista Ultimate Retail CD-KEY then I'll upgrade.

money to burn... wait till its stable.... my bullets have got krypyonite... my axe is sharp {;-) Luke will save you ... or was it Bo ?

My guess is that you will keep the OEM licence, and the only difference between the OEM and the retail version of Vista are the box and the MS support (which costs the extra money). Do you need the support points?

I can confirm that the license you get from Anytime Upgrade will be an OEM license, regardless of the product you bought previously. iexbeta.com has discussions in their Vista forums about this.

Well i don't need support for Vista. I just google whenever I run in to problems or do what everybody does when they need Windows Support. Format. :)

OEM licenses can only be installed on one machine and there is a limit to what you can upgrade on that machine before the OEM license becomes invalid. Retail on the other hand can be installed on one machine and if you upgrade or buy a new PC you can still install the OS.

The thing is the OEM Vista Ultimate costs between £120-£140. Vista Home Premium OEM Costs Just under £70. I've already spent the £70 which means the upgrade to OEM Ultimate should be between £40-£60. But, Windows Anytime Upgrade has it priced at £120. Me thinks it will be a retail CD-KeY that I'll get.

Have to wait for a reply from MS or PCWorld and I'll be able to verify it. :)

Actually OEM licenses never run out on your machine no matter how much you upgrade it. Activation will kick in and say otherwise, but a phone call will remedy that.

Also, that pricing seems really screwy =]

That's not technically true. According to Microsofts OEM license, A motherboard change without a valid reason means you won't be able to activate your OS.

This happened to me with XP Pro OEM. I had to explain to the GUY on the activation line why I changed my motherboard. All other components were the same and he could see that. He asked why my motherboard had changed, I told him, he seemed OK with it and gave me the activation number.

Well, a motherboard is the heart of a computer. A valid reason would be 'the last one stopped working' or 'I needed extra features'. Hardly very restrictive.

Anyway, as I said, the activation program will have things to say, but it's remedied with a phone call, as your own story demonstrates.

We are no longer in XP times. Vista licensing became more restrictive, and so became Microsoft's activation policy for Vista. For example, they no longer want you to transfer a Vista license from one machine to another - they are trying to push you to buy a new Vista license now. They also want to charge customers for additional activations.

Some people already said that the Vista EULA probably is "the longest suicide note in history". Maybe they're right.