Can a Vista 64-bit OEM license be upgraded to Windows 7 running as either 64 /32-bit?

Can a Vista 64-bit OEM license be upgraded to Windows 7 running as either 64 /32-bit?

A year ago I built a new machine and purchased "Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM" from NewEgg.com. I would like to upgrade to Windows 7 64-bit but I also need to a run a 32-bit Windows 7 virtual machine (inside VMware) to use some VPN software that isn't supported on Windows 64. Can I purchase an upgrade license for Windows 7 and still install 64-bit for my host OS and 32-bit for the guest OS inside the VM? Based on the Windows 7 SKUs over at NewEgg it looks like the OEM licenses are for either 32-bit OR 64-bit but not both.

Asked by: Guest | Views: 314

Total answers/comments: 1

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Guest [Entry]

"As for the question in the title, you pay for an upgrade of Windows Vista to Windows 7, not a platform (x86-32 bit / x64-64 bit), you can use either.

As for what you have written in the question, your licence entitles you to one copy of Windows and you are not allowed to use it inside a virtual machine.

If you do a lot of testing or programming, you may want to take advantage of either a Technet or MSDN licence which will allow you to install as many copies of many editions of Windows for either testing or development.

In addition, you may be able to use Windows XP Mode in Windows 7 (If you buy Professional, Enterprise or ultimate) so you may get away with just a single upgrade."