Posted 10/23/2009 at 04:09:17pm

Win7 Pro looked like a "no brainer" with the XP emulator.  However going from Home Premium 64 to Win7 Pro 64 requires a clean install.  This is a nightmare for those of us with programs that involve dozens if not hundreds of add-on files, online registration validations and extensive customization such as Flight Simulator or X-Plane with all the after market planes and scenery each of which is a separate install, separate key, separate online validation.

A clean install is always theoretically superior, but when it involves weeks of work to rebuild a system, it's not exactly a 'no brainer.'  When I pre-purchased Win7 Pro, there was no upgrade chart and no one knew that it couldn't be done as an in-place upgrade.  Now I'm stuck buying a new 1T hard drive to install Win7 Pro (if I don't decide to send the damn thing back), and hoping it will install as an upgrade.  How the hell does it know I'm upgrading if my original boot drive is out of the system?

You can go from Home Premium to Ultimate but not Home Premium to Pro.  Go figure!!!