Can I Install Windows 7 Upgrade after oem has been installed & removed

Thanks a lot people! Of course, I was forgetting Windows 7 already has dvd burning software on. So basically I don't need any of the software that came with it. I'm actually not bothered if some of the Vaio assist type buttons don't work anyway, but have read the bit about sony function keys now.

Interestingly I am now getting my head round the clean instal/manufacture software thing, after installing W7 onto my Asus netbook (posted about that recently). All I had to find was a driver for the screen resolution and one other, and everything is running beautifully. Only issue is a battery thing where it keeps telling me I need a new battery (I have two and both are fine) and won't charge over 80% and then seems to go right down very quickly. I googled this and found all sorts of fixes, none of which worked. What worked, was installing the Asus utility for the battery from the Asus site for that model.

Thanks for the link about checking if software is genuine. I wrote to the seller of this upgrade software the other day explaining I couldn't leave feedback just yet as wasn't quite ready to install, but I was sure everything would be fine. He wrote back and said I would have no problems, it was genuine and it worked fine the three times he had used it. THREE TIMES! Ooer - does that mean he might have installed it on more than one laptop? His original selling blurb said he had upgraded his laptop with it, laptop now broken and hard drive reformatted and being used as a back up drive. I suppose I have to assume he reinstalled on his laptop three times - but - if people are ignorant of what is allowed, he could well have used it on something else! Oh well - will see what happens.

What worked, was installing the Asus utility for the battery from the Asus site for that model

Although it still keeps telling me I should think about replacing my battery.

I would use the superior Power Management in Win7, unless there is some feature with the OEM battery software that you prefer or you want to try it after reinstall to compare. If not then uninstall it.

Let's assume your seller is referring to reinstalls. You can reinstall WIn7 as often as you want. If you reinstall it on the PC and it is already tied to other hardware, it will prompt you with the question "Is this copy of Win7 installed on any other PC?" to which you can only answer "No" to activate it. This will deactivate it on any other PC. You have your bill of sale and correspondence to prove it is your OS now, although I've yet to see anyone need to prove it.

Remember to have your network driver in the backup so if it's not provided during install (plug in by wire to increase likelihood) you can install it to get online and run all rounds of Important and Optional Windows Updates, after enabling Automatically deliver drivers via Windows Update (Step 3). After each requested reboot, go right back to Check for Updates again until there are no more. Only then would I import any drivers which are still missing in Device Manager.

We can help you resolve any issues remaining after that.

Thanks, that is really helpful - will let you know how I get on. Laptop arriving tomorrow.

Ok. Laptop has arrived, along with the oem disc for windows 7. I have checked the disc carefully from the 'how can you tell' link and all holograms are correct. The only thing that concerns me slightly, is that the number on the disc is X17 etc but the number on the COA is X16 etc. And its made in Turkey. Does this all sound bona fide?

The disks are interchangeable and you should use the latest for your licensed version from Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 anyway, so that isn't as much of a concern as the Product Key.

If you have doubt about the Product Key and would rather not change from Vista until you know it is valid, then call MS Customer Service and they will validate the key. Later if there is any problem getting it activated online or via automated phone activation, they will open a Support case to get it done one way or the other as long as it's valid.

Microsoft Support

Thanks. I was impatient! And went ahead using the upgrade version I had instead (mentioned earlier). So - have read all the articles about clean install with upgrade version but still a bit confused about something.

When it got to the formatting section, there were two partitions - one with the recovery section in. I have already made recovery discs, and wanted to reformat the disc and use all of it - but then I didn't want to have problems activating the key, so decided not to format. Now I know you can delete windows old afterwards, but presumably I will still have this recovery partition for Windows Vista, which I don't really need (and seems to be taking up at least 10gb if not 20gb).

So - if I finish all the updates, and manage to successfully activate - can I then reinstall from scratch with the upgrade disc, and this time, format the hard drive? Because the product key is now already linked to my computer after activation? Or - if I format the hard drive on reinstall will I have the same issue with activation? Or will it just not work or something (assume it will already be activated on second install. Thanks!

Are you following Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7? It explains how to do all of this. I'm not sure why you would ask for help here and then ignore the specific help we gave you to get and keep a perfect install.

Yes, as it says in the tutorial I would boot the installer to use the Drive Options to delete all partitions during steps 7 and 8 of Clean Install Windows 7, create and format New or just click Next on the Unallocated space to proceed. This has no bearing on activation whatsoever, just on how clean the install is without interference from OEM partitions. You have Vista Recovery disks for backup, but you'd want a Vista clean install if you went back anyway.

Plug in by wire to have a 70% chance of starting connected, otherwise put your network driver in the backup so you can install it if necessary to get online to enable Automatically deliver drivers via Windows Update (Step 3) and then Check for Updates to install all Important and Optional Updates to completion. After requested reboots go right back to Check for more Updates, until there are no more. Only then should you import any drivers still missing in Device Manager from the PC model's Support Downloads webpage.

While Updates are downloading you can activate at Computer>Properties to see how that goes. If you want reassurance then run MGADiag.exe and post results back so we can tell you for sure if its genuine.

Sorry! I did look at the link - I thought I was doing option 2. I might have caused some confusion earlier. An oem disc came with the laptop I bought, but I already had a Windows 7 upgrade disc. I wasn't sure about where the oem disc came from, so decided to use the upgrade disc, and was following the tutorial for clean install with an upgrade disc.

I can see I am doing things a roundabout way though. Option 2 seemed the easiest way to make sure I didn't have problems with activation. But then I thought, if it is activated, then I could do a clean reinstall from scratch again, then format the disc and get rid of the partitions - as presumably I am already activated on this laptop then. Or would it need activating again?

Sorry!