Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media

[Barman58]

Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media

It was the final unanswered question about Windows 7. But now, thanks to numerous reader reports and my own hands-on experience, I'm can now report that Microsoft is still making it difficult to clean install Windows 7 with Upgrade media. But fear not, there is some good news. While you can't simply use Upgrade media to do a clean install of Windows 7 on an unused PC with a blank hard drive, the workaround this time is easier than ever. Assuming you know the trick.

http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp

 

[mickey megabyte]

interesting rearm trick

this will please a lot of people.

 

[JColt]

Hmmm, I did a clean install with no problem. Formatted drive, installed 7 upgrade. Only "trick" I did was not register when it asked me to then after up and running I registered.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
some people have reported that you can just do a clean install like the previous poster just pointed out without using the registry hack and slmgr command. (and Brink has also in another thread).

So this is doubly confusing now -- maybe there are TWO different types of update media out there now. :devil:

Anyway if the normal update doesn't work the slmgr trick looks good.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[joel406]

I have ultimate x86 and x64 with a product key of course. The upgrade version.

I just booted from the x64 disk and installed normaly. I just didnt enter the key when it asked for it. As a result ultimate installed by default.

After install was complete I opened system properties and clicked on the "change product key" link and entered my upgrade key.

Then I phone activated.

I was done.

It's worked twice so far. 8 more to go.

 

[Nosmo]

Hacks can sometimes work but in this case we need to Activate successfully and then pass Validation with MGA. Time will tell if this all works down the road.

 

[joel406]

Well I have already passed validation so it seems a rather short road for that subject.

 

[KCFalcon59]

Hmmm, I did a clean install with no problem. Formatted drive, installed 7 upgrade. Only "trick" I did was not register when it asked me to then after up and running I registered.

This is what I did also. Worked great.

 

[Barman58]

Updated Article Now Available

Updated Article Now Available

This article has now been updated to contain further information ...

http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp

 

[Night Hawk]

I see he now has the reference to his previous Vista upgrade install article included. For those who will be reading this here they can also make use of the guide we already here as well that includes mention of the article. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/31402-clean-install-upgrade-windows-7-version.html

Some have been reporting one clean install activates on the first attempt while others have had problems and are undecided on which will work. You can see why he added the double install method there.

(gosh? I already have that solved by simply buying a full version copy of Ultimate.)

I just came across another article which is more of a question and answer session on this.

October 25th, 2009

Finally, some answers to Windows 7 upgrade questions

Posted by Ed Bott @ 6:00 pm

Every day for the past few months, I have received at least one question from readers wanting to know how the Windows 7 upgrade process will work. And in every case, my answer was consistent. I didn’t know. Paul Thurrott and I asked Microsoft repeatedly (and I mean every single damn week) for upgrade media, and the answer was always a polite no. I could have taken some educated guesses and hit the Publish button here, but that isn’t what I learned in journalism school.

My compatriots in the Windows blogosphere weren’t always so discriminating. I read a staggering number of rumors, many of them promulgated by people who should have known better.
So when I got home from the Windows 7 launch event and found four copies of Windows 7 upgrades waiting in my office (thanks, Amazon.com!), I got right to work. Here, at long last, are the answers you’ve been looking for.

More at: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=1477&tag=content;col1

 

[joel406]

Ed Bott has always struck me as pretty much...well...stupid.

His articles are always rather shallow and I have never gotten any useful information out of them.

If these people were so smart they would have figured this out long before I did.

So heres the answer.

You can do a clean install with upgrade media and upgrade key.

I have now performed this mind bogoling feat at least 20 times and never recive any of the errors ole Ed is produceing.

Prehaps Ed should let someone that "understands" computers do the work for him.

 

[Tews]

Brink has covered all of this in his updated tutorial -=> Here

 

[muzicman61]

Well, I don't know if this qualifies as a "Clean install" but I had Windows 7 RC1 (32bit) installed on my PC. It had a second hard drive that was formatted, but blank. I booted from the upgrade ISO (Windows 7 Pro, 64bit) I created using the instructions from another thread. I chose custom installation and selected the blank hard drive as the destination. It installed fine, accepted the product key, and activated with no problems. I used msconfig to remove the boot information for the RC1 version and then formatted that drive. I don't know for sure if this worked, because the upgrade saw the RC1 installation or if it just "works".

 

[Night Hawk]

What I suspect may be half the problem to begin with is the new smaller text seen on the retail sticker for the product key. Being in more of a rush and without closer examination when entering the key one or two characters are simply mistaken for others!

It only takes one being seen as something else to end up seeing... (1st image) while activation was immediate here. (2nd image)

 

[dmillergv]

If you are running a clean install of the available RTM do the following test first.
Use the activation code from the retail update and try to activate.
This worked on 2 of the 3 machines I have.
What I don't understand is why the 3rd machine wouldn't activate when the same RTM DVD was used to load it. The only difference is that third machine is a netbook
BTW, Machine #1 is X86 and #2 is X64. All 3 are laptops.

 

[Nosmo]

I still am not sure I have this 100%, but it seems to me that the installer will look around the computer and if it sees ANY evidence that the computer has had a prior OS installed it somehow flags the install so an 'UPGRADE' key will be accepted and Activation and Validation will take place.

If the computer has a new virgin drive that has never had an OS installed,
the win 7 installation will fail at point of 25 digit key being entered either at the beginning or end of install.

We are NOT talking about the Paul Thurrott workaround. We know that works, but will it only work for a few months and can MS at a later date tell if an install is legal by their definition? All interesting stuff.....

Now some people who swear they have upgrade keys are having these keys behave like full. Go figure....

 

[TheSchaft]

If you are running a clean install of the available RTM do the following test first.
Use the activation code from the retail update and try to activate.
This worked on 2 of the 3 machines I have.
What I don't understand is why the 3rd machine wouldn't activate when the same RTM DVD was used to load it. The only difference is that third machine is a netbook
BTW, Machine #1 is X86 and #2 is X64. All 3 are laptops.

The third machine is a netbook, correct? Can it run Ultimate, because that's what the RTM is. That may be the problem.

 

[Barman58]

I still am not sure I have this 100%, but it seems to me that the installer will look around the computer and if it sees ANY evidence that the computer has had a prior OS installed it somehow flags the install so an 'UPGRADE' key will be accepted and Activation and Validation will take place.

If the computer has a new virgin drive that has never had an OS installed,
the win 7 installation will fail at point of 25 digit key being entered either at the beginning or end of install.

We are NOT talking about the Paul Thurrott workaround. We know that works, but will it only work for a few months and can MS at a later date tell if an install is legal by their definition? All interesting stuff.....

Now some people who swear they have upgrade keys are having these keys behave like full. Go figure....

The whole upgrade / Full question as been confused by at least one of the companies handling the special offers including the word UPGRADE on it's advertising materials, when in fact the media they supply is the full install.

I fully believe that Microsoft has left the Double install workaround intentionally as this will prevent a lot of problems in the future when people who legitimately upgrade now come to re-install either onto a new or the same hardware.

The fact that they still make no mention of it is understandable as this will allow users to "upgrade" when they are not entitled to.

The likelihood of Microsoft retrospectively removing the licences is I think also unlikely - the company needs this operating system to be successful and will not risk the bad publicity this would produce.

 

[dmillergv]

If you are running a clean install of the available RTM do the following test first.
Use the activation code from the retail update and try to activate.
This worked on 2 of the 3 machines I have.
What I don't understand is why the 3rd machine wouldn't activate when the same RTM DVD was used to load it. The only difference is that third machine is a netbook
BTW, Machine #1 is X86 and #2 is X64. All 3 are laptops.

The third machine is a netbook, correct? Can it run Ultimate, because that's what the RTM is. That may be the problem.

The RTM was modified to install Home Premium. It was used on 2 machines.
The first activated and the second wouldn't. Tried 3 times on the second machine.

 

[Xyphus]

I just installed a clean install from my Windows 7 upgrade DVD last night.

I just did a custom install and formatted the partition and installed as normal. When it asks you to enter your serial number, just skip by, and un-check the box to activate after the install.

Once booted into the OS, just create an empty folder on the root of your C:\ drive called "Windows.old" and then proceed to activate the OS. It will activate fine and you'll be good to go without having to install and activate your previous OS first.

This saved me quite a bit of time and hassle of having to first install Vista and then having to do an upgrade from there.

Nothing like a nice fresh 'clean' install of a new OS.