Upgrading Windows 7 Home Premium to Professional

[gregrocker]

I bailed out after it started as I didn't want to change my Ultimate Signature Edition to Pro.

Upgrade will always vary depending on programs installed. An hour is average.

The compatibility scan you see there might find things for you to remove to avoid issues. But the fact that it jumped to Install page from Compat means it is still possible to do.

Anytime upgrade, will upgrade to any higher version.
Have read of the tutorial & the MS link at the bottom.

The prob is that he curently has full retail HP which he wants to retrieve and use elsewhere and replace with retail Pro.

We dont' know enough about Anytime's use of retail keys to know if it will release his HP to be used elsewhere if he Anytimes it to Pro.

But we do know that a Clean install or full in-place Upgrade install will overwrite activation to where the HP would be released for reinstall elsewhere.

 

[theog]

Anytime upgrade takes 10 mins max. From any lower version.

I have done about 200, from starter to Ultimate.

 

[gregrocker]

Anytime upgrade takes 10 mins max. From any lower version.

I have done about 200, from starter to Ultimate.

Does it positively release his Home Premium retail key to be used on another machine?

He is using a full retail Pro key so the question is whether he is entitled to retrieve his underlying retail Home Premium to migrate it elsewhere after any Anytime Upgrade to Pro?

We have been told you cannot even use a Pro DVD to do a Repair Install on an Anytime Upgrade after it has been upgraded to Pro, that it remains HP with Pro features unlocked.

Can you look at the Current Version Reg keys after an Anytime Upgrade to see what they list?

 

[theog]

If using a full Retail key to upgrade, Yes.

 

[gregrocker]

He would be using a retail Pro Upgrade key to insert into an Anytime Upgrade of retail Home Premium.

Does this uninstall the HP to allow it to migrate?

The only thing I can think of under the EULA is that if he has an Upgrade version Pro key then he needs to have a qualifying XP/Vista on hand, whether it is or was installed, and not use it again. There is no EULA provision for upgrade between 7 versions that I can find, probably because it is only recognized to be done via Anytime. This was discussed here: http://www.sevenforums.com/vip/98012-activation-anytime-upgrade.html

If it is full retail then he can use it anywhere, anytime. But that doesn't solve the question of whether Anytime will release his HP to migrate.

 

[xceebeex]

I find it strange that there is not a CLEAR answer for this question somewhere on Microsoft's website or something, I can't be the first person looking to do this. I am really not sure what to do at this point.

 

[theog]

You would need to read the EULA.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Wind...er-License-Agreement-EULA-Is-Live-91478.shtml


http://www.microsoft.com/About/Legal/EN/US/IntellectualProperty/UseTerms/Default.aspx

 

[gregrocker]

I find it strange that there is not a CLEAR answer for this question somewhere on Microsoft's website or something, I can't be the first person looking to do this. I am really not sure what to do at this point.

The reason is that it is a workaround and only became clear to us in recent months that it works reliably to insert a retail Win7 key into Anytime Upgrade.

I personally would go ahead and try it. Once I have Pro activated and running, then I would install Premium to its new home and attempt to activate it.

The process is that the activation robocall required when you change the hardware signature will ask you how many computers you have this copy of Windows installed upon.

When you answer correctly "One" it then updates the new hardware signature in MS activation computers.

If the old computer then connects and the HP key is still being used at all it will deactivate it (on any except the new machine) which may require you to clean reinstall Pro. It shouldn't affect your new HP install which "owns" that hardware signature.

Keep in mind that in hundreds of activation cases I'm familar with I don't believe there is any process by which the HP key could be locked to the old hardware once the Pro key is installed there. So I think the odds are greatly in your favor.

However, if you are using an Upgrade version of Pro, under the EULA you need to have a qualifying XP/Vista in your possession whether or not it is or was installed at the moment, and aren't supposed to use it any longer. This is on the honor system - as I said MS has no known way to block the lesser version key you have upgraded from to Win7.

 

[xceebeex]

I find it strange that there is not a CLEAR answer for this question somewhere on Microsoft's website or something, I can't be the first person looking to do this. I am really not sure what to do at this point.

The reason is that it is a workaround and only became clear to us in recent months that it works reliably to insert a retail Win7 key into Anytime Upgrade.

I personally would go ahead and try it. Once I have Pro activated and running, then I would install Premium to its new home and attempt to activate it.

The process is that the activation robocall required when you change the hardware signature will ask you how many computers you have this copy of Windows installed upon.

When you answer correctly "One" it then updates the new hardware signature in MS activation computers.

If the old computer then connects and the HP key is still being used at all it will deactivate it (on any except the new machine) which may require you to clean reinstall Pro. It shouldn't affect your new HP install which "owns" that hardware signature.

Keep in mind that in hundreds of activation cases I'm familar with I don't believe there is any process by which the HP key could be locked to the old hardware once the Pro key is installed there. So I think the odds are greatly in your favor.

However, if you are using an Upgrade version of Pro, under the EULA you need to have a qualifying XP/Vista in your possession whether or not it is or was installed at the moment, and aren't supposed to use it any longer. This is on the honor system - as I said MS has no known way to block the lesser version key you have upgraded from to Win7.

Well I do have a qualifying version of XP in my possession; that is how I got to Windows 7 HP to begin with. So what you are recommending is just doing the Anytime Upgrade for now and then see what happens when I go to activate my HP key on the new machine? If Windows is deactivated on my desktop (which would now be running Pro), I am assuming that I would just get a message saying it is no longer a valid code and it wouldn't completely lock me out, correct?

 

[gregrocker]

What was originally on the desktop which you installed retail Home Premium on?

Are the HP and Pro both Upgrade or full retail?

 

[xceebeex]

What was originally on the desktop which you installed retail Home Premium on?

Are the HP and Pro both Upgrade or full retail?

I have a Full version of XP Professional and that what was on my desktop prior to the upgrade to Home Premium. Both the HP and Pro are Upgrade versions.

My laptop came pre-installed with XP so I think since I have a legal Full version of XP Pro in my possession I can legally upgrade my desktop to Windows 7 Pro and then use my Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade to upgrade my laptop.

 

[gregrocker]

Yes, you most definitely qualify to use both Upgrades on both machines.

After struggling with this all day, I personally would stay away from Anytime simply because I don't know enough about MS activation concerning it. I even asked our Forums Administrator Brink about this and it is the first blank I've ever drawn from him.

If you did Anytime from HP to Pro and HP later failed activation because it's key somehow still locked into the Anytime, you could most certainly retrieve it just by uninstalling it from the desktop, accomplished by overwriting it with the in-place Upgrade workaround or a clean install. MS cannot take Product Keys back and by policy supports you through to activation once validated.

But I personally would back up my files and do the in-place Upgrade workaround probably because I just tested it this afternoon and it took only minutes to change the two registry keys, run the Pro installer from desktop which almost straightaway started the Upgrade on my Ultimate. Only if you had compatibility issues could there be a hitch and we could help you through those, probably by just uninstalling whatever program it doesn't like.

Think it over and decide what you want to do. If you clue us to when you will be doing it, I'll check in enough then to have your back.

 

[xceebeex]

Yes, you most definitely qualify to use both Upgrades on both machines.

After struggling with this all day, I personally would stay away from Anytime simply because I don't know enough about MS activation concerning it. I even asked our Forums Administrator Brink about this and it is the first blank I've ever drawn from him.

If you did Anytime from HP to Pro and HP later failed activation because it's key somehow still locked into the Anytime, you could most certainly retrieve it just by uninstalling it from the desktop, accomplished by overwriting it with the in-place Upgrade workaround or a clean install. MS cannot take Product Keys back and by policy supports you through to activation once validated.

But I personally would back up my files and do the in-place Upgrade workaround probably because I just tested it this afternoon and it took only minutes to change the two registry keys, run the Pro installer from desktop which almost straightaway started the Upgrade on my Ultimate. Only if you had compatibility issues could there be a hitch and we could help you through those, probably by just uninstalling whatever program it doesn't like.

Think it over and decide what you want to do. If you clue us to when you will be doing it, I'll check in enough then to have your back.

That is what I am leaning towards as well. What registry tweaks are you talking about? In that guide that you linked earlier for the Repair Install, there was no mention of registry tweaks. What tweaks have to be made and would I make those before or after the in place install?

Thanks for all of the help and I will post when I plan on giving it a try. I have to make sure I have everything backed up just in case anything goes wrong and I am going away this weekend so I may not get to it before then, but hopefully I can.

Again thanks for all of the quick responses!

 

[gregrocker]

It is shown exactly what changes must be made in post #7.

 

[xceebeex]

It is shown exactly what changes must be made in post #7.

Ahh ok got it. I was just looking in that guide rather than looking at all the previous posts.

Thanks again!

 

[xceebeex]

Ha, well slight change of plans. I found a good deal on a new hard drive today Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive so I am going to upgrade my hard drive when I do this. So it looks like I will just be doing a clean install on the desktop.