Windows starts upgrading before knowing what version I want!!

Hi, After clicking on Windows Anytime Upgrade in my W7 Home premium, the first screen says,' Verifying Key'. The next screen, ' Please accept the Licence terms.....', and then, ' Before upgrading save ...etc. The upgrade will take as little as 10 minutes...'.
60 minutes later I turn it off!
How can Windows start an upgrade without knowing which version I want? At no point was I asked what I wanted, nor was I asked to enter a Key. No screen came up giving choices.
I seem to be missing a vital step somewhere. Can anyone throw any light on this? Thank you very much.

Windows Anytime Upgrade will only take you from Home Premium to Professional, if I'm not mistaken. It's an incremental upgrade from one edition to the next.

Are you wanting to go from Home Premium to Ultimate in one jump?

Thanks for replying. I want to go from Home to Professional but no screen appears to let me state a choice, it starts 'Verifying Key' and then asking me to accept the licence, as I said. Surely at some stage I should be asked which version I want? Thanks.

You have to buy the right anytime upgrade key, there are several available at varying prices. If you bought home to Pro then that's what it does, if you bought home to ultimate then that's what it does, and if you bought pro to ult then that's what it does; there is no need to ask because you get what you bought.

Thanks for that TrainableMan. I haven't bought the upgrade yet, I just clicked on Windows Anytime Update to see if there was any info about how to upgrade, and the screen started " Verifying Key" with the progress bar etc etc, as I've said before. Do you think a different screen will appear once I've purchased? Also why was it installing an 'upgrade' when I hadn't bought one? Very strange.

I bought my key through Amazon for about US$80 whereas through Microsoft I believe the home to pro is US$119 so value-wise it was well worth the 3 or 4 days for the key to be mailed to me therefore I didn't see that to which you refer but HERE is what you should see. Notice in the video that there are two choices, shop online & enter key. The second choice is for after you already purchased the key.

Rimlock - Ask Catilley1092, he knows all about it as he had done it several times.

Personally I wouldn't go the upgrade route unless you can't afford another copy of Windows 7. I would buy the Windows 7 Professional OEM edition. But then that's me...

Newegg has it for $79, a savings of nearly $20. The MS Store has it for $89, but it's taxed (at least here it is), the final cost was $96 & some change. I just installed it on my notebook today, it took only 5 minutes.

If you don't plan to move it to another computer, it's the easiest upgrade possible. The key simply unlocks what's already under the hood. You can save by buying it from Newegg or Amazon. Stay away from online auctions for this (I'm calling no names of places, just a warning).

Here's a good deal.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-774-_-Product

Newegg, you can trust.

PS: Whatever you do, don't lose this key, as you'll need it to reapply upon a reinstall. And make sure that you either have recovery discs or a recovery partition (both would be preferable), and keep a backup made prior to the install of the key. If you have to reinstall using a different key (from the one that you upgrade), the Anytime Upgrade Key will no longer work.

Cat

Oh you are on the other side of the pond; well US$80 should be about 50 Pound. I'm sure you have something similar to Newegg or Amazon over there ... basically a reputable discount dealer.

The "other side of the pond" is quite high for some. I remember Mychael wanted it, or was at least interested, but it cost twice as much as in the US, once converted to our dollars.

And the thing about it, it can't be bought from US suppliers, and used elsewhere. I'm looking at the box from Newegg now, there's a sticker (very light green w/the shiny strip) that says "Made in USA, For Distribution in US Only".

This is an expensive way to produce & ship this sort of key, but I guess MS is taking precautions. The one that I bought from the MS Store was emailed to me, less than 2 minutes after purchase, but no physical COA (sticker) was sent. As long as I have record of it, it doesn't matter.

BTW, in many areas, Wal-Mart also sells this product, but it'll probably cost the same as it would from the MS Store. The local store here has a few different versions. Starter & Home Premium to Pro seems to be the most desired versions, they were well stocked (two rows of each, instead of one for the others).

There should be an option in the OP's local area.

Cat