Learn About the Window 7 Free Upgrade from OEM Sources: Dell, HP, and the Other Big PC Manufacturers

As discussed in the article on getting your free Windows 7 upgrade directly from Microsoft, there are some conditions that need to be satisfied. According to Microsoft's offer, preliminary eligibility is satisfied if you have purchased your computer with an allowed pre-installed edition of Vista between June 29, 2009, and January 31, 2010.

Here you can find out information on the free Windows 7 upgrade for your computer.

Some PCs are shipped with a form for getting the upgrade from the manufacturers. In that case, you follow the directions on the specific form you received with your computer purchase. Not having a chance to see the forms from different OEM, I am being hopeful and assuming all the directions you need to order the upgrade will be provided with the form.

That should be the easy way.

Where do you do if your OEM did not give you a form for your free Windows 7 upgrade?

The rules are not the same as getting the upgrade directly from Microsoft.

• Microsoft has said the OEM PC manufacturers can determine under what conditions a computer made by them is eligible for the upgrade program.
• This means that individual manufacturers set what documentation is necessary to get your upgrade from them.
• They are allowed to offer the upgrade on only a selection of the computers they manufacture, even if an appropriate edition of Vista is on other computers they sell.
• They do not have to allow refurbished computers bought with eligible editions of Vista to participate in the program.
• They are allowed to set a shipping and handling fee you must pay before they provide the upgrade.
• If appropriate, they charge taxes on that fee.
• They are allowed to determine when they will start shipping the upgrades for approved requests once Windows 7 is released.
• They can use a shorter time period for eligible purchase than Microsoft set.

Microsoft has a main web page where they link to the upgrade programs for OEM PCs. There they have the links for the participating PC companies, which go to their upgrade programs.

First you select your country.

For the United States:

Acer, Asus, Averatec, Dell, eMachines, Fujitsu, Gateway, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba are all participating.

• Other unspecified PC companies and retailers also are participating.
• Some of them may have provided an upgrade form. If so, follow directions.
• If they are not among the companies listed here, contact them directly to check what they want you to do.
• This also includes retailers.

Some manufacturers are requiring proof of purchase as well as other identifying information, and others are identifying eligible computers from serial numbers on the computer. Each manufacturer seems have slightly different rules. They let you know their conditions at the linked site.

Dell, among other requirements, only allows Dell PCs purchased by December 31st, 2009 to participate. They ship upgrades starting on specified dates beginning October 26, 2009, by languages, with the last group starting to ship on November 18, 2009. Their hardware requirements are the same ones Microsoft specified as needed to run Windows 7.

Read a detailed description of the HP upgrade procedure. They allow selected refurbished models to qualify for the upgrade as well. Their upgrade process is being handled by a third party vendor.

Lenovo is allowing the upgrade during the whole time that Microsoft allows. They want product number, serial number and date of purchase. They will ship your upgrade one to two weeks after they finish processing your request. Shipping and handling for an upgrade in the United States is estimated to be $17.03.

Samsung requires both proof of purchase, individual identification of their laptop and Microsoft's Certificate of Authenticity number. Their target schedule for shipping the upgrade is between January 1, 2010 and February 28, 2010.

Toshiba is offering the upgrade only for specific new laptops purchased during the whole time Microsoft allows for the free upgrade. They require proof of purchase - which cannot be a credit card slip - and individual information from each laptop which applies for the upgrade. They say they will ship approximately 60 days after your order is processed. This means that people who applied for the upgrade before Windows 7 was released should not expect to receive their upgrade until approximately the fourth week in December.

This quick description from some of the OEM PC manufacturers participating gives you an idea of the different ways that individual PC companies decided to implement Microsoft's free upgrade. Each is handling the program differently than any other PC company. Most of them appear to be requiring shipping and handling costs from the individual purchaser.

Some manufacturers are allowing refurbished computers bought in the eligible time period to qualify for the upgrade. Others are not.

One explanation from an OEM for only allowing the upgrade on certain computers is that they are only allowing computers to qualify if, as shipped, they have the capability to run Windows 7. That explanation actually does make sense.

However, most computers capable of running Vista as their OS should also be able to use Windows 7 as their OS as well. Microsoft has an application you can download from them which tells you if the computer you run it on is ready to run Windows 7, available from Microsoft's Windows 7 Compatibility Center.