EU Vista users won’t have the ability to upgrade to Windows 7

Europeans will not be able to directly upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7. Microsoft yesterday detailed upgrade paths from old Windows editions to its upcoming Windows 7 OS, and confirmed that UK Vista users will need to do a clean install of Windows 7.

Microsoft is expected to ship special versions of Windows 7 to European customers, but the versions will need a clean install on PCs, according to a blog entry on Microsoft’s website. The software giant has released special editions of Windows 7 in Europe including Windows 7 E, which lacks a browser, and Windows 7 N, which lacks a browser and media player technologies. Windows 7 is scheduled for a worldwide launch on October 22.

The company released Windows 7 E editions – including Premium, Professional, Ultimate and Starter editions – to comply with the European Commission’s antitrust ruling against the company. However, the commission panned Microsoft’s decision to strip the browser from Windows 7 E, saying that instead of providing more choice, Microsoft appeared to be providing less choice.

Users in other parts of the world will be able to upgrade directly from Windows Vista to Windows 7. However, Microsoft isn’t allowing upgrades from Windows 7 Release Candidate or Windows XP, according to a document outlining OS upgrade paths for users worldwide. Nor are direct upgrades allowed from Windows NT Server 4.0, Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

Source: MSFN