Need advice which version to buy

[FourthRock]

Hi all,

can anyone make me a bit wiser? I'm contemplating what to do (buy)...

The situation is as follows. The computer is now about 6 months old. Has an i7 cpu, 6gig ram and was delivered with Vista Home Premium x64 pre-installed.

I would like to get W7, but I want to have little(no) trouble installing it on a clean machine (in case the HD crashes and have to start all over again on a new HD, I seem to be doing that a lot lately) ...and... would like to be able to upgrade the current OS without losing installed software or data.

The questions I have are:
- can I upgrade my system using the 'full install version' of W7
- can I start from scratch using the 'upgrade version' of W7

For now the upgrade seems to be the choice, 'cause I have a running machine/system. However, if I need to be ready for another crash, I don't want to be forced to install Vista first before I can install W7...

Who has some info, do's, dont's, experiences, 'the answer' ???

 

[Tews]

Welcome to the forums!!

IMO, and many others here, a clean, fresh install is the only way to go. There have been too many instances of flaky upgrades from Vista to warrant the risk. Your system is only six months old, so you shouldn't face too daunting a task in reinstalling your apps. I would strongly suggest that once you decide on which way to go, that you create an image of your drive/partition as a part of your disaster recovery policy...just in case..

 

[mickey megabyte]

hi fourthrock, and welcome to sevenforums, the place to be...

yes you can upgrade with the full version - but it's not advisable: a clean install, especially of a different os, is the best thing to do, once you've backed-up your data.

no you can't start from scratch with upgrade version, you have to have a microsoft os already installed - there seems to be a bit of a debate as to whether is has to be activated or not, but for peace of mind, the full version would be easier to reinstall onto a new blank drive in the future.

my advice, go for the full version, and do a clean install. you can always opt for a dual-boot scenario too, so you can keep vista, and install 7 alongside it. when you start your machine, you will be given a choice between booting into vista or 7 - more instructions here.

 

[FourthRock]

tx Tews for your comment. the tip about 'create an image' completely slipped my mind but tx to u i'm awake again

tx mickey megabyte for sharing the info about 'upgrade version cannot clean install'

both of you suggest a clean install will be the better way to go. again (and again) the upgrade doesn't seem to be giving a reliable result.
ok... the choice is made... a clean install with the full-version it will be...
(it's always a battle between wishes (the easy(lazy?)way, quick, effortless) and needs (reliable, predictable, uncomplicated)............)

 

[Tews]

Glad we could help...

 

[QuackPot]

Make sure you have got all the files you want to keep off your c drive and then choose to format is when in the windows 7 installation menu.

I did that and everything worked for me.

 

[FourthRock]

@Quackpot: we sometimes forget the obvious tx for the reminder to make multiple backups of everything. since i have been troubled with hardware failure in the past, i keep most of my data 1) on a seperate partition on my hd and 2) a copy on an external hd (weekly backup). it is easy to forget the 'quick and dirty saves' in 'my docs' etc... which tend to pile up... i'll have to expand my backup procedure to those things before doing anything drastic such as formatting

 

[Perrybucsdad]

My advice would also be to make two partitions. One for the OS, and one for all your data. This way, if you ever upgrade the OS again, or need to reinstall it, you don't need to back all the data up just to do the OS install (I do recommend FREQUENT backup's of data). I don't know how large you HDD is, but give yourself enough room on it for the OS, and make the second partition the larger of the (assuming you are not running a small HDD).

BTW, welcome to the group!!

 

[FourthRock]

better late than never

tx Perrybucsdad for the advice
this week it 'll be delivered and next week i'll take the big leap
since i chose the ultimate version, i'll be able to boot from VHD as well
seems a great way to make backups of the os, or use that as a test facility prior to risky installs