In-place upgrade using full version?

Damsel

Damsel

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I'm new to the forum, so I apologise if this has been asked before. Can W7 Home Premium full version be used to do an in-place upgrade?

I have a new PC with Vista Home Premium that gives me a free upgrade to W7 (but it will still cost 20 euros for p&p). Vista is pre-loaded and the recovery files are on a separate partition on one drive. Worse case scenario is the hard drive dies. :cry: I will need the full version of W7 to do a clean install on a new hard drive, but at the moment I would just like to upgrade.

All things considered, I'm thinking of buying the full version while it's half price but need to know if I can use that to just do an upgrade. Is that possible?

Thanks in advance.

D :)
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Medion Akoya E7330 D
OS
Vista Home Premium
CPU
2.5GB Intel Core2 Quad Q8300
Motherboard
MEDIONPC MS-7366 2.2
Memory
4GB
Graphics Card(s)
nVidia GeForce GT220
Sound Card
On-board nVidia High Def
Monitor(s) Displays
BenQ FP71+
Hard Drives
640GB C/D partitions
Hi and Welcome to SevenForums

Whilst the ability to install fresh from an upgrade disk is doubtful the ability to perform an upgrade from a full Windows 7 disk is well proven.

Check the tutorials section here for various options :D
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Computer type
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    ChillBlast - Custom to my design
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    Windows 11 Pro x64 [Latest Release and Release Preview]
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    Ryzen 9 5950X, 3.8 - 5.2 MHz
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    Asus Prime X570-Pro
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    64GB [2 x 32GB] DDR4 3200MHz
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    32" UHD 32 Bit HDR Monitor + 43" UHD 4K 32Bit HDR TV
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    Workstation Case [Matt Black]
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    Dell XPS 17 10750H
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    Windows 11 Pro x64 Latest RP
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    Dell XPS
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    32GB [2x16GB] DDR4 2933 MHz
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Wow, that was quick! Thank you soooo much. :D

D :)
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Medion Akoya E7330 D
OS
Vista Home Premium
CPU
2.5GB Intel Core2 Quad Q8300
Motherboard
MEDIONPC MS-7366 2.2
Memory
4GB
Graphics Card(s)
nVidia GeForce GT220
Sound Card
On-board nVidia High Def
Monitor(s) Displays
BenQ FP71+
Hard Drives
640GB C/D partitions
Ensure that you have the recovery disks for your system. If you can't make them yourself, then order them from the manufacturer.

It'll take longer this way - but will cost a lot less!
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home built (x64), Lenovo x61s Tablet, Samsung Netbook
OS
Win7 x64 + x86
CPU
Intel i7 920, other Intel chips, and the Atom in the netbook
Motherboard
Asus P6T Deluxe
Memory
12 gB; 4 gB Lenovo; 1 gB Samsung netbook
Graphics Card(s)
ATI 4870
Sound Card
Yes, I have one of these
Monitor(s) Displays
32" Sharp Aquos TV
Screen Resolution
800x600 - I have vision issues
Hard Drives
4 - 150 gB Velociraptors in RAID 5
Promise controller
PSU
1000 watt (can't recall the brand)
Case
Antec 300
Cooling
Big honking cooler that was rated highly at Toms Hardware
Keyboard
Microsoft Natural
Mouse
Logitech Trackman
Internet Speed
Cable
Other Info
GeekSquad UPS
CyberPower UPS
DLink DNS-323 NAS (2 tB)
Netgear wireless router as an access point
Netgear wired router FSV-318
Home network consists of
4 desktop computers (2 Vista, 2 Win7)
1 netbook (Win7)
4 laptop computers (XP, 2-Vista, Win7)
Wii and XBox 360
I have the recovery disk, thanks. Would this include the drivers?

Also, as I have a 640GB hard disk, would it be better to install a fresh copy of Windows 7 on a separate partition instead of upgrading Vista?

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers.

Gill :)
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Medion Akoya E7330 D
OS
Vista Home Premium
CPU
2.5GB Intel Core2 Quad Q8300
Motherboard
MEDIONPC MS-7366 2.2
Memory
4GB
Graphics Card(s)
nVidia GeForce GT220
Sound Card
On-board nVidia High Def
Monitor(s) Displays
BenQ FP71+
Hard Drives
640GB C/D partitions
I run 1 clean install of 32bit 7, 1 clean install of 64bit 7 and 1 upgrade of 64bit 7 from Vista 64 on (3) machines.

I can't tell the difference between any of them as far a normal usage goes.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Homebrewed
OS
7 RTM
CPU
Core Duo E8400 3 GHZ
Motherboard
Gigabyte EP45 - DS4P
Memory
4 g
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Radeon HD 3600
Sound Card
Onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell 2007WFP
Screen Resolution
1680 x 1050
Hard Drives
2 - 320g Seagate
1 - 500g Seagate
PSU
Antec 425 watt
Case
Antec Piano Case
Cooling
standard fans - 4ea
Keyboard
wired
Mouse
wired
Internet Speed
DSL
I recommend against upgrades - in most cases they cause more problems than they're worth.

A fresh installation is always better (IMO) - it doesn't import the issues from earlier installations.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home built (x64), Lenovo x61s Tablet, Samsung Netbook
OS
Win7 x64 + x86
CPU
Intel i7 920, other Intel chips, and the Atom in the netbook
Motherboard
Asus P6T Deluxe
Memory
12 gB; 4 gB Lenovo; 1 gB Samsung netbook
Graphics Card(s)
ATI 4870
Sound Card
Yes, I have one of these
Monitor(s) Displays
32" Sharp Aquos TV
Screen Resolution
800x600 - I have vision issues
Hard Drives
4 - 150 gB Velociraptors in RAID 5
Promise controller
PSU
1000 watt (can't recall the brand)
Case
Antec 300
Cooling
Big honking cooler that was rated highly at Toms Hardware
Keyboard
Microsoft Natural
Mouse
Logitech Trackman
Internet Speed
Cable
Other Info
GeekSquad UPS
CyberPower UPS
DLink DNS-323 NAS (2 tB)
Netgear wireless router as an access point
Netgear wired router FSV-318
Home network consists of
4 desktop computers (2 Vista, 2 Win7)
1 netbook (Win7)
4 laptop computers (XP, 2-Vista, Win7)
Wii and XBox 360
Supposedly the only difference between the upgrade discs and the full is that the upgrade discs need to see the prior genuine installation first.

Beyond that you're supposed to be able to in-place upgrade (from Vista) or fresh install with either.
 

My Computer

OS
Windows7
So what's the concensus? Upgrade Vista or install fresh W7 on a new partition and create dual boot?

Gill :)
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Medion Akoya E7330 D
OS
Vista Home Premium
CPU
2.5GB Intel Core2 Quad Q8300
Motherboard
MEDIONPC MS-7366 2.2
Memory
4GB
Graphics Card(s)
nVidia GeForce GT220
Sound Card
On-board nVidia High Def
Monitor(s) Displays
BenQ FP71+
Hard Drives
640GB C/D partitions
Damsel said:
So what's the concensus? Upgrade Vista or install fresh W7 on a new partition and create dual boot?

Gill :)
Click to expand...


Clean win 7. wins every time. you can keep vista till you are sure but then its easy to delete

Ken
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP Pavillion dv-7 1005 Tx
OS
Win 8 Release candidate 8400
CPU
[email protected]
Memory
4 gigs
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia 9600M
Sound Card
HD built-in
Monitor(s) Displays
17" Wxga
Screen Resolution
1440x900
Cooling
none
Internet Speed
45Mb down 5Mb up
As others have said, a clean install is the surest way to get off to a nice clean rock solid start, however, if you have a lot of programs and settings to transfer, that can be a lot of work even with Windows Easy Transfer. I personally am of the opinion that the upgrade process in W7 seems to have been improved quite a bit. You might consider trying an upgrade install from Vista and seeing how it works out. If it doesn't work to your satisfaction or has issues, there is nothing stopping you from then doing it over as a clean install. So nothing risked by giving it a try.

Just make sure, whatever you do, you have a good complete backup of your original data or preferably the entire system before you start upgrading/installing, ideally, to external media.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP DV8t quad
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 (Retail)
CPU
i7-Q 720
Motherboard
Motherboard Chipset Intel Ibex Peak-M PM55, Intel Lynnfield
Memory
6 GB
Graphics Card(s)
nVidia GeForce GT 230M (1GB)
Sound Card
IDT High Definition Audio CODEC
Monitor(s) Displays
18.4 inch HP Infinity FHD (Samsung 184HT03-001)
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
Hitachi 500GB 7200 rpm (x2)
Seagate FreeAgent 1.5 TB External USB (x2)
Thermaltake BlacX eSATA/USB 2.0 3.5/2.5 HD dock
Cooling
Zalman NC-2000 notebook cooling pad
Keyboard
laptop
Mouse
Logitech VX Revolution
Other Info
Backup Unit: Lenovo T61p
That's probably the answer I expected. I'm in the process of backing everything up, even the Vista recovery files, in case of disaster. ;)

Thanks very much to everyone. It's great to have a dedicated W7 forum!

Gill :)
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Medion Akoya E7330 D
OS
Vista Home Premium
CPU
2.5GB Intel Core2 Quad Q8300
Motherboard
MEDIONPC MS-7366 2.2
Memory
4GB
Graphics Card(s)
nVidia GeForce GT220
Sound Card
On-board nVidia High Def
Monitor(s) Displays
BenQ FP71+
Hard Drives
640GB C/D partitions
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