Windows 7: Upgrade from Home to Ultimate

My current installation needs repairs and I don't have a install disk nor do I have a valid key.

If I buy an Ultimate install disk or key online can I upgrade using anytime upgrade, and will this repair any problems with my current installation?

You will never find a legitimate W7 Ultimate key online, and Anytime Upgrade has been dead for years.

Just upgrade what you have to Windows 10, once you do that, and if it still has problems, you can then clean install W10.

Either that or buy W7 Pro from a place like Newegg.

Windows 7, 8 and 10 Home and Professional - Newegg.com

You can still get the full retail version of Windows 8.1:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16832397788

Not sure if you can get the full retail version of Windows 7.

If you go with Windows 8.1, you can install Classic Shell, and you can then configure it to look and feel exactly like Windows 7. Best of all, you will have security updates till January of 2023 (as opposed to January of 2020 for Windows 7).

From what I have been hearing, I was sold a "questionable" Windows OEM installation. The price that I paid was not far enough below the prices at the time for a mailed installation disk. The fact that it came as an inst6ant download was more than worth it's weight in gold. I am regretful for ever having bought this, and was not familiar with the normal process for purchasing Microsoft products. I did not consider a 20% discount at the time, in the realm of anything nebulous. I regret this mistake.

For the future, are you saying that any online download should be considered suspect? How can I purchase a legal product in the future? What do you recommend I do now to "reset".

The goal is to start with a solid foundation, and apparently mine is not.

I have years of refinement in this system which works very well for me.

If there are underlying problems, then I would like to know how to eliminate them now.

A fresh install is out of the question, and I hope to live for many more years, by the grace of god.

Please advise me as to how to get back on track, without a clean install.

REMEMBER that there are problems with Windows boot sector.

You could try a repair install, which requires

1) Installation media, which is easy to get

2) A valid product key for your edition (Home Premium)

Do you have a product key sticker somewhere on the machine? Usually on the case, or for laptops, under the battery.

If the computer is still running, use a key finder to retrieve the key used on it.
http://www.klinzmann.name/licensecrawler.htm

You can use any Win 7 installation disk to install Home edition.
How do I repair corrupt Win 7 - Page 2 - Windows 7 Help Forums

I do not. Please read post #4. Regretful mistake. I built the machine.

The key that I have is NOT recognized by Microsoft when I try a repair install.
Please don't flame me. I realize now after 3 years that I made a mistake. I would never have bought a bogus copy had I known.
What can I do now to fix this.
Can I buy a legitimate Windows 7 Ultimate?
Will an upgrade also repair my Windows boot sector and registry issues?

Upgrading from HP to Ultimate using Anytime Upgrade only unlocks Features, it won't repair anything.

Sorry to hear that it was done by mistake, but I can't tell you what I would do because of the rules.