Hi,
I was wondering if you can up date Windows 7 home and/or premium, to Windows 7 Pro, on a laptop. My friends, came with 7 home and was thinking of Pro so he can do XP games.
Thanks for any information.
Charllotte

I'm not a tech sort of person, Charllotte, so take this for what it's worth. I have Win 7 Pro 64 bit on my computer and I'm seriously considering removing the Virtual XP that I was so sure I needed. Win 7 Pro can play nearly every game I've tried on it, including Grim Fandango with the patch and installer I downloaded for it. Those that it can't play won't open or play in Virtual XP either. Now, that may be because it's 'virtual' and somehow different from the real thing, I don't know but if I had to do it again, I'd forget the virtual XP.

Gil.

Yes you can upgrade from Windows 7 Home to Windows 7 Professional.
***Windows 7 Upgrade Paths***

I don't know if it will do you much good though. You'll get XP Mode, but it won't support any game that requires 3D graphics.
***Article on Windows 7 XP Mode***

The price of upgrading is more than purchasing a retail version of XP and running it under Virtual PC. And, as Jenny pointed out, there is no support for 3D acceleration.

You can however use a retail version of XP under Virtual Box or VMware Player which do support 3D accelerated graphics.

I think you'd also loose several features included in the Home edition (to keep them you'd probably have to upgrade to Ultimate).

ssgamer, we're finding our old games are playing on Win 7 Home Premium amazingly well. The compatibility mode has gotten many games to load and run if they won't otherwise. You can select from everything back to Win 95 on up. Most that need it are playing in XP SP2 compatibility mode. However, the majority are playing in Win 7 Home Premium with no tweaks at all. Check out the stickied thread at the top of this forum for Windows 7 and Games.

But if you wish to upgrade, the links Jenny gave you should tell you all you need to know.

When I purchased my new laptop, I had the opportunity to upgrade to Windows 7 Pro for $79. I did so, but as others have said, games requiring 3D acceleration won't play in the virtual XP mode. I have found it useful for applications I need for my work that are not compatible with Windows 7. For games though, it is of no value. Compatibility mode is what would work if needed.

The intent of providing the virtual XP mode in Win 7 Pro was for business applications that are not compatible with Win 7. They definitely were not thinking of gamers.

I'd say it's of little value. There are games old enough not to require 3D acceleration, and any game that uses QuickTime wouldn't require it. But those games would probably be better off played in Windows 95 or 98 and not XP, so Virtual PC with Windows 95 or 98 installed would be a better choice.

Thanks, so much.
I wanted to be sure if I got Windows 7 I could play my games. It looks like a good video card is the most important. I have a very good laptop with XP and a good video card (had it made for games) but my desk computer won't play some of the newer games (shader problems) so was wondering about Windows 7. Still reading and studying, also thanks for all the tips here.
Mostly do games.
Charllotte

Check Draclvr's Windows 7 and Games thread at the top of the Glitches thread list. That should give you an idea of which of your games will play in Windows 7. And yes the video card is very important for games.