Upgrade from Home Premium to Professional

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Can I use the Windows 7 Professional OEM for System Builder to upgrade the Home Premium?

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Some things for your consideration:

To be in compliance with Microsoft’s rules you would probably have to register with Microsoft as a System Builder. I have heard that to be a fairly easy task, but easy is relative concept. However, I think MS requires the OEM System Builder edition to be installed on a new clean computer.

If you install the OEM for System Builder you will not get any support from Microsoft. The System Builder is responsible to provide support.

Is the Home Premium an upgrade installation or is it an OEM install by a computer vendor such as Dell, HP, etc.? If it is an OEM install by a vendor, then you will lose the Home Premium as you can only place it back on this same machine, if you create the System Restoration DVD set the manufacturer made possible for your computer. You would never be able to legally install it on another computer in the future.

On the other hand, have you looked into doing the Anytime Upgrade? You can buy the Anytime Upgrade Pro version at a discounted price to upgrade the Home Premium, and you can preserve your installed programs and settings.

Be sure to make an image backup of your existing installation in case something goes wrong.

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Legally no and I doubt there is any upgrade provision in the code itself, so again probably no. Now you could certainly end up with Pro replacing Home using a OEM version but that would be technically going against the EULA as well and the Anytime Upgrade is $90. What is the Pro OEM?

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A google search shows the OEM price as being more than the Anytime Upgrade price. (There was one online seller listed for much less but a visit to that website shows a higher price now, so the search results were out of date) The Anytime Upgrade is definitely the better buy.

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