Questions about re-using an old Windows 7 upgrade license

[Maltesespace]

Hi
I have a client who has an old Vista laptop from '08 or so but cannot afford to buy a new laptop. It is cluttered with old software and drivers and Vista is a clusterf**k so I thought I would install 7 for her, clean install. I have an old Windows 7 upgrade license, originally used on an HP laptop from that era that has since been wiped and junked. I have offered to give her this license, and just wanted to confirm the following that i am fairly sure is correct

1) I can legally re-use the license on her computer since I have removed it from the computer it was originally used on, and the computer I intend to use it on has a qualifying upgradeable OS (Windows Vista)

2) It is possible to do a clean install with the upgrade media and upgrade license. (I don't have reliable Vista media and don't want to do a bloated factory reset to 2008 Vista in order to in-place-upgrade to 7)

With regards to 2. I know there are tutorials on here to do a clean install with an upgrade license, but there are a few and i'm not sure which one to use, so if you could point me in the right direction that would be great.

Also, the upgrade media I have is media without SP1, so I plan on making an all-in-one ISO from my Ultimate SP1 iso, then using that to install SP1 to her computer. Will this work with the clean install with upgrade media thing?

Thanks

 

[AddRAM]

Not sure if using the AIO disk would work in this case, but everything else should work fine.

 

[gregrocker]

You can move any retail Upgrade license wherever you want it as long as it's only installed on one PC at a time.

If the Win7 installer doesn't see an OS on the drive when booted, it may reject the Upgrade key at beginning of install. In this case install without key and afterward do the quick Option 3 registry workaround in Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version which is made available by MS as a convenience so you don't have to reinstall the qualifying OS.

It shows in Step 1 of Clean Reinstall Windows 7 how to extract the ISO and unlock all versions in ISO to select your licensed version.

Those steps will also assure a perfect install and keep it that way.

Be sure to delete all partitions during the booted install.

 

[Maltesespace]

You can move any retail Upgrade license wherever you want it as long as it's only installed on one PC at a time.

If the Win7 installer doesn't see an OS on the drive when booted, it may reject the Upgrade key at beginning of install. In this case install without key and afterward do the quick Option 3 registry workaround in Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version which is made available by MS as a convenience so you don't have to reinstall the qualifying OS.

It shows in Step 1 of Clean Reinstall Windows 7 how to extract the ISO and unlock all versions in ISO to select your licensed version.

Those steps will also assure a perfect install and keep it that way.

Be sure to delete all partitions during the booted install.

Thanks Greg. Will do. Do you think the AIO ISO (written to a bootable USB) will work for this? I personally see no reason why not, but just wanted to make sure.
Thanks!

 

[gregrocker]

If you mean unlocked ei.cfg then yes you can write it using the relevant tool from link above.

If you mean you made a specialized AIO then I cannot say for sure if it will work with USB tool and be bootable. Best to use its DVD or a fresh (unlocked) ISO to USB.

 

[Maltesespace]

No i just mean the unlocked ei.cfg I just thought that SP1 ei.cfg unlocked media might not accept a non-SP1 upgrade key but i think it should be fine