Solved Switch Win 7 OS from HP to Pro - New Laptop & Old Laptop

[spacemnspiff]

I have 5 year old Vista laptop (Compaq) that was upgraded to Win 7 Pro retail copy. I just bought a new laptop (Acer) that has OEM Win 7 HP installed on it. I was thinking of installing the old Win 7 Pro on the new laptop - Acer (only if there are any performance differences) and transfer the OEM Win 7 HP to the old one - Compaq.
I have two questions-
1. Is it worth in terms of performance and day to day usage to upgrade to Win 7 Pro from HP?
2. Can switch OS licenses around without any trouble? I should technically be able to do that because both are legally mine. Are there any issues doing the switch?

I will create an image of both HDD and also burn recovery disks for the new laptop before making this switch.

Thanks for the help.

 

[gregrocker]

There is no performance difference whatsoever between Home Premium and Pro, just a few expensive extra features. I would always go by whether I need the extra features or not.

You cannot migrate Windows 7 factory OEM to another machine - it lives and dies on the machine it came on.

You can however migrate a WIn7 upgrade to the machine of your choice as long as a qualifying XP or Vista OS came on it, or there is a retail copy that won't be used while it is qualifying for Upgrade version.

To upgrade a lesser WIn7 version to a higher version use Anytime Upgrade which will accept both Anytime keys (which cost less) or Win7 retail keys to unlock the extra features in just a few minutes time.

 

[spacemnspiff]

Thanks so much for the reply Greg. As for the performance differences between HP and Pro, I read that boot time, resume from sleep time is much faster on the Pro than HP.

I downloaded install key information from the Belarc free tool. They key on the bottom of the laptop is different than the one Belarc shows. Which one is valid for install?

Also how easy is it to install a pre-installed software from the recovery disk? Can I individually install the software that I need? Do I need the install key for installation?

 

[gregrocker]

The installed key is a factory activated OEMSLP one used to mass activate.

When you change to OEM-COA key from sticker, it is administered by MS Activation Servers.

Check on your computer's Support Downloads webpage for available software to see if what you need is there for reinstalling after clean reinstall. If it's not there you might want to use Anytime Upgrade to unlock the Pro features so that everything else from Home Prem remains in place.

 

[spacemnspiff]

Thank you Greg. I gather from what you said is that I can use install keys on the bottom of the laptop.

I made the application and backup disks from the laptop, that didn't have the Photoshop elements that came pre-installed.

One question then, if I make a image backup of the hard drive then can I install just photoshop from that backup after the clean install? I would hate to lose photoshop after the clean install. One of the reasons why I bought the laptop was that photoshop came pre-installed.

 

[gregrocker]

Yes the COA sticker has the key you'd use for Clean Reinstalling Windows 7.

Unfortunately you can't break a Program or App out of an Image or the Recovery Disks, but they must be reinstalled.

It's very rare to have Photoshop Elements preinstalled on a factory OEM rig and I'd think they would provide a disk as well as the program's own Product ID for software so valuable.

You can audit all of the installed Programs' Product Keys using Belarc Advisor - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com.

Then if you know for sure the Photoshop program's key is good, you can reinstall using it by finding the Photoshop installer for that exact version.

 

[spacemnspiff]

That was quick. Thanks again Greg. Dell and Acer have Photoshop elements pre-installed on some of their models.

I did use Belarc tool to get the keys for Windows and Photoshop elements. How can I be sure that the key for photoshop is good for reinstall? I guess I could call Adobe and find out. I don't want to take the risk of losing it because I bought this laptop for editing raw pictures of the family.

 

[gregrocker]

Yes, I would ask Adobe Tech Support about the key and how to get reinstall media. They may refer you to your OEM. If so query them about what is different about the OEM installer. You may find it on the web.

The Win7 product key is not the key on COA sticker because it was mass activated at factory using OEM-SLP method. When you reinstall and activate with the key on sticker it will change to OEM-COA activation administered in MS Servers.

 

[spacemnspiff]

Ok thanks. Thats begs the question if there is any reason if I should do image backup of the HDD. I already have the restore disks that were made. I dont have any data on the laptop that is important. That rules out one reason why I should do an image backup.

 

[gregrocker]

It's a good idea if you have the storage to have a secondary backup since Recovery disks can fail. That way if you want to migrate your Pro key elsewhere you can quickly restore or reimage HP.
Backup Complete Computer - Create an Image Backup
Macrium - Image your system
With a WD or Seagate HD you get free Acronis premium imaging app.

The HP key represents a $100+ value that is not being used while you Upgrade to Pro, which is why I would only do so if I need the extra features since there is no performance upgrade whatsoever.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/compare

 

[spacemnspiff]

I have decided to stick with HP with the new laptop because as you mentioned there are no performance differences between HP and Pro. Also that would be a waste of a good OEM license. I dont know what I should do with the Pro license on the old machine.

Other than the drivers why would I need an imagebackup? I going to do a fresh install from the Win 7 Pro DVD that I have, there is no data stored on the laptop. I have downloaded all the drivers from the Acer website.

I plan to give the old machine to my dad who will use it for skype and web browsing. I was planning on installing Vista HP that it came with so that i could do something useful with the Win 7 Pro license. Any reasons why I shouldnt switch to Vista?

 

[gregrocker]

I only suggested a secondary image backup if you were going to Anytime Upgrade the new Home Premium to Pro, so you could revert back to the native license easily with a backup on hand.

Do you still have the Vista Recovery Disks or a Vista installation DVD for the version which is listed on the COA sticker?

If a Recovery partition survived it's not likely it will run, but you can try tapping F11 hotkey at boot or forcing it to run by marking it's partition Active first: Partition - Mark as Active
Force Compaq Recovery which loses it's hotkey at boot

 

[spacemnspiff]

I understand, now that I am not upgrading to Win 7 Pro I should be good to go. Do you suggest that delete 18GB recovery partition or keep it?

I do have Vista installation disks that I can use to install Vista. I was planning on a clean install for that.

I contacted Adobe and the Belarc license key is a valid key for installing Photoshop Elements ver 9. My machine was built before Adobe updated PSE to version 10 (couple of months ago). Adobe now doesnt allow downloads for the ver 9, which is what I have a license for. Do you know where I can download Photoshop Elements 9? I searched and could not find good link. I will keep searching.

 

[gregrocker]

If you are referring to the Recovery Partition on the Vista machine I would try running it to see if it will run. If not you can delete it along with all partitions and create a new one using Custom>Drive options following the same steps as for getting a perfect Win7 reinstall: Reinstalling Windows 7

If your Vista disks are Recovery disks they should reinstall the Recovery partition too, or if it is a Win7 Reinstallation DVD you can indeed get a clean reinstall.

If you are forced to use a torrent to download Photoshop Elements 9 installer, read all of the comments and listings to make certain before downloading it that it is not cracked or anything added, but an untouched installer.

 

[spacemnspiff]

I was referring to the Win 7 partition and whether I should keep that after re-installing Win 7 HP on my new machine?


Thanks for the tip on the torrent. So far I have had no luck finding media or download for PSE 9.

 

[gregrocker]

I'm having a hard time keeping up. You are going to reinstall Vista on the Pro machine, but now want to reinstall Home Premium on the new Home Premium machine?

I would make your Recovery Disks and possibly keep the Recovery partition until after reinstall to see if it will still cue up from it's hotkey at boot. If not, you can delete it then and Extend Win7 into it: Partition or Volume - Extend.

Here are other steps for getting a perfect clean reinstall of factory OEM: Reinstalling Windows 7

 

[spacemnspiff]

Sorry for the confusion.

I am doing a fresh HP install on the new machine so that I can get rid of all the bloatware.

I was hoping to use the Vista copy that the old machine came with and install that on there. And leave the Win 7 Pro alone and may use it for something else or give to a family member or friend.

I ran into another issue where the lid of the new laptop doesnt close properly, one side is overhanging 1/8" and doesnt contact the keyboard frame. Looks like either the new laptop is getting replaced or repaired.

Thanks very much for the help.

 

[gregrocker]

Glad to help. Keep us posted and ask back any questions as they come up.