Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version

How to Do a Clean Install with an Upgrade Windows 7 Version​

   Information

This will show you how to do a Clean Install using a retail Upgrade Windows 7 installation disc.

   Warning

Remember that you need to legally own a valid qualifying previous version of Windows to use a Upgrade Windows 7, and to stop using (or uninstall) the qualifying OS while you have the upgrade installed. Microsoft only made doing a clean install from a upgrade Windows 7 possible to make it more convenient so you do not have to reinstall both the old Windows version (ex: Vista) and upgrade to Windows 7 everytime you needed or wanted to reinstall.

If you do not legally own a valid qualifying previous version of Windows, then you are violating the terms of Microsoft's Windows 7 End User License Agreement and could get your product key number invalidated by Microsoft. Plus, it is considered illegal.

For more about this, please see: Microsoft SMB Community Blog : Regardless of what any hack says, a Windows 7 Upgrade is an Upgrade. What you need to know.

OPTION ONE

A Normal Clean Install

1. Do a clean install at boot without checking the Automatically activate Windows when I'm online box during the installation process.

2. When the installation is finished, then manually activate Windows 7 with your product key number.

3. If your Windows should fail to activate, then pick up at step 2 in OPTION THREE below.

OPTION TWO

Through a Custom Install

   Note

This option will let you do a clean install of Windows 7 without formating the current Windows installation to have your current Windows installation backed up to the Windows.old folder during the installation of your retail upgrade Windows 7. This way you can copy any files back that you want from the C:\Windows.old folder (previous installation) back into your new installation afterwards.

1. Do a custom install at boot or from within your current Windows installation without checking the Automatically activate Windows when I'm online box during the installation process.

2. When the installation is finished, then manually activate Windows 7 with your product key number.

3. Copy any files that you want back from the C:\Windows.old folder into where you want it in you new installation.

4. You can now delete the Windows.old folder using Disk Cleanup to have a clean install now.

OPTION THREE

Clean Install with a Registry Workaround for Error Code 0xc004f061

   Note

If you get a activation error code 0xc004f061 while doing OPTION ONE or OPTION TWO above, then you will need to use this option instead

1. Do a clean install of your upgrade Windows 7 at boot without checking the Automatically activate Windows when I'm online box during the installation process.
NOTE: If you already did this from OPTION ONE above and got a activation error, then skip this step and just proceed to step 2 below instead. There's no need to reinstall again.

2. Click on the Download button below to download the .bat file below, and save it to your desktop.
Activate_Windows_Upgrade_after_Clean_Install.bat


Download


3. Right click on the downloaded .bat file, and click on Run as administrator.

4. If prompted, click/tap on Run and Yes (UAC).
NOTE: If you like, you can stop getting the Run prompt by unblocking the downloaded .bat file.

5. You will now notice a command prompt quickly open and close while applying the changes to your registry.

6. Click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

7. Restart the computer.

8. When the computer is finished restarting, then manually activate Windows 7 with your product key number.

OPTION FOUR

Double Installing Windows 7

   Note

This option is the same that was used to do a clean install of an upgrade copy of Windows 7. It's more work, but if the options above did not work for you, then this should since this is the most reliable option.

1. Do a clean install of your upgrade Windows 7 at boot without checking the Automatically activate Windows when I'm online box during the installation process, and do not activate Windows 7. When finished with the clean install, do not or install any Windows Updates, drivers, or programs yet.

2. When finished with the clean install, start at step 4 at this link to do an in-place "upgrade" install with your upgrade Windows 7 installation disk from within the just now finished clean install of Windows 7.

3. When the in-place upgrade installation is completely finished, then manually activate Windows 7 with your product key number. You can now also install any Windows Updates drivers, and programs you like.
That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Do a Upgrade Installation with Windows 7
• How to Do a Clean Installation with Windows 7
• How to Do a Custom Installation of Windows 7
• How to Create a Windows 7 Installation USB Key
• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/30470-make-bootable-iso-student-d-l.html
• How to Partition the Hard Drive in a Windows 7 Install
• How to Install Windows 7 on Computer with Less than 512MB RAM
• How to Install Windows 7 Using "Unified Extensible Firmware Interface" (UEFI)

 

[Zidane24]

Another great tutorial Shawn

 

[Dave76]

You've added another great one to your long list.

It's added to the Tutorial quick reference list for Installing Windows 7 in the Installation & Setup forum.

 

[Sonixmon]

So they let you install and wipe out your old OS, then tell you when you try to activate that you cant!

Im glad I didnt have this problem, I would have been pissed! At least there is a work around!

 

[Matt4]

I did a clean install with the student dl upgrade by upgrading to windows 7, then making bootable cd and bootign from it, the format drive option was there and i had no troubles activating it afterwards.

 

[Brink]

Thank you Matt for confirming this as well for the student copy of Windows 7.

 

[bigmck]

Will this work if you have XP or is it only Vista to W7?

 

[Brink]

Hello Bigmck,

Since it's for a clean install (format), it does not matter what you have installed before installing the Upgrade Windows 7 fresh.

 

[mutant]

Thanks Brink. I really needed this.

 

[Brink]

You're welcome Mutant.

 

[bigmck]

Hello Bigmck,

Since it's for a clean install (format), it does not matter what you have installed before installing the Upgrade Windows 7 fresh.

A follow up to that. == Since either an Upgrade or OEM full install can be used for Win 7, is one better than the other? It appears to me since they are both clean installs there would be no difference. Is that correct?

 

[Brink]

A follow up to that. == Since either an Upgrade or OEM full install can be used for Win 7, is one better than the other? It appears to me since they are both clean installs there would be no difference. Is that correct?

A retail Upgrade Windows 7 can be reinstalled and activated on any computer as long as it is uninstalled from any previous computer first.

A OEM Windows 7 can only be reinstalled and activated on the same computer that it was originally installed on. It cannot be used on another computer.

 

[Nosmo]

Brink,
I am not 100% certain that your 'Option One' works.
Thousands of Win 7 packages were sent out with 'Upgrade' on the media and box, but did in fact have 'Full' keys.

This is the only explanation I can see as to why it works for some ,perfectly, and not others.

 

[Brink]

Brink,
I am not 100% certain that your 'Option One' works.
Thousands of Win 7 packages were sent out with 'Upgrade' on the media and box, but did in fact have 'Full' keys.

This is the only explanation I can see as to why it works for some ,perfectly, and not others.

Time will tell for sure. My copy was a retail upgrade box of Windows 7 that I tested with.

 

[Nosmo]

Thanks Brink,
I am not suggesting that your copy was a student purchase, but I found the following interesting.

The student download for $30 was actually a ‘Full Retail Product’
with ‘Full Key’…………..but the packaging clearly said ‘Upgrade’ on some
boxes and media.
This has led to confusion as many users now believe that the ‘upgrade’
version will easily install clean. ( Hacks excluded from discussion on MS website)

Proof? See below ……….Quote:

Dear Customer,
Thank you for choosing Windows 7 Online store.
We apologize for the confusion. The Windows 7 offered in this promotion is a full version. You can install this product even though you do not have a previous Operating System installed in your computer or if you want to make a multi boot using Windows 7. The "Upgrade" included in the product name is just
because Windows 7 is the latest Operating System Windows developed.

Sincerely,
Joanna A.

Windows 7 Offer online store ,Customer Service……….Finish Quote.

It looks like Digital River, MS and Students get Windows 7 for $29.99 - Sweet Deal! Hurry - Get it Today made mistakes.

 

[Brink]

Ah, true. I figured that the downloads or student copies may have been just a temporary promotion like that. OPTION ONE should continue to work with the retail bought copies though, unless MS decides to change it in the future.

 

[JesseT]

okay, this is a bit ugly.

in the webshop for students here in holland theres a description that the upgrade versions will not work on PC's without LEGALLY preinstalled vista or XP(but in the case of XP there needs to be a clean install).

Can i deduct from this that if you dont want to save anything thats currently on your pc u can just format it and put the upgrade version on?

because i jsut ordered retai Fulll Home Premium for 90 euro's, but the student Upgrade 64bit Ultimate! version i can get for 70...

what do u guys think?

 

[Brink]

Hello Jesse, and welcome to Seven Forums.

It is true that you can do a clean install with a retail (store bought) copy of a Upgrade Windows. The students upgrade copies have been given out with a full version key number as a promotion, so it's not a guarantee for how long the student copies will still be able to do a clean install. To be safe, I would stick with a retail copy instead.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[nabilalk]

Can you install upgrade from fresh HD?

Hello Bigmck,

Since it's for a clean install (format), it does not matter what you have installed before installing the Upgrade Windows 7 fresh.

I just bought a new HD that I want to install the 64 bit version of Win 7 Pro. When Windows asks for the product key, I'm getting an error message stating that it is an invalid key. I double-checked the email that I got from digital river, and the key is correct.

Is the reason I'm getting an error b/c you have to have a previous Win install on the HD, or is there a problem with the Product Key? Thanks for the help.

 

[Brink]

Hello Nabilalk,

Could be a problem with the key number. If it was an issue about a clean install VS upgrade, you would get a error like the one in OPTION THREE of the tutorial. You might contact Digital Rivers about it to see if they can get you a replacement key number.