Buying xp and getting A free vista upgrade

[Guest]

I have seen on some merchants websites that if you buy Windows XP you will
get a free upgrade coupon for Windows Vista.
I just build a new machine and would like to know if this is legit and will
microsoft honor this?

 

[Colin Nash [MVP]]

I have seen on some merchants websites that if you buy Windows XP you will
get a free upgrade coupon for Windows Vista.
I just build a new machine and would like to know if this is legit and
will
microsoft honor this?

If you buy a computer loaded with Windows XP, most of the big computer
companies have a deal like that.

See http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/expressupgrade.mspx

It's not always free though. Depending on the computer manufacturer, you can
get a free upgrade or just a discount on Vista. Some manufacturers might
not even offer this deal.

I'm not aware of any free or discount upgrade deals for people who buy a
retail box of the Windows XP software. I'd think it's up to the merchant to
honour any offer like that, not Microsoft directly. The above info is only
for people who buy a computer pre-loaded with XP, not the OS software on
it's own.

 

[Nero]

Like for like
XP Home = Vista basic of if lucky, Vista Premium
XP Pro =Vista Business
Media whatever you call it =Vista Ultimate
You can't have the upgrade to a Vista version higher than the Windows one
you have.(using the"coupon"

 

[John Barnes]

You can buy XP OEM from NewEgg.com for your machine and get a Vista coupon.
Go to their website and do a search on Vista.

 

[Colin Nash [MVP]]

You can buy XP OEM from NewEgg.com for your machine and get a Vista
coupon. Go to their website and do a search on Vista.

Looks like they will give you a "free copy of Vista RC1" - this is a
timebombed, "release candidate" version that is actually quite old and has a
lot of issues that have since been fixed. It was available for free from
Microsoft anyway.

But they are also sending an Express Upgrade coupon for the full version of
Vista though ... cool. I wouldn't bother installing the RC1 at this point
though.

 

[Guest]

Yes this is what I seen, will MS honor the coupon from New Egg for
theupgrade to vista if I buy xp oem?

 

[Colin Nash [MVP]]

Yes this is what I seen, will MS honor the coupon from New Egg for
theupgrade to vista if I buy xp oem?

It's not up to Microsoft to honour New Egg's coupons. It's up to New Egg.
They are a fairly reputable dealer so this probably isn't a scam, if that's
what you are asking...

 

[Colin Nash [MVP]]

It's not up to Microsoft to honour New Egg's coupons. It's up to New Egg.
They are a fairly reputable dealer so this probably isn't a scam, if
that's what you are asking...

A bit more info: Only OEM copies have this offer attached, and officially
these copies are only supposed to be purchased along with a PC (hardware.)
That's why OEM is cheaper than a retail box: because it becomes permanently
tied to the computer you buy it with. New Egg lets you buy OEM copies on
their own, but some people on the site have reported that they aren't
getting the upgrade coupon if they buy only the software.

It looks like New Egg gives you some type of code for you to redeem on the
Microsoft web site (?) and you will be asked for the model and serial number
of the new PC you purchased with this new OEM copy of XP. Check out some
comments here
http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp?item=N82E16832116175

 

[Jon Davis]

I have a laptop with the same coupon. It's legit; however, you don't
actually get the upgrade till Vista is released in January.

Jon

 

[Jon Davis]

That's incorrect; XP MCE upgrades to Vista Home Premium. This is the case
for my laptop. AFAIK there is no direct-equivalent upgrade to Ultimate.

Jon

 

[Nero]

Get yer facts right

That's incorrect; XP MCE upgrades to Vista Home Premium. This is the case
for my laptop. AFAIK there is no direct-equivalent upgrade to Ultimate.

Jon

 

[Jon Davis]

Get yer facts right

Indeed.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2040864,00.asp
http://global.acer.com/support/winvista/index.htm
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/.../en/vista_express_upgrade?c=us&cs=&l=en&s=gen
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/expressupgrade.mspx

Jon

 

[John Barnes]

The coupons aren't all free. Some have free upgrades others have additional
charges. Most have some sort of handling charge. see for an example
http://promotions.newegg.com/microsoft/vista/TechGuarn.html

 

[John Barnes]

Colin, here is the reply I received from NewEgg re the confusion.
Incidentally any time I bought Microsoft OEM software from them, they added
a free piece of hardware (usually a cable) to the shopping cart to conform
to the hardware requirement. Add the software to your shopping cart and I
think you will still have that happen. As to the other misunderstanding
this is their reply
Thank you for contacting Newegg.

We truly apologize for the inconveniences this may have caused you. You will
still qualify to get the Vista upgrade coupons even though you didn’t
purchase a PC system. Please enter any information in the data fields when
it asks for a Model and Serial Number. As long as the fields are filled,
Microsoft will process.

Thank you for your patience and understanding

 

[David Wilkinson]

I have seen on some merchants websites that if you buy Windows XP you will
get a free upgrade coupon for Windows Vista.
I just build a new machine and would like to know if this is legit and will
microsoft honor this?

Banjaxster:

I would not do this because the upgrade procedure with Vista has been
made much more hassle. Whenever you want to reinstall Vista in the
future, you will have to have XP loaded (and validated I think). It will
not be enough to just insert the XP disk.

Why not just wait a couple of months?

David Wilkinson

 

[Coord]

Yes...just to clarify...I bought XP OEM from NewEgg with coupon for Vista
upgrade...coupon did eventually process on the MS upgrade site at a cost of
$12.29 S & H...