However, the Windows 7 version that is bundled in notebooks and netbooks is the Windows 7 Starter edition -- the low-end crippled version. To get a comparison of each flavors of Windows see this article in Wikipedia. How then do you upgrade to a higher version of Windows 7 from the Starter that is stock in the notebook or netbook?
To answer the above question, you can use the "Windows Anytime Upgrade" to do a quick upgrade. This is installed by default your system. Access this program by pressing [WIN] key then type "anytime" on the program search bar. You may also click on the orb and then type "anytime" on the program search bar.
Launch the program then select "Enter an Upgrade Key" (the bottom option), if you already have a key. Or choose the top option to go online and purchase an upgrade key. For this tutorial, we selected to 'Enter an Upgrade Key'.
The next screen will ask for an upgrade key.
The program will then go online and verify the code from above. And the upgrade begins.
The computer will automatically reboot and update Windows while shutting down. As shown in the screenshot above, it will take about 10minutes but in our experience it took about half an hour for the upgrade to complete.
Upon reboot, the Windows Anytime Upgrade will launch and show the new version of Windows. Our upgrade key gave us Windows 7 Home Premium.
There you go. Effortless upgrade of your brand new Windows 7 notebook. The type of upgrade that doesn't need any installation media or USB device. The upgraded computer will have all the updates to the upgraded system already installed.
