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Can you help me with my software licensing question?

I have a few PCs on which I have Windows 2000 Installed. I have recently decided to upgrade to Windows 7 (Home or Pro) and noticed that the Upgrade packages are (obviously much cheaper).

Can I use the Upgrade to install Windows 7 on my machine (using the Windows 2000 License key)? I'm talking about format and install - not "upgrade" which I understand that is not supported. My question is is this OK license wise, and how to accomplish it.

Moshe Eshel
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According to Windows 7 Upgrade Eligibility and Paths:

You are eligible to purchase an upgrade to any version of Windows 7 if you own any previous version of Windows starting with XP or later. Windows 98, 2000, and ME don’t qualify you to purchase an upgrade. If the PC you want to install Windows 7 on has a version of Windows older than XP, you will need to purchase a full retail or OEM version of Windows 7.

So no, a Windows 2000 license doesn't qualify for an upgrade version of Windows 7.

GAThrawn
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No. Never. Servers are their own upgrade path. You could possibly move from 2000 via upgrades to 2008 R2 server, but not Win 7.That said, upgardes work one step at a time, and you did skip a LOT of steps, so the upgrade would not be cheaper, imho.

Basically, in your case you buy Windows 7.

TomTom
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    Remember that Windows 2000 included a workstation edition. I agree that an upgrade part might be rather complex though. – Rob Moir Feb 04 '11 at 11:13
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    Windows 2000 came in the Professional version which was for workstations and was the forerunner to Windows XP, and Server which were the server versions. – GAThrawn Feb 04 '11 at 11:19
  • Exactly. Poster alks explicitly of 2000 SERVER, not 2000 Workstation. These still were different upgrade paths, as I said. – TomTom Feb 04 '11 at 12:35
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    the only place server is mentioned is in a tag - it's not the worlds hardest thing to pick the wrong tag. The body of the question mentions PCs (rather than servers) and Home/Pro editions.. =) – Rob Feb 04 '11 at 12:58