Windows 7 - Upgrade or New Install

I was given a new, unopened copy of Windows 7 Professional - Upgrade to Vista or new install for XP. When I tried to upgrade my neighbor's old Vista unit, I got a message that it couldn't upgrade because the neighbor's system is Vista Home - not Professional.

Could I use this Windows 7 Pro to do a fresh install over the Vista Home similar to installing over XP?

 

Yeah, you could go from Pro to Pro, or from Home to Home, but not Home to Pro.

 

Can I go Pro7 to Vista Home as a fresh install?

 

In terms of licensing issues, I don't see a problem. But I don't know if the installation program will let. If your new W7 disk is an "upgrade" disk, it is going to be looking for a qualifying version of Windows already installed.

 

I think I will give it a try. This is from the outside of the box:

I visited the website mentioned in the quote above and the only information I could find there involved upgrades to Windows 10. Microsoft doesn't appear to eager to give any information on an "upgrade" to Windows 7.
Since the upgrade from XP specifies a clean install I would assume that I could do the same type of install over Vista - or am I missing something critical?

 

That is not surprising since mainstream support for Windows 7 ended over 3 years ago!

That seems like a safe assumption but I have not done it so please don't hold me to it. I sure would make sure you have the product keys for your Vista in case the upgrade asks for it.

 

Bill,
I went ahead with the fresh install - Windows 7 Pro (Vista Upgrade/XP Fresh install) over the existing Vista Home and it installed without a hitch. Of course I am now installing the stuff that got wiped out and resetting the Desktop links but that won't take long. So thanks for your counsel.

 

Sweet! I am glad that worked. Frankly, IMO, installing all your programs again is not a bad thing. For one, you insure all are the latest versions, and you don't end up with a bunch of orphaned files and folders from old versions. You also tend to only install what you need instead of a bunch of extra stuff you collected over the years you never use.

Thanks for the follow up!