How to upgrade my HP Pavillion 64 bit laptop form Vista Home premium to Windows 7?

[Markharley]

I haave a HP Pavillion 64 bit Windows vista system that the Microsoft update quit working a couple of months ago and now I find that Turbo Tax will bot work next year on Windows Vista. 

I want to upgrade from Vista Home premium to Windows 7 and looked several sites to find the upgrade software.   Do I purchase the complete Windows 7 with a New Windows serial Number or just the Windows 7 upgrade?

If I purchase the complete windows 7 O/S with new SN, will all of my data still be there?

[banhien · Accepted solution]

@Markharley

The following article may help:

    http://www.dummies.com/computers/operating-systems/windows-7/how-to-upgrade-your-computer-from-windo...

1. Yes, you need to buy upgrade license (or DVD).

2. Please ALWAYS backup dat before any upgrade. Please following article is a good start

        http://news.techgenie.com/latest/how-to-upgrade-to-windows-7-without-data-loss/

Regards.

[Huffer]

Yes you need to specifically find an upgrade version of Windows 7 and it needs to be the type your Vista license allows as an upgrade path. Here is a page that might help:

http://winsupersite.com/windows-7/upgrading-windows-7-upgrading-windows-vista-windows-7

This is called an "in place" upgrade. You can't go from 32 bit to 64 bit this way, and you can't go from say Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional. You boot to Vista, put in the Windows 7 DVD and launch it from within Vista....select Upgrade every time you are asked what you want to do. 

So let's say you have 64 bit Windows Vista Home Premium. Your upgrade path would be to Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Windows-7-Home-Premium-Upgrade-32-and-64-bit-sku-gfc-00020-/332023...

If this is "the Answer" please click "Accept as Solution to help others find it. 

[Markharley]

That is what I needed... Thanks for your help!!