Windows 7, a major release of the Microsoft Windows operating system, is available in six different editions: Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate. Only Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate are widely available at resellers. Other editions focus on other markets, such as the world of software development or enterprise use. All editions support 32-bit IA-32 CPUs and all editions except Starter support 64-bit x64 CPU. 64-bit installation media is not included in the Home-Basic edition package, but can be obtained separately from Microsoft.
According to Microsoft, the features for all editions of Windows 7 are stored on the machine, regardless of which edition to use. Users who want to upgrade to the Windows 7 edition with more features can use Windows Anytime Upgrade to purchase upgrades and to unlock features of those editions. Microsoft announced Windows 7 pricing information for some editions on June 25, 2009, and Windows Anytime Upgrade and Family Pack pricing as of July 31, 2009.
Video Windows 7 editions
Main edition
Since October 31, 2013, Windows 7 is no longer available in retail (except for Professional editions installed that were discontinued on October 31, 2016):
- Windows 7 Starter
- Windows 7 Starter is a Windows 7 edition that contains the fewest features. It's only available in 32-bit versions and does not include Windows Aero themes. The desktop and visual style wallpaper (Windows 7 Basic) can not be changed by the user. Microsoft initially intended to limit users of this edition to run three simultaneous applications but this restriction was dropped. Does not support more than 2GB of RAM.
- This edition is available previously on computers, especially netbooks or Windows Tablets, through system integrators or computer manufacturers that use OEM licenses.
- Windows 7 Home Basic
- Windows 7 Home Basic is available in "emerging markets", in 141 different countries. Some Windows Aero options are issued along with some new features. Home Basic, along with other editions sold in emerging markets, including geographic activation restrictions, which require users to activate Windows within a certain region or country.
- Windows 7 Home Premium
- This edition contains features intended for home market segments, such as Windows Media Center, Windows Aero and multi-touch support. It is available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
- Windows 7 Professional
- This edition is targeted at fans, small business users and schools. It includes all the features of Windows 7 Home Premium, and adds the ability to participate in Windows Server domains. Additional features include support for up to 192 GB of random access memory (up from 16 GB), operating as Remote Desktop server, location aware printing, backup to network location, File System Encryption, Presentation Mode, Software Restriction Policy (but not additional management features AppLocker ) and Windows XP Mode. It is also available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
- Windows 7 Enterprise
- This edition targets the enterprise market segment and is sold through volume licensing to companies that have Software Assurance contracts with Microsoft. Additional features include support for Multilingual User Interface (MUI) packages, BitLocker Drive Encryption, and UNIX application support. Not available through retail channels or OEM, this edition is distributed through Microsoft Software Assurance (SA). Consequently, it includes some SA benefits alone, including licenses that allow the operation of diskless nodes (diskless PCs) and activation via VLK.
- Windows 7 Ultimate
- Windows 7 Ultimate contains the same features as Windows 7 Enterprise, but unlike the Enterprise edition, it's available to home users on an individual license basis. Users of Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional can upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate at a cost of using Windows Anytime Upgrade if they wish to do so. Unlike Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows 7 Ultimate edition does not include Windows Ultimate Extras features or exclusive features as Microsoft has stated.
Mainstream support for all editions (new features and bug fixes) ends in January 2015, but extended support (security updates) will continue through January 2020.
Maps Windows 7 editions
Custom destination edition
The main edition can also take the form of one of the following special editions:
- N and KN editions
- Features in N and KN Editions are equivalent to equivalent full versions but do not include Windows Media Player or other Windows Media related technologies, such as Windows Media Center and Windows DVD Maker due to limitations set by the EU and South Korea, respectively. The N and KN Edition costs are the same as the full version, because the Media Feature Package for Windows 7 N or Windows 7 KN can be downloaded free of charge from Microsoft.
- VL build
- VL builds work with VLK (volume license key). Bulk license keys can be used to enable multiple software installations without any mechanism (such as product activation mechanisms) check the total number of installations. Licenses for the software will place restrictions on the use of the key. Typically, the license will limit the lock to a fixed number of installations that are only within the licensing organization and also place the licensee under the obligation to keep records of the number of installations, maintain key confidentiality and may even require the licensing organization to make itself available for licensing audit of the device software to verify that its use of the key is in the terms of the license.
Upgrade edition
On-premises upgrades from Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 to Windows 7 are supported if processor and language architectures are the same and their editions match (see below). Upgrade in place is not supported for previous versions of Windows; moving to Windows 7 on these machines requires a clean installation, ie removal of the old operating system, installing Windows 7 and reinstalling all previously installed programs. Windows Easy Transfer can help in this process. Microsoft makes upgraded SKU Windows 7 for the editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista selected. The difference between this SKU and the full SKU of Windows 7 is the lower price and proof of license ownership from the previous qualified versions of Windows. The same restrictions on in-place improvements apply to this SKU as well. In addition, Windows 7 is available as a Family Pack upgrade edition in certain markets, to upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium only. It licenses to upgrade three machines from Vista or Windows XP to Windows 7 Home Premium edition. This is not a full version, so every computer that will be upgraded must have one of the earlier versions of Windows qualified in order to work. In the US, this offer expires in early December 2009. In October 2010, to commemorate the anniversary of Windows 7, Microsoft once again made Windows 7 Home Premium Family Pack available for a limited time, while supplies still exist.
Increase compatibility
There are two possible ways to upgrade to Windows 7 from a previous version of Windows:
- On-site installation (labeled "Upgrade" in the installer), where settings and programs are preserved from older versions of Windows. This option is only occasionally available, depending on the edition of Windows used, and is not available unless upgraded from Windows Vista.
- Net installation (labeled "Custom" in the installer), where all settings including but not limited to user accounts, apps, user settings, music, photos and programs are removed entirely and the current operating system is removed and replaced with Windows 7 This option is always available and required for all versions of Windows XP.
The table below outlines which escalation paths allow for in-place installations. Note that in-place upgrades can only be made when previous versions of Windows have the same architecture. If upgrading from a 32-bit installation to a 64-bit installation or downgrading from a 64-bit installation to a 32-bit installation, a clean installation is mandatory regardless of the edition used.
Anytime Upgrade edition
Microsoft also supports on-site upgrades from lower editions of Windows 7 to higher versions, using the Windows Anytime Upgrade tool. There are currently three retail options available (although it is not currently clear whether they can be used with previous N installation versions). There is no version of the Anytime Upgrade family edition package. You can use Product Key from the Standard upgrade edition to complete the in-place upgrade (eg Home Premium to Ultimate).
- Starter to Home Premium
- Starter to Professional 1
- Starter to Ultimate 1
- House Premium to Professional
- House Premium to Ultimate
- Professional to Ultimate 1
1 Available in retail, and in the Microsoft Store
Derivatives
- Windows Thin PC
- On February 9, 2011, Microsoft announced Windows Thin PC, a Windows Embedded Standard 7 derivative with Service Pack 1, designed as a lightweight version of Windows 7 for installation on low-performing PCs as an alternative to using dedicated thin. client devices. This works Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PC, which is based on Windows XP Embedded. Windows Thin PC was released on June 6, 2011. Windows Thin PC is supported until October 12, 2021.
- Embedded version
- Windows 7 is also currently available as a form of Windows Embedded for developers, named as Windows Embedded Standard 7 (formerly known as Windows Embedded 2011, most recently being Windows Embedded Standard 7 with Service Pack 1). Windows Embedded Standard 7 is supported until October 13, 2020.
Chart comparison
See also
- Windows 2000 edition
- Windows XP edition
- Windows Vista edition
- Windows 8 edition
- Windows 10 edition
Note
References
Further reading
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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