Can I save money with the upgrade edition of Windows 8?

Question - I have Windows 7 I Professional installed on my home PC, which was an upgrade edition to replace Windows Vista. I now wish to upgrade my computer to use an SSD for the operating system, then wipe the existing hard disk and use it to store everything else. The information with Windows 8 upgrade edition states that you must have an existing Windows installation before you can install the upgrade version of Windows 8. However, as I intend to install Windows 8 onto a new, blank SSD, will I be able to use the cheaper Windows 8 Professional upgrade edition? In other words, will it detect Windows 7 on my existing hard disk and accept this and then allow me to install Windows 8 on the new SSD? I would also like to fit a new motherboard. Should this wait until I have Windows 8 installed?

Answer - I We do not think this will I work. While Windows 8 will detect Windows 7, the cheaper upgrade edition can be used only to replace an existing installation. So in these circumstances Windows 8 will install itself over Windows 7, on the existing hard disk.

However, there may be a way around this problem. You did not tell us whether Windows Vista was pre-installed on the PC or if you have the original installation disc. If you have the disc, you could use it to create a fresh installation of Vista on the SSD and then update this with the upgrade edition of Windows 8. To do this, remove the existing hard disk first so the only drive in the PC is the blank SSD, then install Windows Vista onto the SSD. Once Vista has been upgraded to Windows 8, reinstall the old hard drive and format it.

The alternative - as we think you already know - is to buy the full, but more expensive, System Builder edition of Windows 8. This will allow you to do what you want.

As for fitting a new motherboard, we would advise doing that beforeinstalling Vista (or Windows 8 System Builder) afresh. That way, you can deal with any driver issues before reinstalling your programs.