A strange thing happened this morning in relation to this.
My Samsung netbook was bought for me in Feb 2010. After a week or so I paid £70 to download and upgrade it from Starter to Home Premium and everything was working fine.
About a month ago I had a glitch that started off with me losing my Google Toolbar. Things got worse and for some reason there were no Windows Restore points so I had to use the Samsung Restore programme. This brought it back to the basic Windows Starter.
I tried to find a means of reloading MY upgrade on the Microsoft websites without success and I ended up in a 30 minute phone conversation with a Microsoft adviser. I watched them search my computer for the problem and eventually they suggested an online fix which would cost £70 or £105 with a year's guarantee. I told them I was not going to pay that even when they dropped it to £50 as the netbook was over two years old with Windows 8 just around the corner.
I carried on with Windows Starter and one day by accident, searching for a file, the search box came up with Windows Anytime Upgrade. I started this off and used the product verification code from my original invoice. It accepted this and started the upgrade programme. After a few minutes it stopped with the advice that the upgrade was unsuccessful. I tried again with the same result and gave up; that was a couple of weeks ago.
I left it at that until yesterday just after I had posted the query about wallpaper. I decided to email Microsoft in Ireland from whom I had purchased the upgrade in the first place asking them how I could download the upgrade using the Anytime Upgrade program.
This morning when I switched it on it it went into the upgrade immediately after boot up and then switched itself off and restarted with Windows Home Premium installed.
I didn't initiate it; it hadn't even got to the user password stage when it upgraded so could Microsoft have initiated it in responce to my email? It is the only thing that it out of the ordinary. I am on Window automatic updates so could they have fed that in at the same time. When they accessed my computer they might have been able to trace it, can they?
However, I now have a nice picture of the World as wallpaper.
Edited to add. Curious and curiouser. I have received a message to say that my email was unable to be delivered to Microsoft so now I have no idea what started the upgrade.
Last edited by Fareastdriver; 17th September 2012 at 15:21.