Comparison chart
| Cost & Features / Availability | Starter | Home Basic | Home Premium | Professional | Enterprise | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OEM licensing | Emerging markets | Retail and OEM licensing | Volume licensing | Retail and OEM licensing | ||
| 32-bit and 64-bit versions | 32-bit only | Both | Both | Both | Both | Both |
| Maximum physical memory (64-bitmode)[29] | N/A | 8 GB | 16 GB | 192 GB | 192 GB | 192 GB |
| Maximum CPU chips supported | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Home Group (create and join) | Join only | Join only | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Backup and Restore Center[30] | Cannot back up to network | Cannot back up to network | Cannot back up to network | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple monitors | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fast user switching | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Wallpaper Changeable | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Window Manager | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Mobility Center | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Aero | No | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-Touch | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Premium Games Included | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Windows Media Center | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Media Player Remote Media Experience[31] | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Encrypting File System | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Location Aware Printing | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Remote Desktop Host | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Presentation Mode | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Server domain joining | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows XP Mode[32] | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AppLocker | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| BitLocker Drive Encryption | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| BranchCache Distributed Cache | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| DirectAccess | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Subsystem for Unix-based Applications | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Multilingual User Interface Pack | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual Hard Disk Booting | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
[edit]Upgrading
Windows Vista can be upgraded to Windows 7 with an in-place upgrade if the processor architecture, comparable edition, and language version are the same. Windows XP can only be upgraded to Windows 7 via a clean install. Windows 7 will support in-place upgrades from a lower edition to a higher one using the Windows Anytime Upgrade tool.
