[Windows 8 Upgrade Paths] How to Upgrade from Windows XP, Vista, 7 to Windows 8?
UPDATE: Scroll down to read the official Windows 8 upgrade chart provided by Microsoft.
We all are very well aware of Microsoft’s latest OS Windows 8 which has been released to manufacturing (RTM) and is available for purchase and download.
Recently Microsoft announced SKU details of Windows 8. Windows 8 will be available in 3 editions: Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8 Enterprise. More details about these editions can be found at following link:
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Microsoft Announces Windows 8 SKUs
Now people are talking about the upgrade paths of Windows 8. Will they be able to upgrade from previous Windows versions specially from Windows XP and Windows Vista? If yes, will they be able to keep their installed programs, documents and settings?
No need to worry! Now we can answer all these questions. Today we are going to share some important details of Windows 8 upgrade plans for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. These details were provided by Microsoft to a few selected partners.
Here are the upgrade paths for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7:
Table of Contents
Windows 8 Upgrade Path for Windows 7:
Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic and Home Premium users will be able to upgrade to both Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro editions. They’ll be able to keep their installed programs, document files and personalized settings.
Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate edition users will not be able to upgrade to Windows 8 basic edition. They’ll be able to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro edition. They’ll also be able to keep their installed programs, document files and personalized settings.
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Windows 7 Professional and Enterprise edition users will be able to upgrade to Windows 8 Enterprise edition. Again they’ll also be able to keep their installed programs, document files and personalized settings.
Windows 8 Upgrade Path for Windows Vista:
Windows Vista users will also be able to upgrade to Windows 8. But they will not be able to keep their installed programs.
If you have Windows Vista without SP1, you’ll only be able to keep your document files after upgrading to Windows 8.
Windows Vista with SP1 users will be able to keep their document files as well as their personalized system settings.
Windows 8 Upgrade Path for Windows XP:
Now let’s talk about Windows XP. Good news for XP users. Windows XP users will also be able to upgrade to Windows 8 but they’ll only be able to keep their document files after upgrading to Windows 8 similar to Windows Vista without SP1 users.
Also you’ll need to have SP3 installed in Windows XP to be able to upgrade to Windows 8.
Cross-architecture upgrade will not be allowed i.e. if you are using a 32-bit edition of previous Windows version, you’ll not be able to upgrade to a 64-bit edition of Windows 8. You’ll only be able to upgrade to a 32-bit edition of Windows 8 and vice versa.
Also check out following exclusive chart provided by Microsoft which shows the settings, personal files and programs that you can keep during upgrade to Windows 8:
| Installation paths to Windows 8 | Keep settings, files, and apps | Keep settings and files | Keep files only | Keep nothing |
| Windows XP Service Pack 3 or later | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Vista | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Vista with SP1 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Vista SP1 or later (32-bit to 64-bit) | No | No | No | No |
| Cross-language Windows Vista SP1 or later | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Windows 7 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Windows 7 (32-bit to 64-bit) | No | No | No | No |
| Cross-language Windows 7 | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Windows 8 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Windows 8 (32-bit to 64-bit) | No | No | No | No |
| Cross-language Windows 8 | No | No | Yes | Yes |
If you want to download or order Windows 8 DVD or if you want to upgrade your existing PC to Windows 8, check out following articles:
How to Download or Order Windows 8 RTM Setup DVD Online?
Is Your PC Ready for Windows 8? Check Yourself Using Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant
So which Windows version are you using atm? Will you upgrade to Windows 8 and which edition of Windows 8 would you like to upgrade to? Feel free to share your views about this upgrade path…
hmm $14.99 if you bought a pc between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013, and how much will it be the normal price?
Using Windows 7 Ultimate X64 Original and waiting for Windows 9. \o/
I’m using Windows 7 Ultimate. I planned to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro, as that’s my only upgrade option. Thanks to the special offer, I am thinking of buying the Windows 8 Pro since $14.99 is pretty cheap; around THB45; which is very cheap. The only thing that needs to happen is on of the PC in my house gets replace, and that’s all. When that happens, I will be qualified for the upgrade.
$14.99 is actually THB450, sorry for the mistake in the previous comment lol.
^^ Good. 😉
@SCBright
lol
@Rokerzsa
Windows 8 will release almost on same time in all countries. Currently its Release Preview build is available for download.
@Eric
No official details yet.
Hmm… Any offer if you buy a PC with FreeDOS? 😛 Planning an upgrade to the normal Windows 8, and an upgrade to a FreeDOS notebook.
Hi VG
I have an trick and i want to share
so can i email or comment the trick?
Thanks for the Tip VG!
I’m Expecting to Windows 8 Pro….
@Rishi Sharma
Go to following Link https://www.askvg.com/contact/ or Click Contact on top right side of the AskVG.com
^^ Never.
@Rishi Sharma
As Asrin475 suggested. Please use contact form to send tips or news.
@NSDCars5
lol. I dont think so.
Can i upgrade my window xp (SP2) to window 8 ….. just yesterday i formate my hard disk …i had window 8 but i am just doing clean boot …but its fails ater some %’s …… while i am on window 8 …Refresh and reset features works correctly …..But i dont know its fails installation when i want to do a clean boot ….(normally i do format the disk before this ) ..Any suggestion #AskVg
^^ Yes. You can upgrade from XP to Windows 8.
So the Vista users are going to lose out again. Not only were they lumbered with a poor performer in Vista, but also they’ll lose programs unless they upgrade to Windows 8 indirectly by upgrading to Win 7 first. Going for the full version of Windows 8 and forgetting about upgrading might be preferable for those guys, provided they have installation media for their apps.
Thanks for the info.
I am about to build a new PC but I want to keep my current HD (Windows XP) to run as a second HD for all of the stored files and apps. If running Windows 8 on the main HD I will need to upgrade my old HD to windows 8 that is running as a second, true?
^^ You can access all your data stored on old HDD from Windows 8 which will be installed on new HDD.
Thank you VG for your help, I appreciate it a lot.
Hi VG
I am running Win XP Pro (update 3) what path would I take to get to 8.1 and keep my settings ect.
Would I have to go to say ‘Vista’ first then attempt an upgrade to 8.1 to reserve my settings?
any help would be much appreciated.
Kind regards – Steve – Southampton UK
^^ First upgrade to Windows 7 and then Windows 8/8.1.
do I need to pay anything to upgrade as I’ve already paid for vista OEM??
^^ Of course. You’ll need to first purchase Windows 8 OS to be able to upgrade from Vista.
I recently downloaded Windows 8 on my vista. The following day my wife deleted it. I now have no operating system, is that correct ? Can I download on my other pc & copy it or do I have to buy it ?
^^ Try following:
https://www.askvg.com/how-to-re-download-windows-8-setup-without-purchasing-it-again-using-upgrade-assistant/