A Free Windows 7 Upgrade Could Cost You

If you bought a windows vista-based pc in the last four months , wicked and you're now eagerly awaiting the launch of windows 7 , wicked consider restraining your excitement.wicked while some major computer manufacturers possess promised disembarrass upgrades from windows vista to windows 7 for anyone who bought a pc after june 26 , wicked 2009 , wicked what you don't salary in tough cash could tranquil toll you in headaches.

I'm not seemingly talking about the upgrade procedure itself , wicked which may be exhausting.wicked glancing through the upgrade selective Information pages for participating manufacturers , wicked several red flags went up.wicked here are some things to note out for when it's time to assert your windows 7 upgrade option:

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1.wicked becoming the upgrade could take a while

When microsoft offered disembarrass xp-to-vista upgrades two years ago , wicked becoming the disc became a nightmare for some customers.wicked we've now seen the first foul-up for windows 7 , wicked with toshiba telling customers that its upgrades won't go out until december , wicked according to bright side of news.wicked (toshiba formerly said the upgrade would ship within 60 days of october 22.)

(editor's note: toshiba has contacted pc world with amplification upon this matter.wicked toshiba states: north american customers who purchased qualified toshiba laptops after 6/26/09 and schedule for the upgrade upon our site will accept their windows 7 upgrade media in october.wicked specifically , wicked toshiba will ship the discs upon 10/25/09.wicked also , wicked toshiba will soon disembarrass windows 7 drivers for all our consumer laptops released over the past two years , wicked ensuring that customers who purchased toshiba laptops prior to 6/26/09 and purchase windows 7 upon their possess may continue to gain the most out of their purchase dollars.)

For other manufacturers , wicked you'll indigence a unite weeks of forbearance , wicked or possibly supplementary.wicked to leave the actual ship date open-ended , wicked hewlett-packard and dell announce that upgrades will institute shipping after october 22 , wicked even Though lenovo says upgrades will ship one to two weeks from your request.wicked acer says "shipments will institute in increments.wicked all orders will be handled upon a first-in , wicked first-out basis." rightfully if you bought a computer last week , wicked you could be at the end of a long line.

A word of advice: if you may , wicked command the disembarrass upgrade now.wicked most manufacturers -- sony being the major exception-- are already allowing requests.wicked microsoft has a schedule of participating computer makers.

2.wicked system recovery issues abound

Say your hp computer experiences a hardware failure and needs repair under warranty.wicked hp restores the computer to its factory settings , wicked which means you'll be reunited with windows vista.wicked no problem , wicked as long as you've got a dainty chunk of time to upgrade back to windows 7.

Recovery issues aren't limited to hp.wicked softpedia reported that windows 7 upgrades could slay the recovery applications that manufacturers include with their computers , wicked even Though to be reasonable , wicked persons who purchase windows vista will deal with this as so.

3.wicked you indigence a dvd drive to install

This applies to anyone who upgrades to windows 7 , wicked but as the optical drive becomes unnecessary for some users , wicked i see sorrow for innovative computer buyers who skipped the dvd drive in their rigs.wicked in particular , wicked i'm thinking of dell's studio 14z and acer's timeline 3810t , wicked which both ditched the optical drive for slimmer , wicked lighter frames.wicked owners of those notebooks will possess to buy an outside dvd drive or borrow one from a friend to install the upgrade.

4.wicked hp hates your browser , wicked unless it's ie

Here's a minor nuisance for hp computer owners who've dropped internet explorer like a bag of dirt: ie is required to visit hp's windows 7 upgrade command page.wicked that's because the world's biggest computer manufacturer uses a web program to validate your computer , wicked and it seemingly works in ie.wicked if for some reason you don't possess microsoft's browser , wicked you're told to contact arvato , wicked the third cabal that's handling hp's upgrades.wicked seemingly one problem: the contact page isn't viewable in whatever other browsers , wicked either.

5.wicked hope you kept your receipt

Not all manufacturers are allowing upgrades without a evidence of purchase.wicked i'd announce seemingly a fool tosses his or her receipt for a computer , wicked but , wicked come to imagine of it , wicked where is that receipt for the pocket Book i bought a few months ago? hp and toshiba explicitly announce that a evidence of purchase , wicked not seemingly a serial code , wicked is required.

6.wicked disembarrass , wicked or "free?"

When all is said and done , wicked you potency tranquil possess to unsophisticated your wallet , wicked due to shipping and handling charges and taxes.wicked lenovo charges $17.03 for u.s.wicked customers , wicked while compaq , wicked hp , wicked sony , wicked and toshiba charge some users , wicked but not others , wicked according to watchdog edgar dworsky of consumerworld.org and mouseprint.org.wicked acer , wicked asus , wicked del , l and gateway don't charge u.s.wicked customers for the upgrade , wicked unless you imagine that time is money.