Part of a series of articles on |
Windows Vista |
---|
New features |
Siblings |
Windows Vista and Windows 7, each a major release of the Microsoft Windows operating system, were made available in six different editions: Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate. Note that Windows Vista had a Business version instead of Professional, but it is branded as Professional in other languages such as French. [1] Only Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate are widely available at retailers. [2] The other editions focus on other markets, such as the developing world or enterprise use. With the exception of Starter, all editions support both 32-bit ( x86) and 64-bit ( x64) processor architectures. Microsoft ceased retail copies of Windows Vista in October 2010. [3] Despite the subsequent release of Windows 8 and 8.1, retailers continue to sell Windows 7, though at a higher cost compared to the 8 and 8.1 operating systems.
On September 5, 2006 Microsoft announced the USD pricing for the four Vista editions available through retail channels. [4] Microsoft announced Windows 7 pricing information for some editions on June 25, 2009, and Windows Anytime Upgrade and Family Pack pricing on July 31, 2009. [2] [5] [6] Both operating systems have made available as new license and upgrade-license SKUs for each edition, with the exception of Windows 7 Starter.
Microsoft characterizes the packaging for the retail-editions of Windows Vista as "designed to be user-friendly, [...] a hard plastic container that will protect the software inside for life-long use". [7] The case opens sideways to reveal the Windows Vista DVD suspended in a clear plastic case. The Windows Vista disc itself uses a holographic design similar to the discs that Microsoft has produced since Windows 98.
Notes:
To support 64-bit platforms such as Intel Xeon, Intel Core 2, AMD Opteron and AMD Athlon 64, Microsoft released 64-bit versions of every edition of Windows Vista and 7 except for the Starter edition. These editions can run 32-bit programs by running them within the WOW64 subsystem. Most 32-bit programs can run natively, though applications that rely on device drivers will not run unless those device drivers have been written for 64-bit Windows. Most older hardware doesn't have the necessary support to get the drivers written. [32] [33] [34]
Other applications may have difficulty as well. For example, the Visual Basic 6 IDE will run natively on 32-bit editions, but will not run at all on 64-bit editions. [35] Some application vendors will only provide full / premium product versions for 64-bit and cut down versions for 32-bit (e.g. Adobe Premiere Elements is 32-bit and the full Adobe Premiere is available for 64-bit - with more capability but at a much higher price).
Various reviewers have reported that the 64-bit editions of Windows outperform their 32-bit counterparts in synthetic benchmarks such as PassMark. [36] [37] [38] For example, in early testing of 64-bit support in Photoshop for Windows, overall performance gains ranged from 8% to 12%. Those who work with extremely large files may realize noticeably greater gains in performance, in some cases as dramatic as ten times the previous speed. This is because 64-bit applications can address larger amounts of memory and thus result in less file swapping — one of the biggest factors that can affect data processing speed. [39]
All 64-bit versions of Microsoft operating systems currently impose a 16 TB limit on address space. Processes created on the 64-bit editions of Windows Vista can have 8 TB in virtual memory for user processes and 8 TB for kernel processes to create a virtual memory of 16 TB. [40] The limits of physical RAM for 64-bit Windows are 8 GB for Home Basic, 16 GB for Home Premium, 128 GB for Vista Business/Enterprise/Ultimate and 192 GB for 7 Professional/Enterprise/Ultimate. [20]
Some of the main editions also can take the form of one of the following special editions:
Two additional editions of Windows Vista and one for Windows 7 have been released for use by developers of embedded devices. Microsoft lists the system requirements for these editions as being the same as their desktop variants. These editions are licensed exclusively for the development of embedded devices. [43] In addition, Microsoft created Windows Thin PC, a minimalist operating system based on Windows 7.
Windows 7 is also currently available as a form of Windows Embedded to developers, named as Windows 7 Embedded Standard (previously known as Windows Embedded 2011, the newest being Windows Embedded Standard 7 with Service Pack 1. [45]
Features | Starter | Home Basic | Home Premium | Professional | Enterprise | Ultimate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Availability |
Emerging markets for Vista Worldwide for 7 |
Worldwide for Vista Emerging markets for 7 |
Worldwide | |||
Licensing scheme | OEM | Retail and OEM | Retail, OEM, and volume licensing [53] | Volume licensing [53] | Retail and OEM | |
Maximum physical memory (RAM) ( IA-32) [54] | 2 GB | 4 GB | ||||
Maximum physical memory (RAM) ( x64) [54] | — | 8 GB | 16 GB | 128 GB with Vista; 192 GB with Windows 7 | ||
Maximum physical CPUs supported [a] [55] | 1 | 2 | ||||
Built-in AVCHD support [56] | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Multiple monitors | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Fast user switching | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Desktop Window Manager | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Windows Mobility Center | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Printing via the Internet | No [57] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Windows Parental Controls [58] | Vista only | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
64-bit versions | No | Yes, but not in retail SKUs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Windows Aero | No | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Internet connection sharing | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Built-in DVD decoder [47] | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Multi-touch | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Windows Media Center | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Windows Media Player remote media experience [b] | No | No | Yes [59] | Yes [59] | Yes [59] | Yes [59] |
Premium games | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
HomeGroup support | 7 only (cannot create) | 7 only (cannot create) | 7 only | 7 only | 7 only | 7 only |
Backup and Restore Center network support [60] | No | No | Vista only | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Act as host for Remote Desktop Services | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Dynamic disks [61] | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Encrypting File System | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Location-aware printing | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Presentation mode | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Domain joining (with Group Policy and AD LDS [c] support) [62] | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Offline files and folder redirection [62] | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Windows XP Mode [d] | No | No | No | 7 only | 7 only | 7 only |
Software restriction policies | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Remote administration tools | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
AppLocker policies | No | No | No | 7 only (cannot enforce) | 7 only | 7 only |
Aero glass remoting [63] [64] | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Windows Media Player multimedia redirection [64] | No | No | No | No | Yes [59] | Yes [59] |
Remote Desktop audio recording and multi-display [64] | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Enterprise search scopes and federated search [62] [65]: 130 | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
BitLocker Drive Encryption | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
BranchCache Distributed Cache | No | No | No | No | 7 only | 7 only |
DirectAccess | No | No | No | No | 7 only | 7 only |
Subsystem for Unix-based Applications | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Multilingual User Interface languages [66] [67] | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
VDI licensed with enhancements [62] [68] : 130 | No | No | No | No | 7 only | 7 only |
VHD booting | No | No | No | No | 7 only | 7 only |
Starter | Home Basic | Home Premium | Professional | Enterprise | Ultimate |
Users can sometimes upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista, or upgrade from one version of Windows Vista to another. However, not all potential upgrade combinations exist. The accompanying chart indicates the possible upgrade paths:
Note: If a user is running a 32-bit version of Windows, a user can only upgrade to another 32-bit version: to upgrade from 32-bit to 64-bit requires a clean install.
Old operating system | New operating system | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Windows Vista | Windows 7 | |||||||||||
Starter | Home Basic | Home Premium | Business | Enterprise | Ultimate | Home Basic | Home Premium | Professional | Enterprise | Ultimate | ||
7 | Starter | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | In-place | In-place | Clean | In-place |
Home Premium | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | In-place | Clean | In-place | |
Professional | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | In-place | |
Vista | Home Basic | Clean | — | In-place | Clean | In-place | Clean | In-place | In-place | Clean | Clean | In-place |
Home Premium | Clean | Clean | — | Clean | In-place | Clean | Clean | In-place | Clean | Clean | In-place | |
Business | Clean | Clean | Clean | — | In-place | In-place | Clean | Clean | In-place | In-place | In-place | |
Enterprise | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | — | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | ? | Clean | |
Ultimate | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | — | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | In-place | |
XP | Starter | In-place | In-place | In-place | In-place | Clean | In-place | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean |
Home | Clean | In-place | In-place | In-place | Clean | In-place | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | |
Media Center (SP2+) | Clean | Clean | In-place | In-place | Clean | In-place | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | |
Professional/Tablet PC | Clean | Clean | Clean | In-place | Clean | In-place | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | |
Other | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | |
Windows 2000 and earlier | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean |
Yeah! [69]
Apple, Microsoft's main competitor for desktop operating systems, created an ad called "Choose a Vista" in May 2007 to mock the operating system's numerous editions. In the following month, Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs jokingly announced that the company would release five versions of Mac OS X Leopard, each costing $129 and named after all the Vista editions except for Starter. Jobs then announced that there was only one version of Leopard, fully featured, at that price point.
enterprise
was invoked but never defined (see the
help page).
Editions and pricing
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha>
tags or {{efn}}
templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
template or {{notelist}}
template (see the
help page).
Part of a series of articles on |
Windows Vista |
---|
New features |
Siblings |
Windows Vista and Windows 7, each a major release of the Microsoft Windows operating system, were made available in six different editions: Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate. Note that Windows Vista had a Business version instead of Professional, but it is branded as Professional in other languages such as French. [1] Only Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate are widely available at retailers. [2] The other editions focus on other markets, such as the developing world or enterprise use. With the exception of Starter, all editions support both 32-bit ( x86) and 64-bit ( x64) processor architectures. Microsoft ceased retail copies of Windows Vista in October 2010. [3] Despite the subsequent release of Windows 8 and 8.1, retailers continue to sell Windows 7, though at a higher cost compared to the 8 and 8.1 operating systems.
On September 5, 2006 Microsoft announced the USD pricing for the four Vista editions available through retail channels. [4] Microsoft announced Windows 7 pricing information for some editions on June 25, 2009, and Windows Anytime Upgrade and Family Pack pricing on July 31, 2009. [2] [5] [6] Both operating systems have made available as new license and upgrade-license SKUs for each edition, with the exception of Windows 7 Starter.
Microsoft characterizes the packaging for the retail-editions of Windows Vista as "designed to be user-friendly, [...] a hard plastic container that will protect the software inside for life-long use". [7] The case opens sideways to reveal the Windows Vista DVD suspended in a clear plastic case. The Windows Vista disc itself uses a holographic design similar to the discs that Microsoft has produced since Windows 98.
Notes:
To support 64-bit platforms such as Intel Xeon, Intel Core 2, AMD Opteron and AMD Athlon 64, Microsoft released 64-bit versions of every edition of Windows Vista and 7 except for the Starter edition. These editions can run 32-bit programs by running them within the WOW64 subsystem. Most 32-bit programs can run natively, though applications that rely on device drivers will not run unless those device drivers have been written for 64-bit Windows. Most older hardware doesn't have the necessary support to get the drivers written. [32] [33] [34]
Other applications may have difficulty as well. For example, the Visual Basic 6 IDE will run natively on 32-bit editions, but will not run at all on 64-bit editions. [35] Some application vendors will only provide full / premium product versions for 64-bit and cut down versions for 32-bit (e.g. Adobe Premiere Elements is 32-bit and the full Adobe Premiere is available for 64-bit - with more capability but at a much higher price).
Various reviewers have reported that the 64-bit editions of Windows outperform their 32-bit counterparts in synthetic benchmarks such as PassMark. [36] [37] [38] For example, in early testing of 64-bit support in Photoshop for Windows, overall performance gains ranged from 8% to 12%. Those who work with extremely large files may realize noticeably greater gains in performance, in some cases as dramatic as ten times the previous speed. This is because 64-bit applications can address larger amounts of memory and thus result in less file swapping — one of the biggest factors that can affect data processing speed. [39]
All 64-bit versions of Microsoft operating systems currently impose a 16 TB limit on address space. Processes created on the 64-bit editions of Windows Vista can have 8 TB in virtual memory for user processes and 8 TB for kernel processes to create a virtual memory of 16 TB. [40] The limits of physical RAM for 64-bit Windows are 8 GB for Home Basic, 16 GB for Home Premium, 128 GB for Vista Business/Enterprise/Ultimate and 192 GB for 7 Professional/Enterprise/Ultimate. [20]
Some of the main editions also can take the form of one of the following special editions:
Two additional editions of Windows Vista and one for Windows 7 have been released for use by developers of embedded devices. Microsoft lists the system requirements for these editions as being the same as their desktop variants. These editions are licensed exclusively for the development of embedded devices. [43] In addition, Microsoft created Windows Thin PC, a minimalist operating system based on Windows 7.
Windows 7 is also currently available as a form of Windows Embedded to developers, named as Windows 7 Embedded Standard (previously known as Windows Embedded 2011, the newest being Windows Embedded Standard 7 with Service Pack 1. [45]
Features | Starter | Home Basic | Home Premium | Professional | Enterprise | Ultimate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Availability |
Emerging markets for Vista Worldwide for 7 |
Worldwide for Vista Emerging markets for 7 |
Worldwide | |||
Licensing scheme | OEM | Retail and OEM | Retail, OEM, and volume licensing [53] | Volume licensing [53] | Retail and OEM | |
Maximum physical memory (RAM) ( IA-32) [54] | 2 GB | 4 GB | ||||
Maximum physical memory (RAM) ( x64) [54] | — | 8 GB | 16 GB | 128 GB with Vista; 192 GB with Windows 7 | ||
Maximum physical CPUs supported [a] [55] | 1 | 2 | ||||
Built-in AVCHD support [56] | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Multiple monitors | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Fast user switching | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Desktop Window Manager | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Windows Mobility Center | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Printing via the Internet | No [57] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Windows Parental Controls [58] | Vista only | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
64-bit versions | No | Yes, but not in retail SKUs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Windows Aero | No | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Internet connection sharing | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Built-in DVD decoder [47] | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Multi-touch | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Windows Media Center | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Windows Media Player remote media experience [b] | No | No | Yes [59] | Yes [59] | Yes [59] | Yes [59] |
Premium games | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
HomeGroup support | 7 only (cannot create) | 7 only (cannot create) | 7 only | 7 only | 7 only | 7 only |
Backup and Restore Center network support [60] | No | No | Vista only | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Act as host for Remote Desktop Services | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Dynamic disks [61] | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Encrypting File System | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Location-aware printing | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Presentation mode | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Domain joining (with Group Policy and AD LDS [c] support) [62] | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Offline files and folder redirection [62] | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Windows XP Mode [d] | No | No | No | 7 only | 7 only | 7 only |
Software restriction policies | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Remote administration tools | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
AppLocker policies | No | No | No | 7 only (cannot enforce) | 7 only | 7 only |
Aero glass remoting [63] [64] | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Windows Media Player multimedia redirection [64] | No | No | No | No | Yes [59] | Yes [59] |
Remote Desktop audio recording and multi-display [64] | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Enterprise search scopes and federated search [62] [65]: 130 | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
BitLocker Drive Encryption | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
BranchCache Distributed Cache | No | No | No | No | 7 only | 7 only |
DirectAccess | No | No | No | No | 7 only | 7 only |
Subsystem for Unix-based Applications | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Multilingual User Interface languages [66] [67] | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
VDI licensed with enhancements [62] [68] : 130 | No | No | No | No | 7 only | 7 only |
VHD booting | No | No | No | No | 7 only | 7 only |
Starter | Home Basic | Home Premium | Professional | Enterprise | Ultimate |
Users can sometimes upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista, or upgrade from one version of Windows Vista to another. However, not all potential upgrade combinations exist. The accompanying chart indicates the possible upgrade paths:
Note: If a user is running a 32-bit version of Windows, a user can only upgrade to another 32-bit version: to upgrade from 32-bit to 64-bit requires a clean install.
Old operating system | New operating system | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Windows Vista | Windows 7 | |||||||||||
Starter | Home Basic | Home Premium | Business | Enterprise | Ultimate | Home Basic | Home Premium | Professional | Enterprise | Ultimate | ||
7 | Starter | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | In-place | In-place | Clean | In-place |
Home Premium | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | In-place | Clean | In-place | |
Professional | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | In-place | |
Vista | Home Basic | Clean | — | In-place | Clean | In-place | Clean | In-place | In-place | Clean | Clean | In-place |
Home Premium | Clean | Clean | — | Clean | In-place | Clean | Clean | In-place | Clean | Clean | In-place | |
Business | Clean | Clean | Clean | — | In-place | In-place | Clean | Clean | In-place | In-place | In-place | |
Enterprise | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | — | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | ? | Clean | |
Ultimate | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | — | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | In-place | |
XP | Starter | In-place | In-place | In-place | In-place | Clean | In-place | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean |
Home | Clean | In-place | In-place | In-place | Clean | In-place | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | |
Media Center (SP2+) | Clean | Clean | In-place | In-place | Clean | In-place | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | |
Professional/Tablet PC | Clean | Clean | Clean | In-place | Clean | In-place | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | |
Other | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | |
Windows 2000 and earlier | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean |
Yeah! [69]
Apple, Microsoft's main competitor for desktop operating systems, created an ad called "Choose a Vista" in May 2007 to mock the operating system's numerous editions. In the following month, Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs jokingly announced that the company would release five versions of Mac OS X Leopard, each costing $129 and named after all the Vista editions except for Starter. Jobs then announced that there was only one version of Leopard, fully featured, at that price point.
enterprise
was invoked but never defined (see the
help page).
Editions and pricing
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha>
tags or {{efn}}
templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
template or {{notelist}}
template (see the
help page).