Windows 7 Upgrade - Clean Install Question

[onispop]

I plan to perform a clean install using a Windows 7 Professional
upgrade disk.

- I have a laptop that originally came with OEM Vista Home Premium.
- Subsequently, the O/S was changed to Vista Ultimate (full version)

I would like to be able to install Vista Ultimate on another PC; to do so,
should I install (full format) the OEM Vista Home Premium prior to
attempting the upgrade to Windows 7?

Thanks.

 

[gregrocker]

Just save your files externally, then boot into the Win7 upgrade installer and choose Custom install>Advanced tools, delete each partition, create new ones as you please, format and install to first partition.

Save your Vista premium disk with your Win7 Upgrade disk in case you would ever need to show a qualifying OS for Upgrade. The ultimate is a full retail version anyway which you can migrate to any other machine as long as it is only one at a time.

However, this should never happen because reinstalls are a thing of the past if you save an image of your HDD using Win7 Backup Image. Just reimage the HDD (or a replacement) in 15 minutes.

 

[Brink]

Hello Onispop, and welcome to Seven Forums.

You can do a clean install (format) with the Upgrade Windows 7 on your computer if you like to.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/31402-clean-install-upgrade-windows-7-version.html

It depends on what type of Vista Ultimate you have though on whether or not you can install it on another computer. If it's a OEM Vista, then you can only install it on the same computer that you originally activated it on. If it's a retail Vista, then yes, you can install and activate it on another computer as long as it was uninstalled on any prior computer.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[onispop]

Thanks for the responses.

Custom install (from boot or current window vista installation)
without checking the "Automatically activate Windows when I'm
online box" during the installation process.

Does the above process achieves "the uninstallation of the retail
Windows Vista Ultimate" and gives me the ability to install
and activate it on another computer?

 

[gregrocker]

Yes if it is deleted or overwritten (not dual booted) when you install Win7, then it is free to migrate since it is retail. On the next machine you install it, it can probably activate over the internet after install, at worst you would have to call MS computer to trade some numbers - takes 5 minutes. Rarely it will elevate you to a person who you would tell you no longer have it on the previous computer, but I have never had to do that and I move my retail licenses around all the time.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/84488-activate-vista-phone.html