Windows 7/10 upgrade path

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Not sure which region you're in but this is about the only place I'd buy from seeing it is sold and shipped from the same place and a reputable company at a reasonable price
Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit-Newegg.com

 

[NathanA]

Hi,
Not sure which region you're in but this is about the only place I'd buy from seeing it is sold and shipped from the same place and a reputable company at a reasonable price
Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit-Newegg.com

*sigh* ...for (hopefully) the last time, that is OEM, and OEM does me no good. I do appreciate the sentiment and thought behind the response, though!

-- Nathan

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
What is wrong with oem/ system builders again sorry I missed it

 

[NathanA]

Hi,
What is wrong with oem/ system builders again sorry I missed it

Won't allow me to perform an in-place upgrade from Vista. OEM keys only work with a clean install.

...unless (and this is something that just occurred to me) it is possible to perform the MediaBootInstall registry hack (the one commonly used to do a clean install with an upgrade-only key) in reverse? That is, skip key entry during upgrade install, change MediaBootInstall value from 0 to 1 (instead of from 1 to 0) after upgrade, add key to system and try to activate?

Anyone tried that?

-- Nathan

 

[SIW2]

Waiting to hear if that works.

 

[SIW2]

Kari says he has done it - assuming he understood the question correctly. Confirmed in the following post by Dave76

Confirmd by the OP on that thread

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Never tried it either but as far as I've read all windows anytime upgrade needs is media and a activation key.
MS has stopped offering the media and keys but if you have it already :/

 

[NathanA]

All,

Thanks again! It was news to me that it would be possible to use an OEM key to perform an in-place upgrade, but sure enough, it does sound like this is possible. Furthermore, in a test VM, I tried using an OEM key after doing an in-place upgrade from Vista, both with and without touching the MediaBootInstall registry key (and subsequently rearming), and the system accepted the OEM key in *both* cases, although I did not go on and let it try to actually activate the install with that key, so I'm not 100% sure what would have happened in that case (though the threads that SIW2 linked to would certainly suggest that MS activation servers don't care whether you use an OEM key to activate an in-place upgrade install, which I find strange, but whatever!).

However, in the end, I didn't even have to worry about trying this out in the real-world, because my original plan worked and went off without a hitch:

1. I bought a used but completely valid copy of retail Windows 7 Ultimate off of eBay for $80 from an actual Microsoft employee in the Seattle area (cheapest clearly non-counterfeit Pro or Ultimate license I could find on eBay at the time).

2. I in-place upgraded from XP to Vista without supplying a product key during the install or activating afterward (though it sounds like I would have had no problem doing so with the Vista OEM key printed on the system's attached COA).

3. I in-place upgraded from unactivated Vista to 7 using the key and disc that I bought second-hand. It activated without any issue (wasn't even prompted for phone activation, to my surprise).

4. I in-place upgraded from this activated 7 install to Windows 10 Pro Creators Update, and was issued a digital entitlement and the install activated without a hitch.

I'm happy, the end-user is happy, and all is right with the world.

-- Nathan

 

[SIW2]

Thanks for the update. Glad it worked out.

 

[Layback Bear]

From post #28

1. I bought a used but completely valid copy of retail Windows 7 Ultimate off of eBay for $80 from an actual Microsoft employee in the Seattle area (cheapest clearly non-counterfeit Pro or Ultimate license I could find on eBay at the time).

Really? That is hard to believe. A $300.00 Windows Ultimate off of eBay of $80.00 that is legal.

Please complete this tutorial by Brink with your new install.

Windows Genuine and Activation Issue Posting Instructions - Windows 7 Help Forums

Jack

 

[NathanA]

Really? That is hard to believe. A $300.00 Windows Ultimate off of eBay of $80.00 that is legal.

As I believe I stressed, a USED copy (and it very clearly was used, borne out both by the posted pictures before I bought it and the box-in-hand after it arrived). And from an individual who has only ever listed one copy of Windows on eBay, ever.

Sometimes private owners want to simply clean out what they perceive to be "clutter" from their lives ASAP with little hassle, and without wringing every last possible penny of value from it. Haven't you ever been to a garage sale that 1 out of 10 times where you run across something that is clearly undervalued? Guess it's your lucky day. Current owner just wants it gone and doesn't care about leaving some money on the table. Underpricing things has a way of causing them to move fast, assuming that is your intention.

Please complete this tutorial by Brink with your new install.

I actually would love to humor you on this (truly, no sarcasm), but as I very clearly pointed out in my post, the machine was upgraded to Windows 10 immediately afterward. So I cannot run MGADiag on the Windows 7 install, since it no longer exists. And I'm certainly not about to spend hours (not to mention disrupt the end-user's life) to uninstall 10, run MGADiag, and then re-install 10, just to prove to you that this was a valid copy. (This is assuming that at this point, uninstalling and going back to Windows 7 is still possible.)

I'm happy to run MGADiag on the current Windows 10 install if you think that would prove anything. The fact that MS activated Win10 after an in-place upgrade from this copy of 7 is proof enough for me. If I have a free evening, I might even entertain the idea of running over there with a blank hard drive, swapping that in for the one that has the end-user's current install, installing and re-activating this Windows 7 from scratch on this spare drive as a test, collecting the MGADiag results, and then putting the original hard drive back. As I'm sure you can appreciate, though, this time-consuming task is not high on my priority list.

-- Nathan

 

[Layback Bear]

If I understand correctly you no longer have a Windows 7 problem because W-10 is installed at this time.
Is that correct?

From you post #1. This is what was clear to me.

Here's the situation: have a friend with a computer that needs to get to at least Windows 7 (after which Win10 should be straightforward, if they decide to do so)

Just for your knowledge. I'm not wanting humored. I was trying to help you with your problem.
If you really want to know if your W-10 install is proper, we have a sister forum that will be able to help you.

Ten Forums


Jack