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already got my free version of Ultimate from one of the New Efficiency Seminars....Of course they were only giving out the 32bit disc, then I sent in a EECB and was able to obtain a 64 bit version......
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already got my free version of Ultimate from one of the New Efficiency Seminars....Of course they were only giving out the 32bit disc, then I sent in a EECB and was able to obtain a 64 bit version......
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-388919-100x100.png\")
Free Windows 7 Ultimate here -- I'm throwing one of the infamous parties on Friday. Before being accepted as a host, I had purchased a preorder of Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade from Amazon ($50) and the college student discounted version of the same ($30). Good thing I've got three Windows computers.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1198547-100x100.png\")
@techstar25: This looks like the same deal as theultimatesteal.com where you could get Office 07 Ultimate for $60, you could get cheap Vista upgrades too but why would you do such a thing. All you needed was a .edu address.
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I decided rolling back to DOS would be my best bet.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-188062-100x100.png\")
@AstroPig7: Yeah, but that's not the point. This system would go all the way to 11! Never mind that you probably couldn't make it see three of the processors, or that any game that used counter-based as opposed to time-based loops would be completely unplayable. That's not the point though. I want to do this because I can, not because it's a particularly good idea.
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@Omir The Storyteller: All the way to 11...nice one. :-)
MS-DOS 6.x on a quad core though? Why not try to slam it on an octo core Mac Pro? I mean...if you're going to go for silly...GO FOR SILLY! :-)
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I managed to run a copy of the original Lotus 1-2-3 on a quad processor megasystem last year. That baby rocked!
Of course, the entire program was only like 120K in size.
@Bearded Rapper: I secretly want to get a quad proc motherboard with about 4 GB of RAM and make the world's biggest, baddest DOS 6.3 machine. Boy, would that thing fly playing any game written prior to about 1995.
OK, so it's not such a secret any more.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-176865-100x100.png\")
@Omir The Storyteller: Wouldn’t a system with 1/4 of those specs still fly when presented with any MS-DOS-based game?
You can get it for free if you (or a friend*) belong to the MSDNAA and through other various schools. Got a legit copy with licence key through a friend who goes to RIT (and was not going to use Windows 7 b/c he's a Linux geek :) )
@mbz32190:
Yes, MSDNAA rocks! I've had Win 7 since just after it was RTM thanks to it. Some people don't realize, however, MSDNAA is just for departments of engineering, CS, IT, etc at universities (so not all college students are eligible). It's basically MSFT's way of getting you used to using their products so you can advocate for them once you enter the workforce (particularly true for software developers--they want you to love Visual Studio so that you can convince your company-to-be to license it).
Oh and...RIT represent!
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@mbz32190: Yeah, I got my 32bit copy from my brother, but he used his 64 bit copy for himself (can't blame him). So now I just need to find a cheap/free, legal way to get the 64 bits on ze desktop.
@mbz32190: I thought about including MSDN or Technet on the list, but I wanted to stick to options that were affordable and legal for most consumers. Technet is a great deal if you're looking to try everything MS makes for one low price, but if all you want is Windows 7 for one or two PCs, it's not the best option. Also, from the legal perspective, Technet licenses are for \"evaluation\" purposes only.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-428486-100x100.png\")
It looks like you only need to have a .edu address to get it from option 1.
I work at a college and have a .edu. At the Win 741 website I did not have to prove I'm taking any classes. I just had to give them my email address.
Also you can choose from 32 bit or 64, and between Home Premium or Professional, each for $29.99. They are all \"digital download\" versions which you are then supposed to to burn to a DVD yourself (and then install like normal). For $13 more they'll send you an actual physical DVD.
@techstar25: Does it matter that they list the Win 7 purchases from Win 741 as \"upgrades\" as opposed to full installations?
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-385891-100x100.png\")
That's what I did. Ordered Professional 64-bit about a month ago from Digital River. One warning to people looking at this (though it probably doesn't matter much) is that they do not offer refunds. So once you buy the digital version, it's yours.
#6 find a friend who works for MS and get them to buy it for you.
@Microxot: That's the option I used. But actually some of those educational discounts are better than the MS company discount.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-498964-100x100.png\")
Looks like the family pack is the best deal for my house.. I don't think I can get into my old .edu email anymore.. I tried about a month ago and it didn't work.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-352646-100x100.png\")
@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: Call your school's alumni office and see if they can set it up for you. I'm so old there was no email back then (although I did play Dungeons & Dragons on the Univac 1106). But I now have an .edu address as an alumnus. And the school lets us forward any mail to another account.
My college is so tiny they don't delete e-mail accounts, so I still have mine.
Now, if only Windows didn't completely suck ...
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I'm getting mine for free from pirates. YAY FOR ME!
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@Con Seannery: Me tooooo...I've had the 64-bit version since it was available on MSDN, around late August.
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@ThyGuy: How do you like your malware? In-your-face adware, or a nice quiet rootkit that sends your SSN and CC #'s to the Ukraine?
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-789724-100x100.png\")
@Joe_Bloe: As a researcher that deals with P2P each and every day (researching P2P is my job!) 99% of the mainstream reports you hear about it are untrue. The 'community' is generally very proactive about dealing with such fakes. Don't have to take my word for it, though, MediaDefender's email leak 2 years ago showed they had problems getting fake torrents onto some of the biggest torrent sites, with them being completely shut out from one of them.
The Canadian show '22 minutes' even had a sketch about p2P last night, you can find it here
@Joe_Bloe: LifeHacker.com has an app for that...
\"Windows 7 ISO Verifier Ensures Your Downloads Are Legit\"
[lifehacker.com]
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-98962-100x100.png\")
@Joe_Bloe: Doesn't happen as much as you'd think , but since it does happen and I happen to be a student, I'll pay 30 bucks for windows 7.
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@Powerlurker: I haven't checked at school yet, but that is generally the price of Microsoft products at my school.
Windows XP is good enough for me. I won't change until I have to.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-804913-100x100.png\")
@danno5-0: I have no more support or patches and my XP has begun to crash routinely.
Hence, 7.
Some stuff I can fix myself, this is not one of those problems.
Hence, yet again, 7.
Plus, 7 actually looks pretty decent.
@danno5-0: Honestly 7 might be worth it. The improved networking is awesome and worth the price of admission alone.
upgrading to Snow Leopard was SO much easier than it sounds like upgrading to 7 is.
I'll stick to my macbook, thanks.
Please, no Apple fanboy comments needed. Some of us prefer PC, about 95% of us, actually.
@phildogger: It's not Apple fanboy comments you're reading just people's opinions. Just like you're opinion may be that installing Windows 7 is very easy.
Making a decision to upgrade to 1 of 6 different versions is an issue that many Windows users face, that is a legitimate comment.
sammy_b apparently heard it's difficult upgrading to Windows 7. That's also what I heard, straight from the horse's (Microsoft) mouth actually. That if you're upgrading from Windows XP which many people seem to still be running, then you will experience growing pains similar to XP users upgrading to Vista. Also valid comments.
For the record, I have always used PC's and just got my Macbook and love it. Does that mean I'm an Apple fanboy? No. It just means I love my Macbook Pro. I still use a PC at work because yes, it is what most companies and people continue to use.
So unless you have a constructive comment like rickhamilton620, don't bother being a troll trying to cause issues.
@rickhamilton620: I have the RC? installed on my desktop dual boot with Windows Vista. I definitely think they did a good job with the \"new OS\" and I definitely feel it is what Vista should have been. It's more responsive, starts up and shuts down faster and doesn't use as much system resources which makes playing games a lot more fun and stable.
I agree with you, fresh installs are probably best for any system. Although when OS X Snow Leopard came out I just did an \"Upgrade\" because I was bed ridden in the hospital which made me not wanting to mess with it.
Some of my friends will do a fresh install of their OS every 3-6 months just to keep everything healthy. It does force you to back up your data and is probably worth doing it to get that best experience.
I don't really remember Windows 7's install process but I don't think it was terribly bad. I just have such an issue with all the different versions.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-157386-100x100.png\")
@phildogger: If your not coming from XP, Upgrading is pop in the disc simple. Like OS X's \"archive and install\" you can literally pop in the disc, answer a few simple questions (are you upgrading, etc.) and walk away. When you come back, your user accounts, documents, and apps will be right in Windows 7 for you.
Now usually, I personally recommend doing a clean install of any OS upgrade-both OS X and Window, as you usually get a smoother experience post upgrade with a fresh start. :)
@sammy_b: I agree. There was only one version of Snow Leopard which had all the bells and whistles.
I always feel obligated to get the \"Ultimate\" Windows edition because of that shiny black box, but when I end up getting the Premium I feel like I\"m missing.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-46968-100x100.png\")
So I'm in IT but I'm gonna let someone else do the digging for me for once, and no lmgtfy links please lol
re: #3, can I install that, and once I get my Ultimate Upgrade copy from Lenovo, convert to Ultimate without having to do a reinstall by changing serial or something?
@georgi55: Found the answer:
\"After the 90-day Trial expires, if you wish to continue to use Windows 7 Enterprise, please note that you will be required to purchase and perform a clean installation of Windows 7, including drivers and applications.\"
Thanks Consumerist!
Just FYI to the students, the offer for $29.99 is only available until Jan 3,2010.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-202178-100x100.png\")
@soldado331: I can't seem to find if it applies to students at Canadian universities though... I have access to MSDNAA for myself, but my sister needs a copy as she's stuck with Vista.
@soldado331:
Also $30 only gets you the downloadable version of pro or home premium at that site. There's some debate as to whether you get a full or upgrade version. To get a boxed full version shipped to you, call the microsoft store and ask for it. See these directions at slickdeals (scroll down to wiki) for more info:
[slickdeals.net]
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-759405-100x100.png\")
I had preordered it from Newegg several months ago. The card I ordered it on has since been deactivated because it was lost. I forgot about that little bit and just received an email that my order was cancelled because they couldn't charge the card.
QQ
@CubeRat: Just call Newegg, they'll probably help you out. I ordered a TV and speaker on a card that I didn't know had a daily limit, had my order cancelled, the TV price increased, and I called them and they gave me the original TV price from my first order.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-496659-100x100.png\")
@CubeRat: They didn't try to contact you to get a new payment method? That's pretty harsh, especially if you pre-ordered it with the big discount. I'd send them a little complaint e-mail and see if they'll send you a copy for the original discount price.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-117061-100x100.png\")
I work at a university and got Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit for $34 from the campus computer store. It's running beautifully on my two-year-old Dell (AMD 3600 x2, 4 GB RAM).
Is it possible, to download the beta 64-bit version, install it and then just use the student upgrade of professional when the autoboot date rolls around to upgrade the system instead of having to upgrade over vista?
Two places that you missed...
Various MS software at [www.dreamspark.com] if you have a valid .edu address.
Also check to see if your school has MSDNAA program. Again lots of free MS software. [www.msdnaa.net]
I was able to obtain Win 7 free at the last one.
@Willie T: Thanks. Dreamspark is great, but doesn't include Win7, which is why I skipped it. And MSDNAA is a great service for students who want to try out a lot of MS software, and whose schools are paying for it already. But it's not the best deal if all you need is a cheap copy of Win7. Also, MSDNAA software is only for \"instructional or non-commercial use,\" which means it could easily run afoul of \"the L word\" for many users.
@Marc Perton: Dreamspark has Server R2 which is basically stripped down windows 7 with out the \"desktop experience\". Something that is easy to turn on.
@sammy_b:
It's not hard at all. I have Macs and PCs at home and like both for various reasons. The Win 7 install was easy, fast, and runs great on my two-year-old Dell.
I just copied my user folder to an external drive, formatted the hard drive (since I was moving from 32- to 64-bit), did a clean install and then copied my data back over. The Windows install took about 10 minutes; it took longer to copy my data to the external drive and then back again.
The best deal right now is actually that college students can get Win7 Professional for $29.00 from WIN741
There is a little link at the bottom of the order page (after you've verified the edu address) that says something like \"does your school require you to join a domain? If so, click here for Windows 7 Professional\"
Everyone who has access to this offer should go ahead and pick up the Professional option.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-169958-100x100.png\")
One of the classes i'm enrolled in automatically gives me access to MSDNAA, which for us is pretty useless... (no office). but it turns out they have free Win7 Pro x86 and x64... downloaded it and installed in a virtual machine.
@gStein: Same place I have been getting it, if you are a student try to get access to MSDNAA, my school gave me access just because I was an Electrical & Computer Engineer major, many schools will give you access to MSDNAA if you are in any field related to computers (CS, IT, EE, etc). MSDNAA will give you all versions of windows for free, and you can get a lot of different keys as the x86 and x86_64 versions are considered to be different which means you can have one of each for free.
As an engineering student I get it too.
@gStein: Google \"MS Ultimate Steal\" for a great student price on MSOffice. I think its $60 for a full (not academic) license.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-87863-100x100.png\")
College students: Don't forget, if your school participates in MSDNAA, you can get Windows 7 professional for free.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-245731-100x100.png\")
1-877-696-7786 - Microsoft Store
Same deal as digital river except you can get the retail versions (non-upgrade) if you want for the same $29.99 price. Home & Professional are included. If you want them to mail you the box copy it's only another $4 for shipping rather than the $13 for digital river. Retail Windows 7 Professional shipped in box for $37.43. All you need is a .edu email address. No verification (address, credit card, etc.), just the email address.
TECHNET FTW.
@Zclyh3: Technet is great. I skipped it and MSDN here because they're overkill for most consumers who just want Win 7, and the licenses are technically for \"evaluation\" purposes, which runs afoul of \"the L word.\"
You forgot \"Work for Microsoft.\"
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-83382-100x100.png\")
My sister is in college at the buffalo, NY. I got 3 copies of Windows XP professional for about $45 at the time. Windows Vista Ultimate upgrade- $20. If she remains there for as least another 1/2 year or so I should be able to take advantage of the student pricing one last time before she graduates.
Also adobe acrobat- $7
Adobe photoshop- $12
next year I have about $100 and am going... Shopping! After all since I am \"on call technical support\" this is the least she can do!
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1471-100x100.png\")
Second for Technet. If you have more than one computer, you're a fool not to get a technet membership every other year. All the OS versions + Server OS + Office products (including Project Professional) for <$200/year (coupon rate).
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1207055-100x100.png\")
You mean $400 to start subscribing, and $300 every year to renew ... your prices are a bit off ...
Check the link you posted ;)
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-488475-100x100.png\")
I never upgrade OS unless I'm buying a new 'puter. So far, Vista is working okay on my laptop. I haven't had any problems.
This is good, because I can't really afford the time or money to do this.
This is why I switched to apple, $29 one upgrade, $49 family 5 computer upgrade
@Panamapeter:
Aside from 10.1, which was a free upgrade, 10.6 is the first cheap version of OS X. And it's only $29 if you already have 10.5. If you don't, you have to buy the Mac Box Set for $169. Historically, OS X has always cost $129, or about $69 for students.
Created an account just to say this... At the University of Minnesota (where I am attending right now), we have had the opportunity to buy Windows 7 Ultimate edition, both x84 and x64 for only $7 on a disc. None of the \"downloadable copy\" business. And it's been available to students and faculty since October 15th! I decided to dual boot Win7 and OSX on my MacBook because for $7, hey why not? [www.oit.umn.edu]
Are Canadian students eligible? I popped off an e-mail to my school PC/Mac store and am awaiting a response from them but would any people here know?
uh, why is there NO mention of just buying the OEM version of Windows 7 from Newegg or Tigerdirect? Both home premium and professional are sub $120!
@res1i3js: I did mention this briefly; however, it's really not a \"legal\" option for most consumers.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-491106-100x100.png\")
My copy ships next Monday from Amazon. I did the pre-order and for $99.00 I get the Pro version. Amazon is also shipping it for free.
There's also the OEM versions available at [www.newegg.com] $189 for ultimate. You're supposed to build a computer with this (buy CPU/mobo) but they don't check.
@jst07: I did mention the OEM option briefly, but that's really not a \"legal\" option for most consumers.
I just did the college student one since my wife is in community college. Does anybody know where the product key is sent to? Or should I get it in the email where I get the download link after the release of the software?
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-413348-100x100.png\")
I don't know much about upgrading OS's but I purchased a lap top that will come with the free upgrade. Anyone know how that will work when it arrives? Will it have to be used on the laptop? can I use it on my desktop instead? Can it be used on both or can these things only be installed on one computer and is it even worth the hastle? Any info would be appreciated from those in the know.
@roshambo: Typical OEM licenses aren't transferable, and there's often no media, other than a recovery disc or partition that will only work on the purchased machine.
I can get Win7 x64 for 7.50 (like the physical disc) totally legally through my schools contract thing with Microsoft. Some Student agreement thing; I'm picking it up today.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-82338-100x100.png\")
You could just pick up the OEM version for $99 at newegg.com or microcenter.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-24730-100x100.png\")
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Where did you find that price at Academic Superstore. Windows 7 Ultimate is $319 or 219 for the upgrade...
@rbb: I see the upgrade advertised as $99.98 by selecting a university that is part of the program (univ of Cal Berkley). It looks like your pricing will vary (if I make up a school I get the pricing you mentioned but the local high school shows 99.98 also).