• Windows 7 Wallpapers
• Vista Wallpapers
• Windows Wallpapers

And in every case, my answer was consistent. I didn’t know. Paul Thurrott and I asked Microsoft repeatedly (and I mean every single damn week) for upgrade media, and the answer was always a polite no. I could have taken some educated guesses and hit the Publish button here, but that isn’t what I learned in journalism school.

My compatriots in the Windows blogosphere weren’t always so discriminating. I read a staggering number of rumors, many of them promulgated by people who should have known better.

So when I got home from the Windows 7 launch event and found four copies of Windows 7 upgrades waiting in my office (thanks, Amazon.com!), I got right to work. Here, at long last, are the answers you’ve been looking for.

If I buy a retail upgrade version, what’s in the box?

You get two DVDs, one 32-bit, one 64-bit. You get a single product key, which you can use to install either version. If you buy the Family Pack, you also get those two DVDs and a single product key, which can be used to activate three PCs in your household.

Is the upgrade DVD bootable?

Yes. In fact, as far as I can tell it is absolutely identical to the full version.

So what’s the difference between the full and upgrade versions?