Question re Windows 7 upgrade coupon

My 16 year old has ordered a laptop from Dell (and it's on the way!), and this laptop has Vista 64-bit installed. However, it comes with a coupon to upgrade to Windows 7. So what do you think, would you advise he just do that straight away? I haven't seen this coupon so I don't know what it means or what that would involve, maybe being able to download the OS from MS?

And would changing the OS wipe all the other installed stuff off the hard drive--you know, all the stuff that manufacturers add like trial versions of AV software and MS Office and whatever else Dell may put on there? (Might not be such a bad thing, eh? I've got a legal copy of Office 2003 he can use--it can go on 3 computers, so his would be #3. And as for AV's--there is much better out there than what Dell put on--McAfee.)

 

Hi,

1. The coupon for an upgrade to windows 7 will only be valid from the 22nd October, as that is the general release date for Windows 7. I am not entirely certain, but I am pretty sure the new operating system will be a download after that date, although you may be able to order it on CD for about £5 (at a guess).

2. The coupon will be for an upgrade version of Windows 7, so wiping the hard drive is not a good idea, as the Vista is needed to be upgraded from, if you get my drift. Upgrading should leave all programs intact, and the upgrade wizard will tell you if it thinks there will be any problems, although there shouldn't be.

Hope this helps,

 

Yes, that does help. Thank you.

 

The last time I bought a PC with a free upgrade (XP to Vista), I had to contact the manufacturer and was sent a CD, which turned out to be a full version with which I opted for a clean install.

Same may happen to you, though a call to the manufacturer should resolve it.