Can I use the Windows 7 Upgrade DVD for a Clean Install ?

[Patrick]

Currently I am running Windows Vista.

I find that I am able to boot up the Windows 7 Upgrade DVD (from Vista).
Can I perform a Clean Install from the DVD ? This is because I learn that a
lot of fellows have problems in upgrading from Vista.

Besides, if we can perform a clean install from the Upgrade DVD, what will
be the difference between an Upgrade DVD and a Standard one ?

Thanks
Patrick

 

[nomore]

Sadly what you propose is logical but may be disastrous.
If you have one hard drive and reformat it to install the upgrade the
upgrade may fail to activate because it does not see a valid, activated copy
of XP or Vista.

 

[peter]

I think that's ridiculous
By the time it gets to the activation part it is already installed and
whatever
you upgraded from is gone....
the upgrade check happens way before that.. before the install.
Then just before the install comes the part where you put in the
activation number
The actual activation does not happen until it is installed and IE is
installed

peter

 

[STAN STARINSKI]

Yes if you scroll back in time on this newsgroups you'll see I already asked
this question and received excellent responses all of which work.

 

[STAN STARINSKI]

You either have to have your previous OS installed on the hard drive or use
the 2 installation workaround
(search Google for this method); or BEST is to modify registry as I
instructed you in the second response to your Post.
The 2 Installation method means you install Win7 onto a clean, virgin
harddisk which gives you a 'trial ModeA" for 30 days or something.
Then you reinstall Win7 AGAIN & this 2nd time you must activate it with a
valid key I suppose.
This results in a permanent valid installation using an Upgrade disj yet
onto a clean disk.

But the other method is much better & faster as you install just once and
don't clutter disk
Just found this online watch for line wrap
http://community.winsupersite.com/b...-windows-7-with-upgrade-media-the-answer.aspx

As promised I will now post another response to your question as I dont want
to mix different methods in a signle post

 

[STAN STARINSKI]

Mike Halsey | Oct 22, 2009 | Windows 7 News & Tips blog

One of the biggest unanswered questions about Windows 7 is whether you can
perform a clean install using the upgrade edition of the operating system.

With legacy versions of Windows you needed to 'show' it an install CD from
your older version of Windows. The problem here is that Microsoft allowed
OEM PC makers to customise these discs, sometimes to the point where they
were not recognisable as upgrade media by the installer, even though you had
a legitimate copy.

With Windows Vista they changed this but you had to perform a workaround to
get a clean install. Firstly you had to install Vista upgrade without
entering a product key, and then you had to install it again performing an
upgrade on the version you had already installed. This was time-consuming
and many people didn't like it. understandably.

With Windows 7 Microsoft have only released the upgrade versions for the
first time today and have been keeping very tight-lipped on this subject.
The good, nay, excellent news is that performing a clean install using
upgrade media is now the same as performing a clean install.

Windows 7 will just install merrily on your hard disk with it's upgrade
product code and activate. You don't need an XP or Vista disc, and you don't
need to install it over itself. This is excellent news and, while I haven't
yet tried this myself, reports are coming in from across the web that this
is indeed the case.

Many people will now ask if it's necessary to buy the full version of
Windows 7. Quite simply now the answer is that it isn't. This means an
significant price cut for Windows 7 over previous versions, effective
immediately.

 

[STAN STARINSKI]

Basically correct. It's easy - basically two little things one must do - a
regedit and a commandline command.

Install Windows clean with the upgrade disc but during the install routine
do not type in the 'Product Key' and deselect 'automatically activate when
online'.

Once installed, do the regedit:

-navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup/OOBE

-change
MediaBootInstall from "1" to "0".

THEN

At a Cmd Prompt type in and enter:

slmgr /rearm

Close the Cmd Prompt, click any OKs and then reboot and activate through the
System applet found in the Control Panel.

That's it.

Paul Thurrott has it all documented with screen shots on his WinSuperSite:

[Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media - WinSuperSite]
http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp

 

[STAN STARINSKI]

Mike Halsey | Oct 22, 2009 | Windows 7 News & Tips blog

One of the biggest unanswered questions about Windows 7 is whether you can
perform a clean install using the upgrade edition of the operating system.

With legacy versions of Windows you needed to 'show' it an install CD from
your older version of Windows. The problem here is that Microsoft allowed
OEM PC makers to customise these discs, sometimes to the point where they
were not recognisable as upgrade media by the installer, even though you had
a legitimate copy.

With Windows Vista they changed this but you had to perform a workaround to
get a clean install. Firstly you had to install Vista upgrade without
entering a product key, and then you had to install it again performing an
upgrade on the version you had already installed. This was time-consuming
and many people didn't like it. understandably.

With Windows 7 Microsoft have only released the upgrade versions for the
first time today and have been keeping very tight-lipped on this subject.
The good, nay, excellent news is that performing a clean install using
upgrade media is now the same as performing a clean install.

Windows 7 will just install merrily on your hard disk with it's upgrade
product code and activate. You don't need an XP or Vista disc, and you don't
need to install it over itself. This is excellent news and, while I haven't
yet tried this myself, reports are coming in from across the web that this
is indeed the case.

Many people will now ask if it's necessary to buy the full version of
Windows 7. Quite simply now the answer is that it isn't. This means an
significant price cut for Windows 7 over previous versions, effective
immediately.

 

[Gordon]

I think that's ridiculous
By the time it gets to the activation part it is already installed and
whatever
you upgraded from is gone....
the upgrade check happens way before that.. before the install.
Then just before the install comes the part where you put in the
activation number
The actual activation does not happen until it is installed and IE is
installed

You cannot do a Windows 7 upgrade (using an Upgrade DVD) in the same manner
as before.
You HAVE to initiate it from within a running version of Windows.
This is because in previous versions the Upgrade sequence only looked for
the existence of a EULA - Windows 7 upgrade sequence now looks for a Product
Key which of course does NOT reside on the CD of the version being used as
the upgrade qualifier.

Hope that's clear.

 

[xfile]

Hi,

Many people are confused between upgrade as a license and upgarde as an
installation mechanism and tend to mix the two together.

In order to purchase and use an upgrade version instead of a full retail
version, one has to have a valid qualifying product (e.g. XP, Vista), but
it's a totally different subject for how does one prepare the product to be
used - that is, the installation mechanism.

On the other hand, one can choose to use a clean or an upgrade install and
neither will affect one's license if the purchase was complied with the
upgrade qualififcations.

The license of the qualifying product will be voided when the upgraded
product is being used. In other words, one cannot use the two products at
the same time. In simple words, think it's a trade-in for the upgrade
version.

To choose between a clean and an upgrade install, I'd suggest to consider
both the best- and worst-case scenarios of the two mechanisms instead of
relying on one's wishful thinking since OS migration is a major task and
there are always unexpected situations especially for any reasonable use
system.

As far as I know, the difference between a retail full version and an
upgrade version is the license qualifications not the product iteself.

Hope this helps and good luck.

 

[xfile]

You HAVE to initiate it from within a running version of Windows.

False.

 

[Gordon]

False.

Not false. True.

 

[xfile]

Well, people can find out which one is true by trying themselves.

Suggest you do the same

 

[Dominic Payer]

See http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp

 

[Patrick]

Dear Dominic,

Thanks for your link. Appreciate your help.

Do you suggest performing a clean install or upgrade from existing Vista OS
?

Needless to say, upgrade is much easier for me as I don't need to install
all software, broadband connection .... etc BUT I fear that the upgrade will
mess up the machine in the future.

Thanks
Patrick

 

[Dominic Payer]

You can perform an upgrade to avoid reinstalling your applications but I
would always recommend a clean install of a new operating system. If you
upgrade, you carry forward any registry errors and buggy installations.

 

[Natéag]

Not false. True.

True for Upgrade
False for new Install - which is possible

 

[gls858]

You can perform an upgrade to avoid reinstalling your applications but I
would always recommend a clean install of a new operating system. If you
upgrade, you carry forward any registry errors and buggy installations.

I agree with Dominic but that being said you can try the upgrade first
and if things don't turn out you can always to a clean install. I have a
fairly new computer running Vista Ultimate and I did the upgrade instead
of a clean install. The only problem I ran into was that my anti virus
wasn't compatible (Trend Micro Pro 2009). I was happy with it anyway so
I dumped it for something else.

So far everything is going fine.

gls858

 

[Natéag]

I agree with Dominic but that being said you can try the upgrade first and
if things don't turn out you can always to a clean install. I have a
fairly new computer running Vista Ultimate and I did the upgrade instead
of a clean install. The only problem I ran into was that my anti virus
wasn't compatible (Trend Micro Pro 2009). I was happy with it anyway so I
dumped it for something else.

So far everything is going fine.

gls858

Microsoft Security Essential est un bon antivirus pour Windows 7 (SEPT)
absolument gratuit.

 

[The poster formerly known as 'The Poster Formerly]

See http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp

Does this method work if installing win7 on a virtual machine?


--
"Software is like sex, it's better when it's free."
- Linus Torvalds

DRM and unintended consequences:
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/security/?p=435&tag=nl.e101