因此，如果您从 Amazon 或 Best Buy 或其他online website/store购买计算机，则计算机随附的Windows版本很可能是基本版本： Starter 或 Home(Starter or Home)或Home Premium。在Windows 10的情况下，它只是Windows 10而不是专业版(Professional version)。
为什么要升级到更高版本？好吧，Windows的 Professional 或 Ultimate 版本基本上具有更多高级用户可能会使用的功能，例如加入域的能力、Bitlocker 加密、远程桌面、Hyper-V 虚拟化(Hyper-V virtualization)等等。因此，如果您决定从Starter迁移到Home Premium、Home到Professional或Professional到Ultimate，您会怎么做呢？
在本文中，我将向您展示如何在Windows 7、8.1 和 10 中升级您的(Windows 7)Windows 版本(Windows edition)。请注意，您目前可以将 32 位版本升级到另一个 32 位版本，对于 64 位版本也是如此，但您不能从 32 位操作系统升级到 64 位。
将 Windows 10 升级到更高版本
对于Windows 10，基本上只有三个版本：Home、Professional 和 Enterprise(Professional and Enterprise)。当您从Home升级到Professional时，您可以在 30 天内降级或恢复，除非您运行磁盘清理(Disk Cleanup)并删除以前的Windows安装。您只有 30 天的时间，因为这是Windows在删除以前版本的 Windows 之前保留它的时间。(Windows)
此外，对于Windows 10，您不能直接从Pro升级到Enterprise。您必须直接从Microsoft购买，并且通常带有批量许可证(volume license)。如果您有 Windows 7 或 Windows 8.1企业版(Enterprise)，则可以将其升级到Windows 10 企业版(Enterprise)。
要升级Windows 10，请单击开始(Start)，然后单击设置(Settings)。
现在单击系统(System)，然后单击关于(About)。在底部，您将看到更改产品密钥或升级您的 Windows 版本(Change product key or upgrade your edition of Windows)链接。
这将带您进入激活(Activation)屏幕，您将在底部看到“前往商店”链接。(Go to Store)
这将加载Windows Store 应用程序(Windows Store app)并允许您以 99.99 美元的价格购买升级。
购买后，Windows将开始将Windows 10 Home升级到Pro的过程。只需几分钟，您只需在完成后重新启动计算机一次。
将 Windows 8.1 升级到更高版本
自 2015 年 10 月起，Microsoft 不再销售升级(Microsoft no longer sells upgrade)包至Windows 8或 8.1 Home 至Windows 8或 8.1 Pro。基本上(Basically)，没有人真正使用Windows 8，因此他们试图让每个人都升级到Windows 10。
如果您尝试转到控制面板、Windows 更新(Windows Update)，单击向 Windows 8.1 添加功能(Add features to Windows 8.1)，然后单击我想在线购买产品密钥(I want to buy a product key online)，您将收到一条消息，指出在您所在的地区没有找到产品。
唯一可以获得Windows 8.1 Pro升级的地方是来自(Pro)亚马逊(Amazon)等第三方卖家，价格高达 137 美元！考虑到您可以在 2016年7 月 29 日(July 29th)之前免费将Windows 8.1升级到Windows 10 ，这真的没有多大意义。届时，家庭版(Home edition)的售价为 99 美元，专业版(Pro)的售价为 199 美元。
请注意，亚马逊(Amazon)仅销售一张钥匙卡，其中包含Windows 8.1 Pro的产品密钥(product key)。要使用它，您将按照上述步骤操作，但选择我已有产品密钥( I already have a product key )以输入新密钥。
使用Windows Anytime Upgrade(Windows Anytime Upgrade)升级 Windows 7
对于Windows 7，一旦升级到更高版本，如果没有一些严重的注册表黑客等，您真的无法(registry hacking)恢复(t revert)。这确实不是一个大问题，但很高兴知道。此外，对于Windows 7，您可以从家庭高级(Home Premium) 版升级到旗舰版，而无需先升级到专业版(Professional)。您基本上可以跳过版本。
单击“开始(Start)”，然后在搜索框中输入“随时升级”并单击(search box and click)“ Windows 随时升级( Windows Anytime Upgrade)”以开始使用。请注意，Windows Ultimate将不具有此功能，因为它已经处于最高版本。
现在只需按照说明升级到新版本的Windows 7。首先(First)，单击联机以选择最适合您的 Windows 7 版本(Go online to choose the edition of Windows 7 that’s best for you)。
在同一个对话框中，您将获得不同版本的列表以及每个版本的精美功能表。这也是比较不同版本的Windows 7并实际了解差异的好方法。
您还可以单击顶部的选项卡以分别查看每个版本的功能。购买新版本并拥有升级密钥后，单击Enter an upgrade key。
差不多就是这样！输入您的密钥后，Microsoft将进行确认，更高版本的所有新功能将立即可用！无需下载任何东西或安装任何额外的软件。享受！
How to Upgrade to a Higher Edition of Windows
So most likely, if you bought your computer from Amazon or Best Buy or some other online websіte/store, the version of Windowѕ that is included with the computer is going to be the basic version: Starter оr Home or Home Premium. In thе case of Windоws 10, it’s just Windows 10 and not the Professional version.
Why would you want to upgrade to a higher edition? Well, the Professional or Ultimate versions of Windows basically have more features that power users might use like the ability to join a domain, Bitlocker encryption, remote desktop, Hyper-V virtualization and more. So if you have decided to make the move from Starter to Home Premium, Home to Professional, or Professional to Ultimate, how do you go about doing it?
In this article, I’ll show you how to upgrade your Windows edition in Windows 7, 8.1 and 10. Note that you can currently upgrade a 32-bit version to another 32-bit version and same for 64-bit, but you cannot upgrade from a 32-bit OS to 64-bit.
Upgrade Windows 10 to Higher Edition
For Windows 10, there are basically just three editions: Home, Professional and Enterprise. When you upgrade from Home to Professional, you can downgrade or revert back within 30 days unless you run Disk Cleanup and remove previous Windows installations. You only have 30 days because that’s how long Windows keeps the previous version of Windows before deleting it.
Also, for Windows 10, you can’t upgrade directly from Pro to Enterprise. You have to buy it directly from Microsoft and usually with a volume license. If you have Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 Enterprise, you can upgrade that to Windows 10 Enterprise.
To upgrade Windows 10, click on Start and then Settings.
Now click on System and then click on About. At the bottom, you will see a Change product key or upgrade your edition of Windows link.
This will take you to the Activation screen where you will see a Go to Store link at the bottom.
This will load the Windows Store app and allow you to purchase the upgrade for $99.99.
Once you buy it, Windows will start the process for upgrading Windows 10 Home to Pro. It takes just a few minutes and you’ll just have to restart your computer once after it has finished.
Upgrade Windows 8.1 to Higher Edition
As of October 2015, Microsoft no longer sells upgrade packs to Windows 8 or 8.1 Home to Windows 8 or 8.1 Pro. Basically, no one really uses Windows 8 anymore and therefore they are trying to get everyone upgraded to Windows 10.
If you try to go to Control Panel, Windows Update, click on Add features to Windows 8.1, and then click on I want to buy a product key online, you’ll get a message saying that no products were found in your region.
The only place you can get a Windows 8.1 Pro upgrade is from a third-party seller like Amazon for a whopping $137! That really doesn’t make a lot of sense considering you can upgrade Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 for free until July 29th, 2016. At that point, the Home edition will be $99 and Pro will be $199.
Note that Amazon only sells a keycard, which will contain the product key for Windows 8.1 Pro. To use it, you’ll follow the steps above, but choose I already have a product key to enter the new key.
Upgrade Windows 7 using Windows Anytime Upgrade
For Windows 7, once you upgrade to a higher edition, you really can’t revert back without some serious registry hacking, etc. This really shouldn’t be a big issue, but it’s good to know. Also, for Windows 7, you can upgrade from Home Premium to Ultimate without having to upgrade to Professional first. You can basically skip editions.
Click on Start, then type in anytime upgrade into the search box and click on Windows Anytime Upgrade to get started. Note that Windows Ultimate will not have this feature since it’s at the highest edition already.
Now just follow the instructions to upgrade to a new edition of Windows 7. First, click on Go online to choose the edition of Windows 7 that’s best for you.
In the same dialog, you’ll get a list of the different versions along with a nice table of features for each. This is also a great way to compare the different versions of Windows 7 and actually see what the differences are.
You can also click on the tabs across the top to see the features of each version separately. Once you buy a new version and have an upgrade key, click on Enter an upgrade key.
That’s pretty much it! After you enter your key, Microsoft will confirm it and all the new features of the higher edition will be available immediately! No need to download anything or install any extra software. Enjoy!
