I agree with the clean install consensus. Loki, there is not reason to buy a Full version as long as you have the previous OS. The upgrade disk will do a complete clean install (instructions below in the link).
'Upgrade or Full' What is the difference..
I explain the entire Upgrade Clean Install process for those that need it. Hope it helps.
~Lordbob
Clean install, all the way. Too many things that can be broken upgrading, even rom one beta build to another, much less a different OS (7 does a lot of things differently).
My story:
I bought a couple months ago a new HP-laptop (check the specs). I was running Vista Ultimate, with all original drivers from HP`s support site. Decided to try W7 and fell in love.
First I made a clean install, and luckily enough, almost all of the Vista x64 drivers worked fine. Two exeptions: W7 did not find Blu-Ray disks (CD`s and DVD`s were OK), and I had troubles trying to install my network printer / scanner. Printing was OK, using Microsoft-drivers, but I had to scan through scanners web-interface because not a single application found my scanner.
I did a lot of Googling, especially about Blu-Ray problems (with this Optiarcs internal BD-drive I have) in W7. In every peace of information I found was one thing in common, I noticed. It was always a clean install.
So I did some testing and reading, and decided to install W7 one more time choosing this time upgrade. Formatted C:, installed Vista Ultimate & original HP drivers & original bundled software, did all the updates including service pack. Only when Windows Update told me my Vista was completely up to date, I did a W7 upgrade.
Everything works now perfectly. Printer-scanner software which I could not install on W7, works now when it was installed on Vista which then was upgraded to W7, Blu-Ray works, computer is faster and uses less resources.
I am a happy man!
EDIT: A few days later now, I just finished W7 installation with my wifes laptop. Same manufacturer (HP), different model (HDX16-1101eg Premium). Same thing happened with Blu-Ray. Trying first a W7 clean install, computer worked fine but could not play Blu-Ray disks, this beeing the one and only problem. Going back, I installed Vista once again and updated it until Windows Update told it was up to date. Then W7 upgrade, and now everything works.
Summary: Clean install is really the best alternative for most of us. But in our case, if we´d like to use our laptops´ full potential, including the ability to play BD-disks, upgrade is the only solution.
Of course I know this test of mine is not so conclusive. I just tested two HP-laptops, and both had the same problem when doing a clean W7 install, and both are working perfectly when I made an upgrade.
Last edited by Kari; 01 Jul 2009 at 05:50. Reason: New info
While its always better to do a "clean" install there are methods of doing that from both the full and upgrade paths. I think you will find that pretty much anything you could do in xp you can do here. If necessasary you could run a virtual xp . Also win 7 is good enough you will not need to wait till sp1I am sure this has been asked before but I didn't really know how to search for it, here it goes.
I have heard horror stories about upgrading to a new OS from and old one (95 to 98, 98 to Me, Me to XP, etc, etc) and that it is better to buy the full version and start with a clean slate... is there any truth to that? Are the Marketing Nazis behind this myth just to make you spend, yet, more money?
Frankly, I have never purchased any Microsoft OS until SP1 is out due to the bugs and glitches but, after testing the Windows 7 RC, not to its fullest of course, but to the extent of my liking, which by the way, is as far as I am ever going to take it anyways, I am thinking of dumping Vista x64 and just stick to 7.
Sure, there are still things that I can't do with 7 that I used to be able to do with XP easily but I am managing w/o them or trying to be patient with it... of course, that is not here nor there!
You're gonna like it
Ken
Clean install the way, upgrading is going to bring hell to your pc further down the road, just about every time you do an upgrade install, something will go wrong down the line, once you jump on here, to ask why.. and describe its an upgrade install, more then likely, the response will be, format, and reinstall. Formating saves you the hassle of doing it later, when your computer has been all set up.
Can you install the Full Version of Windows 7 on more than 1 home computer?
The Upgrade version is the same as the Full retail version. Only the keys are different.
You can even use the Upgrade version to do the cleanest possible install: boot from the DVD, select Custom install and use Advanced drive tools to format the drive.
The DVD scans the HD's and sees the prior qualifying Vista/XP/RC and allows the Upgrade Key.
If you have a copy of XP or Vista but don't want to reinstall it, there is a workaround which is even given out by MS tech support: http://community.winsupersite.com/bl...he-answer.aspx
or you can run a Repair (in-place Upgrade) over itself from the new Win7 desktop and it will accept the key then.
The reason MS allows this is because there were 6 million Win7 beta testers who would be inconvenienced to reinstall XP/Vista if they didn't allow these workarounds.
It took many beta testers weeks and months to abandon XP/Vista, while it is taking newbies now just hours and days. Every day we help remove many dual boots here, each one it's own puzzle, with about a 95% success rate.
The thing that doesn't make sense to me is that I used the upgrade disk to do a clean install on a separate harddrive, while the XP drive was disconnected, and it worked as though I never had XP at all. I've been tossing around the idea of which version to buy for another machine, and while I agree that MS's support of the full retail version isn't really a factor for me, some of the ads for the retail say that it includes a manual. I imagine that it is pretty basic, but for a few things that may be all that I need.
MS supports any retail version of their software, Full or Upgrade.
I have several Full retail versions none of which came with manuals, just insert cards as the Upgrades do.
You can find tutorials on this site to answer almost any installation question you have, or just post a topic. Or call MS.
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