Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version

brink,i have the following questions,

1)can I boot from dvd drive?
2)will this provide clean install(advanced)option?

how will upgrade disk check for my previous os if I boot from dvd??

Cocoa Jeff said:

Hi, Brink;

Great turorial. But I just want to clarify something, so that I know what to expect. This will work on an already activated copy of a Windows 7 installation? I preordered Windows 7 and have been using it (activated) since it was released last year... I did a custom install on top of my existing Vista installation (maintaining the "windows.old" directory). However, I've got a brand new hard drive on the way and I wish to do a completely clean install of Windows 7 on the new hard drive (I don't want to mess with transferring my current drive to the new one, I want to start absolutely clean by letting Windows 7 format the new drive and install brand new). One of the sites I've seen linked from this one is Paul Thurrott's Super Site for Windows, and the following post caught my eye:

http://community.winsupersite.com/bl...oduct-key.aspx

In it, he states the following:

"Each product key (with the exception of those supplied by the Windows 7 Family Pack, of course) allows for only one electronic, automatic activation".

Is this true? Am I going to have to call Microsoft this time, to get it activated? Or will the normal online activation work more than once? If I have to call, then so be it... but I just want to make sure I'm prepared with the correct phone number, support hours, etcetra. I would appreciate any clarification that you can offer.

Thanks again for the great post, and for taking the time to follow up with everyone's questions. :)

Jeff

Brink said:

Hello Jeff, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Yes, you can activate Windows 7 on that same computer with the same product key number as many times as you like as long as it's only installed on that computer and only once. :)

A retail Windows 7 can be installed and activated on any computer as long as it has been uninstalled from any previous computer first. Sometimes a phone activation may be required instead of a normal online activation.

A OEM Windows 7 can only be installed and activated on the exact same first computer it was activated on. It is permanently tied to the first computer and cannot activated on another computer. This is why a OEM Windows 7 is much cheaper than a retail (full) Windows 7.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Hi, Shawn and all;

I just wanted to confirm that I was able to successfully install and activate a full install of Windows 7 on my brand new empty hard drive with my Windows 7 Upgrade DVD, by following the registry workaround advice (option #3 on the first page of this thread, at "https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/31402-clean-install-upgrade-windows-7-version.html"). I simply went through the install routine without entering my product code, and unchecking the "Automatically activate Windows when I'm online" setting... then I performed the registry tweak and DOS command after everything had finished installing, and rebooted. I was then able to activate without a hitch, it worked like a charm. It's good to know that I can do a reformat and clean install if I want to.

Now I just need to keep working on reconfiguring the eleventy-billion different settings that I had tweaked over the last several months since initially installing Win7, to get things back to where I like them...

Thanks again for the help, and for a great forum!
Jeff

Firstly would like to say thanks for the pictorial write up. Just need some clarifications on my Win7 install if you don’t mind

I’ve bought a 64bit Windows 7 Professional Upgrade via itsnotcheating website. I currently have the disc in front of me with the valid upgrade key.

Questions
1. At the time of the order, i paid for a 64bit disc but i’ve changed my mind now and would like to install a 32bit version as i can’t justify sacrificing Firefox and possible compatibility issues with my apps / games for now.
- Is there a 32bit install option from the same disc?
- If not, is there a Microsoft link to download the 32 bit iso? Don’t really trust torrents if you know what i mean

2. I currently have Windows XP Professional in my hard disc and i would like to do a clean install using option 1 (yes, i’ve read through the tutorials). Do i need to reformat my hard disk which is currently on XP before performing the clean install via:-
(a) Insert Windows XP cd and boot into the XP installation menu (blue menu)
(b) Delete the XP OS partition (windows desktop will not let you delete/format OS partitions afaik)
(c) Exit the installation screen
(d.) Reinsert Windows 7 cd to begin the clean install?

3. From what i have gathered, the Win7 cd itself is irrelevant - tweaking the ei.cfg files unlocks the multiple version of Win7 in a single disc. What determines the type of Win7 you have (i.e. Pro, Ultimate, Home) is based on the product key you have. Will i then be able to install Win7 using a Retail (not an upgrade) Win7 Pro 32 bit cd and then activate it using my upgrade key?

Hi Brink

Thanks for addressing Question 2

I reckon i have the Retail Upgrade key instead of an OEM key as i've bought the Win7 via the official itsnotcheating site

Do you know where i can acquire a win7 pro upgrade 32bit cd (i.e. link). I currently have the 64bit cd

My Windows 7 pro upgrade disc came with 32 bit and 64 bit. It was the pre-purchase order from last May/June