Windows 7 RC To Final Upgrade Possible

[Cindy]

If i do buy Windows 7 (and I'm thinking i will) i will buy full retail and run dual boot with XP Black as i don't want to give up my XP Black

 

[myzr7]

+1 Right on, XP will never die. With hard drives and external drives, flash drives all getting cheaper dual boot is for sure the way to go.

 

[fakeasdf]

+1 Right on, XP will never die. With hard drives and external drives, flash drives all getting cheaper dual boot is for sure the way to go.

XP will die It may not be for another 5 years, but it will be more than obsolete within a half a decade, especially after Microsoft and hardware manufacturers drop support for it completely. (I can't wait to see if I'm right, I wish I had a time machine!)

 

[Lordbob75]

One thing I am not so easy about. If you buy an upgrade based on RC1-RTM and loose your hard disk, what happens when you need to completly reinstall Full after March next year...after all, you cant activate the RC-RTM after that date....Microsoft is not stupid, its a scam, after march/10, if you are using the upgrade edition based on the Windows 7 builds, you will get screwed and have to buy a Retail or OEM copy to use it again. After all, MS is clear that it needs an activated copy of Windows 7 RC/RTM!!! The only way I can think about it is if you buy a small hard drive, activate a RC or RTM and keep it for future reinstall. Just clone your drive, then install via upgrade! Oh but wait, the copy deactivates after March 2010. What is the Fn point of that? Scam Scam Scam. Rape the testers when they discover they can't reactivate their upgrade license after March 2010!

Wrong. You CAN and NEED to activate your Seven RC. This works, as the key is FOR the RC, not the RTM. If you upgrade from those, then that is just like upgrading from Vista, or XP. It will work forever.

Where did you get this info?

~Lordbob

 

[djfirestorm]

Meh, I just misunderstood it I guess.

 

[bobgay]

Upgrading to RTM

Spose we will only know what works after the release. I do know I have pre-ordered a upgrade. I do know that I prefer a clean install. I do know that I would like to keep dual booting with Vista as I am now(need Vista for trouble shooting purposes). I do not want to invalidate my Vista License. I do want a valid Windows 7 insulation. mmm

From what i have heard from MS you can do a clean install when it asks for a copy of vista or xp or even put a win7 rc disk in it will continue with the install. Cant be easier. The problems arise when you want to upgrade your current working copy. You can basically do what you want with a clean install ( go up or down) as long as you have another copy of windows (not win 95)
Good luck
Bob

 

[iseeuu]

Those of us Beta/RC testers concerned about future installs of the retail upgrade should consider creating a disc image of our working final W7 install. That way if the hard drive crashes we can re-image the activated OS (on a new hard drive) and restore to current condition without the RC activation issue. Doing this monthly, for example, could be a part of our backup strategy.

 

[earlyadopter]

So I can't do a clean install with the upgrade disc? I NEED to keep a "windows.old" folder, or can I choose not to keep anything?

I "upgraded" form Win 7 32bit Ver. to Win 7 64bit Ver. and I deleted the windows.old file with no worries to the OS.

 

[zay]

If there is nothing you need to keep or access from the "old" OS, you can use the other option and remove or format the partition, then voila, you have a clean install.

 

[poin2]

One thing I am not so easy about. If you buy an upgrade based on RC1-RTM and loose your hard disk, what happens when you need to completly reinstall Full after March next year...after all, you cant activate the RC-RTM after that date....Microsoft is not stupid, its a scam, after march/10, if you are using the upgrade edition based on the Windows 7 builds, you will get screwed and have to buy a Retail or OEM copy to use it again. After all, MS is clear that it needs an activated copy of Windows 7 RC/RTM!!! The only way I can think about it is if you buy a small hard drive, activate a RC or RTM and keep it for future reinstall. Just clone your drive, then install via upgrade! Oh but wait, the copy deactivates after March 2010. What is the Fn point of that? Scam Scam Scam. Rape the testers when they discover they can't reactivate their upgrade license after March 2010!

It's not a "scam." They're not offering you some "deal" as a "tester."

They've simply acknowledged that the RC will be recognized as a prior genuine activated system for those using the upgrades, and they're not exactly trumpeting it as some reward for testing the RC or something.

If you ever need to reinstall full in the future, the Windows 7 "upgrade" install on the drive will be the genuine version you're fresh installing over.

You'd only potentially run into trouble if your hard drive utterly fails and you have no prior installation or disc to go from scratch with the upgrade. And if your hard drive utterly fails you're going to be looking at the kind of hardware change that requires you call MS for re-activation anyway, and they'll be able to see you had your key prior activated okay without an issue. People who have genuine installs from OEM's they upgrade and have hard drive failure and can't find their original install / restoration discs are going to be in the same boat.

If you're really freaked out, run your system in RAID 1 and protect yourself against hard drive failure.

But no there's no "scam." If your hard drive fully fails you'll simply need to call them as you would anyway. And if anything it's kind of surprising they're outright allowing people to use the upgrade versions off of the RC.

 

[Nax Shale Chan]

So... Here's what I might do and am worried about.

I'm running the RC, build 7100. I might just be getting a new laptop with Windows 7, but in the event that I am stuck with my current piece of $&%^ for longer than until it starts rebooting, I will get a 7 upgrade. If that upgrade fails, I can still do a "clean-upgrade" over that install, correct? Of course, if all else fails, I have my Vista OEM recovery discs to go back to Vista...