Upgrading Vista -> Premium in English from Japan

[Guest]

Hey Guys

I have Vista Basic in English that I picked up second hand in the US. I
live in Japan now. I tried to upgrade from Basic to Ultimate but it says
it's not available in my region. Does anyone know how I can do this?

And does anyoen know about the cost of upgrading from Basic to Premium?

Thanks,
Eric

 

[Chad Harris]

Hi Eric--


Why can't you buy the upgrade to Ultimate from Japan using this website for
example, Amazon, or any OEM site that sells the upgrade DVD?
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradeadvisor.mspx

What exactly does this mean?

I tried to upgrade from Basic to Ultimate but it says it's not available
in my region.

Could you tell me what "it" is and where "it" says this?

I'm going to assume that nothing in your question has to do with having one
edition in one language and wanting another in another language. We've had
several language questions on this group, but I don't see it in your
question--let me know if I'm wrong. I assume you happen to be living in
Japan now, but yu have an English Vista Basic and you want to know the
migration paths available that should not be different in English anywhere
in the world. I'm not talking about other languages because I only use
English and I'll leave migration paths available in particular language
editions to them.

You can upgrade Vistra Home Basic to Ultimate. It's the "not available in
my region question" that I don't understand. Perhaps you can't buy the
upgrade from Japan, but I don't see why since Anytime Upgrade is available
on the web. You didn't state where you picked up the Vista Basic. Is it
legit? All of the Vista editions have upgrade paths.

Caveat: You cannot perform an upgrade from a 32-bit version of Windows
Vista to a 64-bit version of Windows Vista. You must use a full copy of
Windows Vista to perform a clean installation of a 64-bit version.



Here are the upgrade paths:

Upgrade to another edition of Windows Vista

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/3af7e05f-4d2a-4af7-a168-9242f9093bb81033.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradepaths.mspx

The following tables show the installation choices when you upgrade from one
edition of Windows Vista to another.

Upgrading to another edition of Windows Vista using Windows Anytime Upgrade
Using Windows Anytime Upgrade is a new way to upgrade your 32-bit edition
of Windows Vista to another 32-bit edition of Windows Vista by purchasing
the license for your new edition online.


1. Open Windows Anytime Upgrade by clicking the Start button , clicking
Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Windows
Anytime Upgrade.

2. Follow the instructions on each page.



When the upgrade is complete, you will have a new edition of Windows Vista
running on your computer. To learn more about the new features that you just
installed, read "What's new in Windows Vista" in the Welcome Center, which
you'll see on your desktop, or search for "What's new" in Help and Support.

 

[Chad Harris]

Eric--

Anytime Upgrade is available on the Vista Control panel under "W" for
Windows Anytime Upgrade (alphabetically). I just went through the wizard
and it allows you to buy an upgrade from Microsoft or several OEM sellers
like Best Buys. You might face shippping charges and I don't know the
import tax situation from the US to Japan but why couldn't use use this?

CH

 

[Guest]

Hey there

Thanks for your response.

I bought the computer in the US and it has Vista Basic. I brought it with
me to Japan and I have it here now. I tried to upgrade to Premium via the
Windows Anytime Update but the first screen it brings me to is one that says
I cannot upgrade online in my region. The only thing left to do is cancel.

Is going from Basic to Premium the same price as going from XP to Vista
Premium? I thought that just adding the extra features of Premium would be a
smaller, cheaper upgrade, but I'm not sure. I tried doing an internet search
for this type of specific upgrade but the search results were flooded with
the regular XP to Vista upgrade at full price.

Just having the price information will allow me to make a decision if I want
to go forward with the upgrade or not.

Thanks,
Eric

 

[Guest]

But won't that require the purchase of the full upgrade, as if I was
upgrading from XP to Vista Premium? I'm seeing a price of $143 for Premium
and $89 for Basic. Will I have to pay the full $143? I can't imagine
that Microsoft would charge you $89 for Vista Basic then require you to pay
another $143 if you want to upgrade to Premium after that. I'd be paying
twice for the Vista items that I already have ($89 plus $143 = $232). Surely
there must be an incremental upgrade between levels of Vista that is more
cost effective than buying full versions every time. That's what I'm looking
to obtain.

Thanks again for your comments.

 

[Guest]

Put another way....

If I were to walk into a store to buy Vista, the price difference between
Basic and Premium would be about $60. I was guessing that Microsoft would
offer an upgrade between those two editions for a similar price. Since
online upgrading is not possible I'll have to purchase a CD. But the only CD
upgrades I can find are for the full $143 Premium version. $143 vs. $60....

 

[Chad Harris]

I agree with your reasoning, and it appears that this price inequity is
brought about because for some reason you cannot use the normal Anytime
Upgrading from your region--and why I have no idea. I'd call MSFT and
select the sales option and try to get some clarification by bouncing this
off them.

CH