Windows 7 Feature Focus
Windows Anytime Upgrade

One of the more interesting innovations in the original version of Windows Vista was a feature called Windows Anytime Upgrade, which allowed users of the Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, and Business editions to upgrade to a higher-end version electronically. Pricing of these upgrades was, of course, significantly reduced over purchasing a retail Upgrade box, making the service both thriftier and less complicated.

There was just one problem: For whatever reason, many consumers balked at paying for an electronic upgrade. And because Windows Anytime Upgrade required a Windows Vista install disc, many users had to wait for Microsoft to physically mail them a disc before they could perform the upgrade, undermining the advantages of the instant upgrade.

After a year of complaints, Microsoft finally removed the electronic option from Vista's Windows Anytime Upgrade functionality. Starting with the release of Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1), this feature only offered users the ability to order physical packaging. So the actual upgrade would have to wait until the disc arrived in the mail.

Fortunately, for Windows 7, Microsoft has brought back immediate electronic upgrading via Windows Anytime Upgrade.

Tip: Curiously, you also have the option of purchasing Windows Anytime Upgrade retail packaging, as seen below. These packages only include a product key, however. That's because all of the code needed to upgrade from one Windows 7 product edition to another is already on your hard drive.

Windows Anytime Upgrade retail packaging: There's nothing like an empty box.

Windows Anytime Upgrade in Windows 7

For the Windows 7 version of Windows Anytime Upgrade, Microsoft removed the install disc requirement. As noted above, all of the bits needed to upgrade a Windows 7 product edition to a higher-end edition are installed directly into the OS, so that they can be accessed at any time. Better still, the actual upgrade process is surprisingly fast: Microsoft says that a typical in-place upgrade via Windows Anytime Upgrade should only take about 10 minutes, and in my testing, that does seem to be the case.

Unlike with Windows Vista, each Windows 7 product edition builds off the last one, and each product edition is a true superset of the one below it. The retail versions of Windows 7--i.e. the ones that will qualify for Windows Anytime Upgrade--break down as follows (though be sure to check out the definitive comparison of each Windows 7 product edition, Windows 7 Product Editions: A Comparison, for the complete feature list):

Windows 7 Starter

The most basic Windows 7 product edition. You can upgrade from this version to Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate.

Windows Anytime Upgrade pricing (US):
Windows 7 Starter to Home Premium: $79.99
Windows 7 Starter to Professional: $114.99
Windows 7 Starter to Ultimate $164.99

Windows 7 Home Premium

This is the mainstream version of Windows 7 for consumers. You can upgrade from this version to Professional or Ultimate.

Windows Anytime Upgrade pricing (US):
Windows 7 Home Premium to Professional: $89.99
Windows 7 Home Premium to Ultimate $139.99

Windows 7 Professional

This is the mainstream Windows 7 version for IT professionals, enthusiasts, and business users. You can upgrade from this version to Windows 7 Ultimate.

Windows Anytime Upgrade pricing (US):
Windows 7 Professional to Ultimate $129.99

Using Windows Anytime Upgrade

In Windows 7, Windows Anytime Upgrade is now a standalone application instead of a control panel applet, as it was in Windows Vista. You can find it in the Start Menu; the easiest way is to search for Anytime with Start Menu search.

The Windows Anytime Upgrade application presents two choices in its initial display: Go online to choose the edition of Windows 7 that is best for you and Enter an upgrade key. If you choose the former option, you'll be presented with a page that compares the features available in each applicable Windows 7 product edition.

After you've purchased an upgrade, either online or via a retail Windows Anytime Upgrade package, simply select Enter an upgrade key in the Windows Anytime Upgrade application. You'll be asked to enter the product key you've obtained.

Windows Anytime Upgrade will then verify your product key (as each key is specific to a particular product edition) and then present the license terms agrement.

After accepting the license terms, you are prompted to close any open applications and other windows so you can begin the upgrade. The application notes that a fully updated system should take about 10 minutes to upgrade and could reboot several times. (It typically reboots twice, in my experience.)

Click the Upgrade button to begin. Windows Anytime Upgrade will upgrade your system to the new Windows 7 product edition. Much of this installation takes place after the first reboot.

Once the upgrade process is complete, the Windows desktop will load and you'll be prompted by Windows Anytime Upgrade for the last time.

You can then verify that the upgrade was successful by checking the System properties window. (Open the Start Menu, right-click Computer, and click Properties.)

Secret: You will have to activate Windows 7 after any Anytime Upgrade even if the system was previously activated. But the standard 30-day grace period applies here, too.

Final thoughts

I've always felt that Windows Anytime Upgrade was a great idea and by making it fully automatic and electronic in Windows 7, Microsoft has made it even better. Windows Anytime Upgrade is priced decently, at least in the US, and it works as advertised. This should prove to be a great way for Windows 7 users to upgrade when they're ready.

--Paul Thurrott
February 10, 2009
Thoroughly updated for the final shipping version of Windows 7 on August 2, 2009