Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version

From ignatzatsonic -
"I'd make Dell recovery disks before I deleted the Dell recovery partition." Dell suggested that delete the partitions. Is the recovery disk in case the Win7 re-install doesnt work? Basically the current system is generating so many errors its not functional so there really is no need to "recover to it" unless the re-install doesnt work and then I guess IO take it to a shop.

"You'll need the LAN driver and a working modem for a net connection." I have a wireless home network that will survive this re-install. What dirvers wil I need to re-access the wireless network? I do have the network access code.

From Brink -
"It really depends on what type of installation disc you have? If this is a OEM factory restore type installation disc, then this tutorial wouldn't apply to you since it's for doing a clean install with a "retail" upgrade copy instead."

I'm sorry I wan't clear. The Dell came with a factory installed Vista OS and an offer for a free Win7 upgrade DVD from Dell. I later received the Win7 upgrade DVD from Dell. So the disk I am using is from Dell - it's an OS upgrade to Win7. I don't know if that qualifies as an OEM or not.

Thanks to you both - this has been stressful - several family users awaiting the outcome!

LapTopUser said:

From ignatzatsonic -
"I'd make Dell recovery disks before I deleted the Dell recovery partition." Dell suggested that delete the partitions. Is the recovery disk in case the Win7 re-install doesnt work? Basically the current system is generating so many errors its not functional so there really is no need to "recover to it" unless the re-install doesnt work and then I guess IO take it to a shop.

"You'll need the LAN driver and a working modem for a net connection." I have a wireless home network that will survive this re-install. What dirvers wil I need to re-access the wireless network? I do have the network access code.

I'm not competent at Wireless, so will pass on that question.

Re the recovery disks and recovery partition. The recovery disks (after you make them) do the same thing as the partition---restore you to the way the PC was when you got it---presumably Vista in your case, with the exact same partitions and same software.

You don't HAVE to have either the recovery partition or recovery disks to reinstall and operate successfully.

But it is generally recommended to have one or the other in case of an emergency situation. For all I know, wiping out partitions and doing it your way may have some effect on your Dell warranty, for instance. Recovery disks are just another fallback position that you hope you never have to resort to. Ideally, you make them, put them in a drawer, and never need them.

You say at the start that Microsoft made it possible to do a clean install from an upgrade disk possible to prevent people having to install their old OS when they wanted to reinstall Windows 7, but for the very first install do I need to actually have an old OS present during installation to properly activate.

When I first installed Professional I had a completely new computer and upon trying to activate I got the error code defined in Option 3 and that was how I had to activate it. But I feel that this led me to being unable to get online support from Microsoft as they say the Product ID has expired (which other people have found as well and also question how this can be on the latest OS).

So could you clarify whether I need to install XP onto an old HDD and have that plugged into my machine when I upgrade from Pro to Ultimate whilst changing to a 2TB HDD?

Thanks.

I assume that Option 4 in my case would be installing Professional on my 2Tb then doing an in-place upgrade to Ultimate right away? I thought you couldn't do an in place upgrade because that was the same as an Anytime Upgrade which would use a different key (one assumes the same install process for all upgrade versions).

Another thing I have at present is Easy BCD as a boot manager so I can choose between Windows and Ubuntu (I know Ubuntu has Grub as a boot manager but when I first got Ubuntu for some reason I couldn't edit that list so it booted to Ubuntu after the timeout period, not Windows, so confusing my dad the next morning because he had no account), but I assume I could safely switch between Professional and Ultimate with no bother?

So a clean install with Ultimate then an in-place upgrade immediately afterwards should work if I decide not to go down the install old OS and overwrite route.

I guess Technically I'm upgrading XP since that was what I had before I had this machine (and as far as I know I have to have an older OS than W7 to actually "upgrade" or else it then becomes an Anytime Upgrade which costs more money), I in theory used Pro to upgrade from XP already, but since there is no product keys involved anymore (apparently before it used to ask for your Product Key or Windows Disc) I'll be using Pro to upgrade properly from Vista and Ultimate to Upgrade from XP.

I'll probably still go down the method that should be Guaranteed to work - installing the old operating system and upgrading from that, just so I know everything is going to work, probably takes as long as Option 4 would, but I can always use Option 3 or 4 if I can't get it working. I'll post back how things go.

I have a question... I did not notice it before doing it. But I did option 4, the one that involved me editing the registry entry and when I went to restart the computer I noticed I had upgrades ready. I restarted by clicking the arrow next to the power down + install upgrades button and choosing restart.

Will this cause problems down the line?

Also, is it recommended to change the registry value back to 1 after performing activation?