Windows Anytime Upgrade
| A component of Microsoft Windows | |
|---|---|
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| Details | |
| Type | Utility software |
| Included with | Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 |
| Replaced by | Settings in Windows 10 |
| Related components | |
| Windows Update | |
Windows Anytime Upgrade is a discontinued component of Windows Vista and Windows 7 that enabled users to upgrade their editions of Windows (e.g., from Home Basic to Ultimate). Pricing for upgrades purchased through Anytime Upgrade was also reduced when compared with traditional retail packaging. In Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, the feature was re-branded as Add features to Windows and was used to purchase an upgrade license to the Pro edition of the operating system or to add Windows Media Center to an existing Pro edition installation. However, support for this feature in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 was dropped on October 31, 2015.
Windows Anytime Upgrade was in development prior to the development reset of Windows Vista, then known by its codename "Longhorn." A preliminary version of the feature can be seen in build 4093.
On February 26, 2006, Microsoft announced the editions of Windows Vista to be released to retail and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). After this announcement, various technology-related outlets reported that Anytime Upgrade would enable users to upgrade to successive editions.
All editions of Windows Vista, excluding Enterprise, are stored on the same retail and OEM optical media—a license key for the edition purchased determines which version is eligible to be installed. When first announced, Anytime Upgrade enabled users to purchase a digital license from an online merchant to upgrade their edition of Windows Vista. Once a license had been purchased, a user's product license, billing and other information would be stored within a user's digital locker at the Windows Marketplace digital distribution platform; this would allow a user to retain this information at an off-site location for reference purposes and to reinstall the operating system, if necessary. A user could then initiate an upgrade to the edition for which the license was purchased either through components stored on the hard drive by the OEM of the personal computer, through an Anytime Upgrade DVD supplied by the OEM, or through retail installation media compatible with Anytime Upgrade. If none of these options were available, Anytime Upgrade provided an option for a user to purchase a DVD online and have it delivered by mail.
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