Doing a Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version

[Darryl Licht]

what im wanting to do when i get windows 7 is
completely get rid of vista and just keep 7
will "custom install" keep all my files on my hard drive?
i dont remember what i did with the beta but it kept all of my documents where they were and i dont wanna go get it if its gonna reformat my computer

Just curious from the pervious post

Just first use the Easy Transfer (migwiz.exe) tool to back up your settings and files there is a great tutorial on it here
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/11470-windows-easy-transfer-transfer-computers.html

 

[Howard Kaikow]

Did somebody here state that installing Win 7 would cause recovery partitions to be deleted?

I find that hard to believe.

1, If the recovery partition is assigned a drive letter, Win 7 has no business touching it.

2. If the recovery partition has no drive letter, then Win 7 should be installed only in the space you have allocated for the Win 7 partition.


Where is it documented that the recovery partition goes bye bye after a Win 7 install?

 

[gregrocker]

Did somebody here state that installing Win 7 would cause recovery partitions to be deleted?

I find that hard to believe.

1, If the recovery partition is assigned a drive letter, Win 7 has no business touching it.

2. If the recovery partition has no drive letter, then Win 7 should be installed only in the space you have allocated for the Win 7 partition.


Where is it documented that the recovery partition goes bye bye after a Win 7 install?

I have not read that here. Most advice I've read here is to make your recovery disks and then delete the partition since it is disabled anyway if/when Vista is deleted. It was also pointed out recently that Dell's recovery partition is different and should likely be kept since it has important tools and can still later recover the Vista if Vista is wiped. But I have not verified this.

 

[polycue]

Gator,
You should fill in your system specs.
If your system is a Dell, installing Windows 7 does not disable your recovery partition. And Dells do not have a "create recovery disk set" process. The recovery is all contained in the D:\RECOVERY\Dell\Factory.wim file which is run through the F8 Windows Recovery enviroment by the files in the D:\RECOVERY\Tools folder. Again, that is if your system is a Dell.

Additionally, early reports indicate the mere existence of the D:\RECOVERY partition (which contains a Windows Preinstallation Environment besides the Factory.wim file and the Tools folder) obviates the need for tweaks or hacks to get an upgrade version of Windows 7 to clean install and activate on the first try.
Tom

It would probably still be advisable to do a Custom overwrite of the RC in order to preserve the Dell license for the XP or Vista.

 

[cgh24]

I'm not so good on understanding computers so please be easy on me I want to clean install W7 home premium 64bit on my PC with current OS Vista home premium 64bit I curently have 2 internal Hard drives C and E plus an external Drive where I do my backups. do I need to do the partition to install W7 or can I install it on E ? please advice.

 

[richc46]

As a Dell owner it is my understanding that the restore disks, that are received with Dell computers serve the same function as the Mfg installed
restored partition. The Discs restore the puter to the same state as it was on delivery to the user. I have also heard that if you install a new OS., the recovery drive will no longer be functional, making it necessary to use the disc. I am not speaking from personal experience, but from what I have picked up here and elsewhere.

Did somebody here state that installing Win 7 would cause recovery partitions to be deleted?

I find that hard to believe.

1, If the recovery partition is assigned a drive letter, Win 7 has no business touching it.

2. If the recovery partition has no drive letter, then Win 7 should be installed only in the space you have allocated for the Win 7 partition.


Where is it documented that the recovery partition goes bye bye after a Win 7 install?

I have not read that here. Most advice I've read here is to make your recovery disks and then delete the partition since it is disabled anyway if/when Vista is deleted. It was also pointed out recently that Dell's recovery partition is different and should likely be kept since it has important tools and can still later recover the Vista if Vista is wiped. But I have not verified this.

 

[gregrocker]

Did somebody here state that installing Win 7 would cause recovery partitions to be deleted?

I find that hard to believe.

1, If the recovery partition is assigned a drive letter, Win 7 has no business touching it.

2. If the recovery partition has no drive letter, then Win 7 should be installed only in the space you have allocated for the Win 7 partition.


Where is it documented that the recovery partition goes bye bye after a Win 7 install?

I have not read that here. Most advice I've read here is to make your recovery disks and then delete the partition since it is disabled anyway if/when Vista is deleted. It was also pointed out recently that Dell's recovery partition is different and should likely be kept since it has important tools and can still later recover the Vista if Vista is wiped. But I have not verified this.

As a Dell owner it is my understanding that the restore disks, that are received with Dell computers serve the same function as the Mfg installed
restored partition. The Discs restore the puter to the same state as it was on delivery to the user.

Then you can delete the recovery partition since you have the disks to keep with your Win7 upgrade media and are covered if your backup image fails, or qualifying Vista/XP OS ever becomes required for reinstalling Upgrade.

Note: Deleting a Recovery partition in the first partition space after Win7 is installed requires running Startup Repair from the Win7 installer's boot mode Repair console.

 

[Howard Kaikow]

Did somebody here state that installing Win 7 would cause recovery partitions to be deleted?

I find that hard to believe.

1, If the recovery partition is assigned a drive letter, Win 7 has no business touching it.

2. If the recovery partition has no drive letter, then Win 7 should be installed only in the space you have allocated for the Win 7 partition.


Where is it documented that the recovery partition goes bye bye after a Win 7 install?

I have not read that here. Most advice I've read here is to make your recovery disks and then delete the partition since it is disabled anyway if/when Vista is deleted. It was also pointed out recently that Dell's recovery partition is different and should likely be kept since it has important tools and can still later recover the Vista if Vista is wiped. But I have not verified this.

I will be creating a dual boot Vista/Win 7 system, so I dare not delete the recovery partition, and certainly not before the warranty expires.

In any case, I would restore from most recent image backup, not from recovery disks.

 

[gregrocker]

Did somebody here state that installing Win 7 would cause recovery partitions to be deleted?

I find that hard to believe.

1, If the recovery partition is assigned a drive letter, Win 7 has no business touching it.

2. If the recovery partition has no drive letter, then Win 7 should be installed only in the space you have allocated for the Win 7 partition.


Where is it documented that the recovery partition goes bye bye after a Win 7 install?

I have not read that here. Most advice I've read here is to make your recovery disks and then delete the partition since it is disabled anyway if/when Vista is deleted. It was also pointed out recently that Dell's recovery partition is different and should likely be kept since it has important tools and can still later recover the Vista if Vista is wiped. But I have not verified this.

I will be creating a dual boot Vista/Win 7 system, so I dare not delete the recovery partition, and certainly not before the warranty expires.

In any case, I would restore from most recent image backup, not from recovery disks.

Smart approach. Imaging ends reinstalls if saved externally in case of HDD failure.

Since you are concerned about preserving your recovery partition, which will most likely be disabled by Win7 install, be sure to make the recovery disks from it (or order them) to have as backup. These disks normally restore eveything including the recovery partition to factory condition.

But they also contain the bloatware, which is a good reason to dual boot with a fresh install of Win7, then copy your files between partitions via Explorer, even find drivers by browsing to the Vista partition's Windows>System32>Driverstore>File Repository.

 

[november7286]

Ok, given this "new" information. What is the difference now between an upgrade disc or a full retail version. Because it almost sounds like they are one and the same. I know there probably has to be a difference, but I'm just missing it in all the information out there. I understand the "supposed to be differences". But it doesnt sound like its a "normal" upgrade, is the only reason I asked.

 

[gregrocker]

I wouldn't buy the Upgrade unless I also have an XP or Vista to upgrade, even though we don't need to have either on the machine (now) to do so. The reason is that the MVP's over on MS Technet, the same ones who were wrong about everything the Upgrade disk would and wouldn't be able to do, now say that the EULA is still in force and that if during future reinstalls a question is raised about qualifying OS for Upgrade, elevating activation to a phone person (which almost never happens) then we might need to have it to show.

Now, chances are that we will never have to reinstall either OS since the new Win7 Backup Imaging makes it easy to save an image of our finished installation to an external drive to reimage the HDD (or a replacement one) in 15 minutes. So it is just a precaution, but be aware of the (slim) risks if you buy an Upgrade with no XP or Vista to later show for it.

 

[november7286]

Ahh thanks, makes sense when you put it in those terms. Glad I went with retail, though probably wont make much different though in the long run.

 

[Hondajt]

What about OEM? I installed The OEM Windows Vista Ultimate x64. It came with the coupon for the upgrade. When I receive it, can I do a clean install? OR does this only apply to retail versions?

 

[gregrocker]

What about OEM? I installed The OEM Windows Vista Ultimate x64. It came with the coupon for the upgrade. When I receive it, can I do a clean install? OR does this only apply to retail versions?

It should be the same install media so try it. The various workarounds are all listed in this thread should they be necessary to activate.

 

[Hondajt]

I appreciate the quick response.

So I have a completely new computer. I installed Vista Ultimate x64 and activated it 4 months ago. It only has one partition, and I don't care if everything on it goes by by, as long as it takes Vista with it. This oem upgrade DVD I am waiting on will do a clean/custom install just liike the Retail versions, and everything will work out?

As long as everything activates properly and its all legal, I'm super excited!

 

[gregrocker]

I appreciate the quick response.

So I have a completely new computer. I installed Vista Ultimate x64 and activated it 4 months ago. It only has one partition, and I don't care if everything on it goes by by, as long as it takes Vista with it. This oem upgrade DVD I am waiting on will do a clean/custom install just liike the Retail versions, and everything will work out?

As long as everything activates properly and its all legal, I'm super excited!

Certainly worth a try. No one has reported flatly being unable to activate after installing from boot to formatted disk. If you want to know for sure that someone has done this with OEM, you can always post a thread asking that in the forum.

 

[SilverGator]

OK, so I took a few days off from here because my Windows 7 STILL has not arrived. (Fist pumping to Best Buy!!!)

Here are my remaining questions:

That recovery partition will be disabled (if it is factory installed) when you install Windows 7 so you can delete it, but you might want to make your recovery disk set if you haven't yet since those disks are generated from that partition. You would only need them if you wanted to restore the computer to factory condition so you can sell it, but want to migrate your WIndows 7 to your next computer.

THen delete them both after booting from the installer, create one big partition (that's what it's called even if it's one) and format it.

Because I have the DELL, I have the recovery disks. But I don't really care about that anyway - I never want to go back to Windows Vista (I am assuming).

When I load Windows 7 from boot, before I delete the Recovery partition - does it *already* recognize that I have Vista on the computer? Meaning - does deleting that partition do anything to hurt the "upgrade" in recognizing that I had Vista on my system before I reformat and install 7 on the new full partition?

If your system is a Dell, installing Windows 7 does not disable your recovery partition. And Dells do not have a "create recovery disk set" process. The recovery is all contained in the D:\RECOVERY\Dell\Factory.wim file which is run through the F8 Windows Recovery enviroment by the files in the D:\RECOVERY\Tools folder. Again, that is if your system is a Dell.

Additionally, early reports indicate the mere existence of the D:\RECOVERY partition (which contains a Windows Preinstallation Environment besides the Factory.wim file and the Tools folder) obviates the need for tweaks or hacks to get an upgrade version of Windows 7 to clean install and activate on the first try.
Tom

I DO have DELL, actually. I understand that does not disable the Recovery partition - but would I have any use for it after installing Windows 7? Would Windows 7 utilize it? Otherwise, I think it would be obsolete for me? (Pointing to the second paragraph) would deleting said partition make doing the clean install/activate more difficult? Sorry, not very knowledgeable about partitions and their uses.

 

[Cando777]

Does the Upgrade Version Bootup ? Does it have a bootloader incl the Family Pack which I asume is the same as the single upgrade version?

 

[gregrocker]

OK, so I took a few days off from here because my Windows 7 STILL has not arrived. (Fist pumping to Best Buy!!!)

Here are my remaining questions:

That recovery partition will be disabled (if it is factory installed) when you install Windows 7 so you can delete it, but you might want to make your recovery disk set if you haven't yet since those disks are generated from that partition. You would only need them if you wanted to restore the computer to factory condition so you can sell it, but want to migrate your WIndows 7 to your next computer.

THen delete them both after booting from the installer, create one big partition (that's what it's called even if it's one) and format it.

Because I have the DELL, I have the recovery disks. But I don't really care about that anyway - I never want to go back to Windows Vista (I am assuming).

When I load Windows 7 from boot, before I delete the Recovery partition - does it *already* recognize that I have Vista on the computer? Meaning - does deleting that partition do anything to hurt the "upgrade" in recognizing that I had Vista on my system before I reformat and install 7 on the new full partition?

If your system is a Dell, installing Windows 7 does not disable your recovery partition. And Dells do not have a "create recovery disk set" process. The recovery is all contained in the D:\RECOVERY\Dell\Factory.wim file which is run through the F8 Windows Recovery enviroment by the files in the D:\RECOVERY\Tools folder. Again, that is if your system is a Dell.

Additionally, early reports indicate the mere existence of the D:\RECOVERY partition (which contains a Windows Preinstallation Environment besides the Factory.wim file and the Tools folder) obviates the need for tweaks or hacks to get an upgrade version of Windows 7 to clean install and activate on the first try.
Tom

I DO have DELL, actually. I understand that does not disable the Recovery partition - but would I have any use for it after installing Windows 7? Would Windows 7 utilize it? Otherwise, I think it would be obsolete for me? (Pointing to the second paragraph) would deleting said partition make doing the clean install/activate more difficult? Sorry, not very knowledgeable about partitions and their uses.

Others have posted on here that their Dell Recovery partition was disabled when installing another OS as is normally the case. Either way, if you don't want it you can delete it to recover the space.

As this thread and others reveal, there are many who have booted from the Upgrade disk and installed on formatted HDD's so there was no previous version of Windows for the installer to read. It appears the Upgrade disk is functionally the same as the full version.

That said, it is highly recommended you keep your Vista/XP disk with your Upgrade disk for the life of the Upgrade disk. This is because the EULA has not changed and technically a previous version must exist to use the Win7 upgrade. So, for example, in the rare case that you would reinstall and have activation elevated to a MS phone person, you might need the XP/Vista disk to proceed to activate.

But reinstalls will never again be necessary anyway if you use Win7 Backup Imaging to save an image externally so that the HDD (or a replacement) can be reimaged flawlessly in 15 minutes.

 

[gregrocker]

OK, so I took a few days off from here because my Windows 7 STILL has not arrived. (Fist pumping to Best Buy!!!)

Here are my remaining questions:

That recovery partition will be disabled (if it is factory installed) when you install Windows 7 so you can delete it, but you might want to make your recovery disk set if you haven't yet since those disks are generated from that partition. You would only need them if you wanted to restore the computer to factory condition so you can sell it, but want to migrate your WIndows 7 to your next computer.

THen delete them both after booting from the installer, create one big partition (that's what it's called even if it's one) and format it.

Because I have the DELL, I have the recovery disks. But I don't really care about that anyway - I never want to go back to Windows Vista (I am assuming).

When I load Windows 7 from boot, before I delete the Recovery partition - does it *already* recognize that I have Vista on the computer? Meaning - does deleting that partition do anything to hurt the "upgrade" in recognizing that I had Vista on my system before I reformat and install 7 on the new full partition?

If your system is a Dell, installing Windows 7 does not disable your recovery partition. And Dells do not have a "create recovery disk set" process. The recovery is all contained in the D:\RECOVERY\Dell\Factory.wim file which is run through the F8 Windows Recovery enviroment by the files in the D:\RECOVERY\Tools folder. Again, that is if your system is a Dell.

Additionally, early reports indicate the mere existence of the D:\RECOVERY partition (which contains a Windows Preinstallation Environment besides the Factory.wim file and the Tools folder) obviates the need for tweaks or hacks to get an upgrade version of Windows 7 to clean install and activate on the first try.
Tom

I DO have DELL, actually. I understand that does not disable the Recovery partition - but would I have any use for it after installing Windows 7? Would Windows 7 utilize it? Otherwise, I think it would be obsolete for me? (Pointing to the second paragraph) would deleting said partition make doing the clean install/activate more difficult? Sorry, not very knowledgeable about partitions and their uses.

Gator I don't know whether or not the Dell recovery partition will still work after new OS is installed, as after the guy posted above saying it does another guy posted saying it won't.

I remove the manufacturer's recovery partition to recover the space, and because most won't work, before doing a clean install. I would make sure the recovery disks have been made, although they can be ordered if ever really needed, which chance is almost nil, since you can reinstall Vista from any Vista installer to activate with your machine's license.

But more importantly, why would anyone want Vista back?