Windows 7 - Unable to follow install tutorial

I built a new system and installed XP 32 initially not having bought an OEM OS with the new components. Later I added Win 7 7100 64 bit as a dual boot. Liking Win 7, I removed the dual boot hard disk and installed a new hard disk of 1 TB. The old hard disk will be used as an external backup drive later on.

I installed Win 7 7100 64 bit clean onto the fresh new hard drive (now the only one in the computer). I added programs, etc and have been using that for a few months with perfect satisfaction.

I recently bought a commercial OEM version of Win 7 Ultimate to upgrade my 7100 'demo' Win 7 to a full version. My plan is to upgrade my 7100 to my new product code. That's all I want to do but I can't seem to

I read the tutorials on this site about upgrading or repairing only. I can't get Setup to Upgrade. I get an error message saying I can't upgrade from XP directly that I need to run Custom setup.

What? There never has been any XP on this hard drive. The only OS has been Win 7 7100 64. I definitely do NOT wish to go through installing all my programs AGAIN with the hassles of activation. Last time I did this I had a fight with both MSFT Office and Adobe about activation. I do not wish to have this same fight / long telephone holds to re-activate again.

Is there some way to force an Upgrade or just poke my OEM product key into my current running version of 7100? Given the number of 7100's out there, I"m pretty surprised that there doesn't seem to be a way for me to move from 7100 to OEM commercial in one quick and easy step.

It doesn't seem so by your post, but was the new Win 7 drive ever connected to the system at the same time as the original dual boot drive?

Try from elevated command prompt:

sfc /scannow

When it finishes, then attempt upgrade.

Thanks. I'll try that. The new Win 7 drive never has existed in the same system as the dual boot drive. Can you please elaborate on what is an elevated command prompt? Thanks.

I'm assuming I must boot to console session to run sfc.

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OK. I did the sfc and it ran w/o errors. Setup now claims it cannot upgrade this pre-release version of Win 7. So setup is now properly identifying the OS, but in the end, it's still no joy for me.

What bothers me is that I played entirely by the rules. I d/l and eval'd Win 7. I then bought at retail, the OEM version I was entitled to as a system builder. Yet I'm being gigged by MSFT to redo the entire setup for my machine. Re-installing programs, even if system restore woks (which I'm not entirely counting upon) is a full day of tedium.

Had I known that I'd be treated to THREE setups of Win 7:

1. Initial dual boot
2. 'Final' single boot all Win 7 system on fresh hard disk
3. Custom setup demanded due to #2 not being upgradable

I doubt I'd have started down the Win 7 path. This just stinks.

Can anyone here suggest a method whereby I can upgrade my 7100 to OEM? Both are Ultimate. Thanks.

Elevated means run it as administrator. If you running already as do 999 of 1000 users, don't worry about it. Just open the command prompt and let it do its thing with that command.

If you are not admin, right click on the shortcut and choose "run as administrator"

Thx, Torrentg. Per my edited post, I did run it and now have encountered a slightly different problem. Can you please re read my edited post and if you have a suggestion make it? Thanks.

Welcome to SevenForums slide

Do you have a 4gb USB Flash drive? Is your computer able to be set in Bios to Boot from a USB drive ?

There is a way to upgrade from RC7100 to OEM 7600 Ultimate, but it involves several changes. Plus there is always the possibility of upgrading somethings that may not work, therefore most prefer a clean install of the current OEM 7600.

Have you looked at Windows Easy Transfer yet ?

Windows Easy Transfer - Transfer To & From Computers

" Doc "

1500 posts

Yes, as Doc says. There is a way. Users were doing it all the time and it was frequently discussed on the forum.

Doc: Congrats on the 1500!

Thx, doc. My issue isn't settings but programs. Frex, I have both CS 4 32 and 64 from Adobe installed. I prefer not to hassle reinstalling them again plus the plethora of plugins I've bought over the years. I can say ditto MSFT Office as well as gosh knows how many other programs.

I can easily make a system image using my installed 7100 and then restore after the OEM Win 7 7600 is installed which will return me everything except the installed programs. Am I right on that?

Re-installing programs is tedious and time consuming. Re-installing programs from MSFT and Adobe among others is a screaming nightmare due to the activation demand. as last time I had to VOICE phone both to activate. The online activation failed due to my multiple Win 7 eval installs which were problematic due to one thing or another.

If either MSFT or Adobe or the others are peeking in, I'm not a dope. I have access to various pirate sites where I can just d/l and install cracked versions of your apps. I do not. Yet you guys kick me around as if I were some sort of arch pirate instead of a guy who's spend thousands on your software.

All I want here is to xfer my legitimate OEM product code to my current installed version of Win 7 which I legitimately d/l from MFST on MSFT's invitation. Now I feel like a sucker for bothering.

Slide, I can tell you that you'll never be trouble free even if you manage to do the upgrade. The ONLY sane choice is a clean install of the OS and reinstall your programs. You'll spend hours trying to do the upgrade and then you'll have nothing but problems. Bite the bullet and get started on it now.

I normally keep quiet when I disagree on things, and also do not mind at all when I'm corrected when wrong. However, this is untrue.

Since last year, I have upgraded approximately 20 times between two machines during beta testing phase. There has been not one issue to speak of and in fact, both machines are still running from upgrade installs. My experience has been that it couldn't be any more perfect. We do have to consider that I'm an experienced user though, which helps to avoid errors.

I have always recommended upgrade for users that really want to keep settings/software.