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RE-installation workaround question - help!
I really screwed up. I was running 32-bit XP and went to install 64-bit W7 Ultimate upgrade. During installation I knew I had backed up everything so I formatted the hard drive and merged the partitions within the install (at the point where I selected where to install Windows 7).
You may have guessed my problem. I can't activate W7 because they say I have no previous version of Windows (even though I obviously have a valid XP copy). I am desperately looking for a way to avoid reformatting, installing XP, then re-installing W7.
I'm inexperienced with partitions, but would this work: Create a new partition, about 100 GB to be safe, install XP on it, then somehow point W7 to it for verification? Or any other options?
I really don't want to start over, I've done a lot with my W7 already and it'd be a big undertaking. Help please!!!
Thanks so much for your help...