Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version

Brink said:

Hello Xiigen,

It depends on what you change in the registry, but yes it's possible to completely hose Windows by messing something up in the registry. If you are referring to the .bat file in the tutorial, then it's completely safe to use as intended.

If you get a full version of Windows 7, then yes you will only need to do a normal clean install instead of the process in this tutorial to clean install an upgrade version of Windows 7.

Hope this helps, :)
Shawn

What I mean is, after using the upgrade key, will it become a full license or will I have to go through this entire process again if I want to use the same key if and when I get an SSD for windows?

So say I use this and go through with, say, method three. I now have the full version of windows 7 64 bit, service packs, updates, and all. But then a year later I buy a 200GB SSD on sale to use for windows. Now when I install windows to the SSD will the upgrade key act as a full key, or will going through the refistry editing process be necessary?

Brink said:

An upgrade product key will always be an upgrade key. This tutorial just shows you how to install and activate Windows 7 with an upgrade product key.

Anytime you use an upgrade product key to activate Windows 7 with, you'll need to go through the process in this tutorial to do a clean install with an upgrade.

Thank you very much! I really hate microsoft. Some day though, the company will be long gone, and I can not wait for that.

Britton30 said:

The first time I installed the OS with an Upgrade key, also from a university, I had to use the registry change. I've done it twice since and did method one.

My install media. The text in the reflection says:
"All use subject to volume license agreement. Do not make illegal copies of this disc."

Thanks very much for the verification. This is by far the best support website I have ever used.

Brink said:

Well, you can't really blame Microsoft for this.

The license (product key) you purchased with Windows 7 is either an "upgrade" or "full" version. You basically get what you pay for.

Upgrade = Deeply discounted price for customers that already own say Windows Vista to be able to upgrade from say Vista to Windows 7. In exchange for the discounted price, you are not able to do a clean install without having to go through the process in the tutorial.

Full = For customers that do not own a previous version of Windows, or do not want an upgrade Windows. Allows you to do a clean or upgrade install. The drawback is that there's no discount.

The main problem for me is their business model of releasing different versions with limited features until you get to the ultimate edition which has a few features I would love to have, but it's rediculously expensive. I have no access to a student upgrade version, but my friend who is getting a new PC at the same time I am does, and the price for the oem or the upgrade edition, the supposedly low cost ones, it's still simply rediculous. I could be getting a much better gpu for how much I'm going to have to shell out for an operating system that's getting pretty old. Not to mention that if I want to upgrade my motheroard in the future it may be impossible for me to use the same windows key. It's insane the monopoly Microsoft has on the operating system market, and it just annoys me to no end.