What else can I do with the $9.95 Vista Home upgrade?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Peabody
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Peabody

Well, I mean, other than the obvious.

I got a low-end Toshiba laptop from Office Depot at year-end, and
can get the "free" Vista Home upgrade for $9.95 S&H. And I'm just
not sure I'm going to bother doing the upgrade since I would need to
add more ram, and even with that I don't know if the computer is
really up to the task.

So I just wonder - if I spend the $9.95, what else can I do with the
upgrade? As long as I haven't actually used it, can I give it, or
sell it, to someone else? Or will the product key that comes with
it be somehow tied to my specific computer?
 
The Windows Vista upgrade offer is only valid if you install
it on the computer it was designed for. It is non-transferrable
to a different computer and therefore you cannot sell it.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

Well, I mean, other than the obvious.

I got a low-end Toshiba laptop from Office Depot at year-end, and
can get the "free" Vista Home upgrade for $9.95 S&H. And I'm just
not sure I'm going to bother doing the upgrade since I would need to
add more ram, and even with that I don't know if the computer is
really up to the task.

So I just wonder - if I spend the $9.95, what else can I do with the
upgrade? As long as I haven't actually used it, can I give it, or
sell it, to someone else? Or will the product key that comes with
it be somehow tied to my specific computer?
 
Peabody said:
Well, I mean, other than the obvious.

I got a low-end Toshiba laptop from Office Depot at year-end, and
can get the "free" Vista Home upgrade for $9.95 S&H. And I'm just
not sure I'm going to bother doing the upgrade since I would need to
add more ram, and even with that I don't know if the computer is
really up to the task.
Click to expand...

What are the specs of your machine?
 
Well, first, suppose that in a year or two you do decide that you want
Vista. You could have gotten it for $10 (which is shipping, the upgrade
itself is really free), but you didn't. So then you are going to have
to pay $100 or more for it. $10 sounds like cheap insurance.

Also, consider that in 2 to 4 years you may well want to sell the
laptop. Regardless of what you do or do not want (now or in the
future), you might get more for the laptop .... perhaps quite a bit more
..... if you can include the Vista update with the sale.

It just seems to me that when someone offers you a $100 item free (ok,
you have to pay $10 shipping), it's dumb not to take it.
 
What are the specs of your machine?
Click to expand...

It's a Toshiba L35-S2171 with XP Home on it. That's a
Celeron M 420 (1.6 GHz), with 512 mb of shared ram
(integrated video and audio). So, you know, Home Basic is
as far as it's gonna go, and even with another 512 of ram, I
just don't know if I wouldn't be better off using XP.

I do all the heavy lifting on my desktop computer, and only
got the laptop for mobility (i.e. - the back porch). I
would guess that video chat is the most demanding thing I
would ever use it for, and I just wouldn't want to slow
things down switching to Vista, particularly if I would have
to buy more ram just to do that.
 
Well, first, suppose that in a year or two you do decide
that you want Vista. You could have gotten it for $10
(which is shipping, the upgrade itself is really free),
but you didn't. So then you are going to have to pay
$100 or more for it. $10 sounds like cheap insurance.
Click to expand...
Also, consider that in 2 to 4 years you may well want to
sell the laptop. Regardless of what you do or do not
want (now or in the future), you might get more for the
laptop .... perhaps quite a bit more .... if you can
include the Vista update with the sale.
Click to expand...

Is there no time limit on actually doing the upgrade itself.
I know I have to pay them the $10 and get the upgrade within
the next few months, but can I take as long as I want to
install it? Years?
It just seems to me that when someone offers you a $100
item free (ok, you have to pay $10 shipping), it's dumb
not to take it.
Click to expand...

I suppose so. Well, it depends on the answer to the
question above, because if I have to install it, then I
probably have to buy more ram, and then it isn't "free"
anymore.
 
The Windows Vista upgrade offer is only valid if you
install it on the computer it was designed for. It is
non-transferrable to a different computer and therefore
you cannot sell it.
Click to expand...

Ok, so the disk I receive will be different from the
standard "upgrade" disk I would get at a retail store? I
was assuming it would be the same.

Well, in fact, let me ask you - what exactly am I going to
get for the $9.95?
 
Peabody said:
It's a Toshiba L35-S2171 with XP Home on it. That's a
Celeron M 420 (1.6 GHz), with 512 mb of shared ram
(integrated video and audio). So, you know, Home Basic is
as far as it's gonna go, and even with another 512 of ram, I
just don't know if I wouldn't be better off using XP.

I do all the heavy lifting on my desktop computer, and only
got the laptop for mobility (i.e. - the back porch). I
would guess that video chat is the most demanding thing I
would ever use it for, and I just wouldn't want to slow
things down switching to Vista, particularly if I would have
to buy more ram just to do that.
Click to expand...

Well you may not need anything more than another 512mb ram.
My laptop is a 1.6 celeron mobile and runs Vista very smoothly with zero
problems.

Thing is really, unless you particularly want to have the latest operating
system and you only use it for chat, email or whatever, then maybe sticking
with XP is the best thing without having to buy more ram. I did run Vista
on this laptop with 512mb ram and while it did run okay, it was occasionally
sluggish at times.

I have been using a form of beta Vista for some months now and I simply
cannot go back to XP. I have tried but its just not the same going back.

Thing is, for $9.95 you really should not pass up on the offer. Its a
limited offer and some day in the future you may want to upgrade your
laptop. I say take it now and keep it for when you want to try it. 512mb
ram does not cost alot of money and both will give you some future proofing,
even if you do not install it until a year from now.
I only wish I had waited 6 months to buy my laptop then I could have gained
a cheap upgrade too.
 
Peabody said:
Ok, so the disk I receive will be different from the
standard "upgrade" disk I would get at a retail store? I
was assuming it would be the same.

Well, in fact, let me ask you - what exactly am I going to
get for the $9.95?
Click to expand...

I think what you get is an upgrade oem version - that is, it is tied to the
machine you buy it for. It really is worth it even if you do not install it
immediately. Come next year you may change your mind. :-)
 
I have a Toshiba Tecra S1, 1.6 GHz and 512 MB RAM.
It has been running Vista Ultimate fine for the past two months.
I will get more RAM someday.
 
Take whatever time you want. It doesn't expire.

Peabody said:
Is there no time limit on actually doing the upgrade itself.
I know I have to pay them the $10 and get the upgrade within
the next few months, but can I take as long as I want to
install it? Years?


I suppose so. Well, it depends on the answer to the
question above, because if I have to install it, then I
probably have to buy more ram, and then it isn't "free"
anymore.
Click to expand...
 
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