[Phillip Dyson]

Originally Posted by Jason Dunn

Assuming that's a retail copy of Vista Ultimate, and not an OEM copy or one that was pre-installed on that computer, then yes, you can install that copy of Vista Ultimate on another computer.

Why would it matter if its an OEM copy? If I'm replacing the computer that it's installed on, can't I transfer it to a new machine?

[Phillip Dyson]

Originally Posted by Jason Dunn

Assuming that's a retail copy of Vista Ultimate, and not an OEM copy or one that was pre-installed on that computer, then yes, you can install that copy of Vista Ultimate on another computer.

Why would it matter if its an OEM copy? If I'm replacing the computer that it's installed on, can't I transfer it to a new machine?

[doogald]

Originally Posted by Phillip Dyson

Why would it matter if its an OEM copy? If I'm replacing the computer that it's installed on, can't I transfer it to a new machine?

An OEM license is tied to the hardware with which it is purchased [edit - actually, it is tied to the motherboard of the PC on which the license is first installed - see Microsoft OEM Licensing FAQ]; only the full retail license can (legally) be moved to different hardware. Upgrade that OEM license of Vista or XP with a Win7 upgrade, and that OEM license is still tied to the PC and cannot be used anywhere else. Upgrade the original license of XP (that was then upgraded with a retail Vista upgrade) with Win7, then, I think that you can say that the Win7 upgrade is upgrading the original XP license, freeing the retail Vista upgrade for another XP license on different hardware.

[Felix Torres]

Which version to get?
Turns out Ed Bott has a nice table highlighting the differences:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=1128&tag=nl.e539

Bottom line, most of us will do fine with Home Premium.

[Jason Dunn]

Originally Posted by doogald

An OEM license is tied to the hardware with which it is purchased [edit - actually, it is tied to the motherboard of the PC on which the license is first installed

Bing. This is correct. Retail copies of Windows have more flexibility than OEM copies in terms of moving to another PC.

[asims]

I've read quite a lot of positive reviews about Win7, but I've also grown quite attached to all the programs I currently have on my XP SP3. If I have to purchase upgrades to those programs, this $50 deal suddenly doesn't look so great.

I can almost predict that someone is going to suggest that I download the latest Win7 RC and try it out on my DELL laptop (which is less than a year old), and it would be a good idea. If you do, could you also direct me to a website that will show me how to partition the hard drive and make my laptop dual bootable; and, once I'm finished testing Win7 out thoroughly, how I can return my laptop back to single booting? (Would restoring the laptop to a previously saved image be the simplest way to do that?)

Hopefully, I'm not asking too much!

[rkistler]

If you do, could you also direct me to a website that will show me how to partition the hard drive and make my laptop dual bootable;

Just do a search on "Dual Boot Windows 7 with XP (or Vista)..." and you will find a number of articles.

FWIW, we followed one from lifehacker.com, as that site often has worthwhile content.

That guide also suggests using GParted to partition your HD under XP - personally would rather use Partition Magic (or perhaps try Partition Commander).
Afraid we cheated & simply added a new HD to my wife's Desktop system, as she needed the extra space. (Not an option with most notebooks - although think some allow replacing built-in CD/DVD ROM with an extra HD....).

Don't know how new / old your Dell is, but her machine is running an AMD SEMPRON, with 1GB of RAM + an nVidia 5700 based graphics card: thus far Win 7 seems to run GREAT on it!

Based upon this result we have ordered two copies of the Win 7 Home Premium upgrade - along with a 2GB RAM kit for her system to bring things fully up to speed.

Good Luck!

[asims]

Thanks for the information, rkistler!

Here's another question for those of you who have tested Win7 Home Premium:
- the Product Comparison chart shows that the Professional version has the ability to run "...many existing Windows XP productivity applications in Windows7", but not the Home Premium version. Have you found this to be true? If so, what productivity apps have you found to not work in Home Premium?

[Jason Dunn]

Originally Posted by asims

If so, what productivity apps have you found to not work in Home Premium?

It's really just old software that the developers haven't updated to work with Windows Vista. Anything that runs on Vista will run on Windows 7, so we're talking about applications that haven't been updated in 3+ years.