I have an HP desktop running windows vista that will soon be passed on to me. If I buy an "Upgrade" version of windows 7, is there a way to completely and totally wipe out the hard drive and upgrade, or would I have to buy the more expensive "full install" version of 7?
You can use the upgrade version to do a FRESH install. There is info about that in the tutorial section (plus all over the net).
Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version
PS: The installer searches the hd for traces of a qualifying product- I've read reports of persons that had formatted, then run the upgrade install and it installed.
On the flip side of that if you ZERO out the drive (write zeros to the drive) the installer will NOT find traces of a install that are left behind after a regular format.
(Regular format does not write zeros to the drive-The data is still there just hidden. The installer is smart enough to sniff it out.)
Another scenario I'm pretty sure that would screw up the installer so far as searching for previous versions of a qualifying product is if you delete the partition the qualifying OS resided on.
Last edited by WeAreNotAlone; 16 Nov 2010 at 11:41.
WeAreNotAlone, it appears to be somewhat of a mystery. I, myself, installed an upgrade version on a brand new, never used, HDD and it installed just fine. Of course, I had to call Microsoft to get it activated but, the funny thing was, they never even asked me about any previously installed operating system, they just ran me through the registry hack and rearm command and I was up and running in less than 5 minutes.
I suspect I'm wading into dangerous territory here but fact is upgrade disks and retail disks are identical, as far as contents are concerned. BUT its legal to use upgrade disks only if you have a qualifying underlying OS, thats why they are cheaper than full versions. The idea is that if you are a repeat customer, you get a price break because you already paid for a full Windows license earlier.
MS probably wanted a fork here with different media but ended up with the same. In the process, a large quantity of FUD was generated.
Point is doing a clean install with the upgrade disk is in keeping with the EULA only if you have a license for a qualifying OS.
^^ I agree. I was a bit curious, myself. I had my Dad pick up the Windows 7 disk for me, since he works as a teacher at a college. I didn't even know it was an upgrade version until I called Microsoft to find out why the CD key was invalid. They asked about my system and I explained that it was a brand new build. They never asked about my old computer. Maybe I just got lucky but I kind of picked up an attitude from tech support that was something like; "Listen, as long as your upgrade version is legit, the only thing we care about is getting that OS installed and working on a PC, as it does us no good sitting in a CD case"
I was impressed with their service and generosity.
1: Regarding called MS: You got lucky as on a new build without a qualifying product to upgrade from you are in violation of the EULA big time. I doubt Bill would be happy with that rep.
2: Instead of calling them- you could have used the double install method linked to above.
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As stated, you don't have to have the qualifying OS installed to use Upgrade version Win7, only have it and not use it again while it is qualifying OS. If Vista came on the computer you are getting, then that is sufficient for qualifying OS.
When you boot the Win7 DVD it scans the HD's to see any OS and will then pass a flag to allow use of Upgrade version key, even if you then go on to use Custom>Drive Options to delete, repartition and format the HD before install.
If you wipe the HD ahead of time, you'll need to do one of the workarounds in the tutorial linked to Clean Install Win7 Upgrade version. Easiest is to run a Repair (UPgrade) install over the new installation from the desktop which will then allow use of Upgrade Version key up front.
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