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I am starting to think that these news releases from Microsoft were put together by a 5 year old and not checked by anyone if people have to ask Paul for basic info.

Paul: according to

trevinchow.com/.../windows-7-pre-order-available-now-on-microsoft-store

•All editions of Windows 7 available on Microsoft Store include both 32-bit and 64-bit editions. If you choose to buy Windows 7 for download, you will get access to both downloads.

Paul, I received an email from Staples in Canada promoting this offer, and their info page clearly says that you get both x86 and x64 versions.

www.staples.ca/.../static_pages.asp

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So why can't microsoft put both versions 32 and 64 in the package?

@DarkSages - Probably because of the price to make both discs.

I want to know if we ordered from store.microsoft-ppe.com if we'll still get our orders.

UK Pre-Order prices, Home Premium E £49 Pro E £99

Not bad considering they are full versions (sans IE of course)

@Jimmy422

Cost to make both discs? Do you know how much the disc is actually worth? I bet that it would not cost MSFT more than $2 to make another disc.

@Jimmy422

"I want to know if we ordered from store.microsoft-ppe.com if we'll still get our orders."

Do you mean is the store legit? I never boutgh from there but the domain is registered to MSFT and it is pointing to the right MSFT.net servers

I first worked with and programmed a 36-bit machine (IBM 704), and later worked with (but didn't program natively for) a 60-bit machine (CDC Cyber 175). How come I'm being left out?

Seriously, what I need is a 64-bit Home Premium. I'll likely order from Microsoft for electronic delivery. And count the bits carefully.

meason, Microsoft hired away one to the primary authors of Apple's famous Release Non-Notes. "___ improves stability and reliability. ____ is recommended for all users of ____".

(It was partly those notes that caused me to try this Dell desktop machine as my primary personal machine. [Work remains Macintosh, as does eCommerce for the most part])

Looks like Trevin has clarified it a bit:

"32-bit and 64-bit versions are included in every version we sell. So if you buy Windows 7 Home Premium, you will get both versions. This applies to both the packaged product as well as the download version."

trevinchow.com/.../windows-7-pre-order-available-now-on-microsoft-store

@DarkSages, i don't question it being a legit site, just whether or not we get our orders.

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so now the average home user opens up windows 7 and finds either two installs on one disk, or a 32 bit disk and 64 bit disk and they get confused about which one to use....

Why is this an issue?  Didn't Vista come with both 32-bit and 64-bit discs in the same box?

"so now the average home user opens up windows 7 and finds either two installs on one disk, or a 32 bit disk and 64 bit disk and they get confused about which one to use...."

OK. I ask for the umpteenth time. How many average users actually buy retail disks? I haven't met one so far. Most people I know get their OS with the machine and use the OS until the machine is no longer usable, at which point, they buy a new machine with a new OS.

When MS offered a free upgrade [$10 shipping] of Office 2008, the web site did not specify media vs student version. After it shipped they sent a notice along stating that if you received the wrong version, there was a number to call and have the correct version sent as well as refunding the $10 shipping, AND YOU GOT TO KEEP THE OTHER VERSION!!!!!!!! The call took 5 to 10 minutes. including hold time, and they apologized. They made a fan out of me.

Really, it's not going to be a problem.  Like shark47 said, most people don't upgrade their OS, and those people who are prepared to install their own OS will know which version they need.

Yeah, it is pretty sad that they do all of this work to get a great promotion going, then do an epic fail on what exactly you're getting.  We're spreading the word though, I have people at Amazon and other places looking at this site, MS Store, the MS Store phone number, and a couple of confirmed blog posts.

can anyone tell me about the upgrade pricing for student editions? i have a dell studio xps with vista on it. i joined school recently. bought Dell before i joined the school.

is there any different student discount offered or i need to upgrade via regular routes?

@DRWAM

LOL that happen to a firend of mine that bought a mac lab right before office 2008 was out. They sent him double the amount he needed. What I don't get is why is it so easy to install office 2008 on as many macs as you want but office 2007 you have to activate.

DarkS, the app will detect other licenses on a network, but you cannot exceed the max [3 for Student Edtion, one for Media Edtition] in use at any time. They can all use the key, but only 3 Student Ed can be in use at any time on the same network [or one Media Ed license]. Works very well as the app opens, gives a warning, then closes.

@realtestman

I believe only ultimate vista had a disk for each in the box, all others were just 32-bit

I'm disappointed to see that Dell's guaranteed upgrade policy only goes like-for-like (ie, you can only upgrade to Win7 x64 for free if your laptop came with x64).

Allow me to once again remind people about the wonders of Windows Easy Transfer.  It can be run on XP or Vista installs to pull off all of your personal stuff (when I did it on my laptop, it even found my installation of World of Warcraft).  Settings, documents, user profiles, it all goes.

Then, you complete your fresh install of Win7, and run Easy Transfer to suck your stuff back from whatever external drive you've used to store in the interim (interesting security note: Win7 wouldn't let me run Easy Transfer to restore until AFTER I'd re-joined my domain).

Easy Transfer is the best of both worlds, all your stuff AND a clean install, with only two drawbacks.  It won't take apps (WoW notwithstanding, and I still had to launch it from within its program folder the first time), and it takes a LOOOONG time (it ran overnight to pull my stuff off my laptop when I upgraded, though it was only a couple of hours to restore).

"Allow me to once again remind people about the wonders of Windows Easy Transfer.  It can be run on XP or Vista installs to pull off all of your personal stuff (when I did it on my laptop, it even found my installation of World of Warcraft).  Settings, documents, user profiles, it all goes."

Windows Easy Transfer is a GUI front-end for something called "User State Migration Tool" (USMT), but is designed for consumers, whereas USMT is designed for IT staff.

USMT grabs everything as well.  You can customize it with XML configuration files and such.  Sometimes there are things like broken/unused shortcuts and such, or empty folders that you don't want to transfer over, but it has an option to not compress the source files, and I usually "prune" the copied files to remove the unnecessary junk.

I also don't like that it grabs files that aren't recognized.  That means that virus-infected computers can be compromised by restoring the backup, and that's another reason why I like to prune backups.

One thing that bugs me is that for some unknown reason, it will still create Start Menu shortcuts that you delete in the uncompressed backup files.  I'm guessing the log recreates them or something.  I still haven't figured out why it does that though.  Otherwise, it's a very handy tool for any IT person, and it's a small, easily manageable set of tools to work with.

Oh, and BTW:  USMT is designed to handle domain user accounts.

@meason:

You are correct.

Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, and Business included only 32-bit media at retail.  The included a card that had information on how to order a 64-bit version online.  Vista Home Basic was also available on CD's, so you could also order that online.  I think Business also had that option too, but I don't remember (someone please confirm - it may have only been for System Builder versions).  Only Vista Ultimate included both 32-bit and 64-bit in the same box.

OEM's could choose either version for bundling.  End-users weren't allowed to trade-up to the other version unless the OEM offered it to them, because Microsoft relinquishes all support and control of OEM-bundled software that's sold with PC's.  It was also required that OEM's provide drivers for 64-bit if they allowed a trade-up.  System Builders always just order the appropriate media from distribution.

I only sell 64-bit now on PC's that I ship, even if they only have 2GB of RAM.  I've been doing that for well over a year now.

Didn't the precursor to Easy Transfer migrate programs as well? Microsoft then bought the company and decided to transfer only settings and files, I think.

Costco's email is already advertising the free upgrade to Win 7

For me this is a no brainer. x64 is absolutely better on so many levels. Now for those who only have a 32 bit processors, you really don't have a choice. However, since my x64 migration, I've really enjoyed the overall responsiveness even from a single core x64 with an x64 OS. There's no way I'll go back to a 32 bit OS.

If you do have a 64 bit OS, just go for it. If you've got an old 32 bit system, upgrade at get 64 bit for cheap. Thankfully, I still have a copy of Vista on a separate hard drive and I'll just upgrade that one.

For those in the U.S., MIcrocenter is offering the upgrades at $10.00 off the prices from Microsoft. $39.99 for Home Premium, $89.99 for Professional.

www.microcenter.com/.../preorder.html

"I only sell 64-bit now on PC's that I ship, even if they only have 2GB of RAM.  I've been doing that for well over a year now."

So, how's the performance compared to a 32-bit OS on these 2GB RAM PCs?

I wonder if people are making this out to be more complicated than it needs to be. What if...

When you insert the Win7 install CD, it analyzes your PC and based on detected hardware (and maybe even software), makes recommendations on whether it would be better to choose 32-bit or 64-bit. It is possible to word it such that most non-techy people will understand the basic concept. Maybe it even has a super-simple mode that just goes ahead and installs the 32-bit if the user is unsure. Also, if the installer detects that you have a 32-bit processor, it doesn't even give you an option.

This is just speculation, but something like that makes sense to me and is well within MS' ability to add into the installer.

Maybe the whole point is that this complexity is hidden from the end-user for the most part. You don't even need to think of it while making the purchase.

I like it.

Another good question is whether one can downgrade from Vista ultimate to Windows 7 Pro? I dont feel like paying the toll for Ultimate again when all I get extra is bitlocker and i dont use it...

Paul,

What about the downloads? Can we download both x86 and x64 versions and choose to install one at any given time? Can you pester the powers that be a bit further, and obtain the finer details?

@subzero

I agree that x64 is better than x32 right now and is only going to get better. What about for those in other countries that cannot get these cheaper upgrade prices such as Australia. This should be made available in many more countries.

O/T, but kinda relevant. Leo Laporte, on the TWIT show was hoping for some kind of a Twitter campaign to bring Microsoft down, so that should give an incentive to some of the people that post here to open Twitter accounts and begin the process.

@joiseystud: You can move from Windows Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 HP using the upgrade media. It would most likely be a clean install, as opposed to an upgrade.

@sohaniabhishek, a lot of Universities have agreements with Microsoft where students get the software a lot cheaper. Check to see if your department has an MSDNAA site for students. Here's an example:

msdn04.e-academy.com/.../Storefront.aspx

If not, you might still find good deals at the bookstore.

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