Vista 32bit to Win7 64bit - upgrade edition?


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Hi everyone,

new here, read a few topics. I thought here'd be a good place to ask about my potential predicament, but I apologise if it's been covered.

My current system is Vista 32bit, and i'm planning to change to Windows 7 64bit. I'm aware that in order to do this, I need to do a clean install.

however, I just realised that I ordered the "upgrade edition" of windows 7, as I have Vista currently. I'm not sure how a clean install would work just yet but i'm concerned that the upgrade edition won't work - does it still recognise I have Vista when i perform a clean installation? or will i need to buy a full version?

I hope i've communicated this well, let me know if i should explain further.

thank you in advance!

-chris

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Last time I did an upgrade was xp. The cd was bootable and just asked me to insert a win98 or 2000 cd before carrying on for a clean install lol

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CrossCheck, thank you. After reading that, I wonder if you'll be able to clarify whether those methods will still allow me to choose the 64bit version of windows 7? That's definitely helped put my mind at ease though, thanks.

edit: sorry if it's a silly question. I'd just like to be sure :)

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If you install to a new directory vs formatting, it should see your old windows. if that doesn't work, install, don't do the cd key when prompted then after installing run the upgrade and when you upgrade, use your upgrade cd key. a little bit longer, but if you want to start fresh its not that bad.

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Yeah, I read about that. Final thought - I see a lot of "back up your files", but with a full-up 140-something-GB HDD, surely I can't back everything up, can i? or can i back everything up to my (D:) drive?

there's so much I don't know, I hope i'll retain this knowledge for next time :p

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well when you install a versión over another version, the same installation will move everything to folder called windows.old. it moves from Windows to users program data, program files and such. you need a minimiun required space and thats all you have to care about. you wont lose anything.

so you wouldn't have to worry about backing up if you cant. (i have never backed up anything haha. and i havent had any problem)

after you install it only about moving files and delete old files and folders from the vista Windows like winsxs which is not useful at all in wastes alot of space.

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I see a lot of "back up your files", but with a full-up 140-something-GB HDD, surely I can't back everything up, can i? or can i back everything up to my (D:) drive?

Doing a clean install of Windows only erases the partition you choose to install the OS to--all others will be left alone.

One easy way of moving all your files and settings to a clean install is with Windows Easy Transfer. It handles application settings and emails and various other things that are fiddly to track down manually. Note that files stored in non-standard locations won't be detected so you will need to add those to the list or move them yourself; this also applies to anything it isn't designed to handle, e.g. your steamapps folder if you're a Steam user.

If you opt for an upgrade install Windows will install alongside the files on your system drive without deleting them, but of course you should still do a backup first anyway.

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Sorry, I seem to have mis-read the article. It says back up crucial data and settings - which i can do with "Windows Easy Tranfer" which i'm told will be on the Windows 7 CD. The more I re-read it the more it makes sense to me. My package won't arrive for a few days yet but I suppose I'll just have to see how it goes. Thanks for the help everyone, much appreciated. :)

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You should back up your files onto an External HDD, and the easiest way to do this is Windows Easy Transfer.

There is no reason not to have an External HDD, they are relatively cheap and you should already be using it for regular backups.

As far as the actual install process goes, make sure you don't manually format before hand, or else you will need to use the "double upgrade" trick.

If you bootthe installation from the Windows 7 upgrade DVD, first it will look for previous versions of Windows that are eligible for upgrade that are installed on the hard drive (Vista), then it will give options to Clean install or Upgrade (I don't think that Vista 32-bit to Win 7 64-bit will allow the upgrade option).

Please note that you are still LICENSED to upgrade from Vista to Win 7, you just don't have the Upgrade option during setup. The upgrade license still allows you to use the Clean install option since it has already detected that you are eligible for the upgrade before you do the clean install option, and formatting the drive through the setup program will not change this because setup still remembers that you are eligible from when it checked.

In short - you are licensed to upgrade, but you can still use Clean install if you have an eligible version of Windows already installed.

After you install, use Windows Easy Transfer to put your files and settings back, then repurpose your External HDD to set up Windows 7's backup.

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Okay, so I need an External HDD. I'll go look into those now, thanks. And once i'm done, Windows 7's backup can be set up to regularly back up? sounds like a necessity actually, I'm puzzled as to why I wasn't aware of this! I'll have to get back to you guys on how smoothly it went. Again, sorry if I bought up tired topics that've been covered, I was just too tired for the "search" function. Thanks a bunch guys :)

-chris

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Okay, so my OS arrived, but I have no external HDD and money's a bit of an issue at the moment. I have a second internal HDD, as i bought a 1TB drive recently, can I move all my files and applications onto that (D:)? does that work, can you move applications like that? if not, i can make a list and reinstall everything afterwards, but at the least can i move my files over?

unless! maybe i've misunderstood. is it only this "crucial data and settings" that i need to back up, and can I back them up to my second HDD? will my programs and files be left untouched? (if this has something to do with partitions, i'll tell you now I don't know much about those unfortunately, but i'd love to learn!)

thanks again if anyone can help out

-chris

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You can use the extra internal drive instead. Just be very careful to choose the correct drive when installing the new OS so you don't accidentally wipe out your backup. :)

Most applications will need to be reinstalled, but some (like the Steam game client folder) can be backed up and replaced on the new OS without re-downloading everything.

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alright, reinstalling some stuff i can handle. it'll be good too i guess, sort of a clean-up as i won't reinstall crappy things i never used :)

thing is i have a MASSIVE documents folder, do i need to back that up?

as in, will everything on (C:) be erased when i install? :s

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I'd back it up too. Just start it copying before you eat lunch. :)

If you do a "clean" install it will wipe the drive. I believe if you just select the partition you've already got Vista on then it will just rename any folders that conflict with the new install.

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Ah, lunch has already been consumed, 2pm and i'm off for a job interview in a bit. I'll back as much as i can and/or need to i guess. For future ease of use would it make sense to work mainly onto (D:) so i can keep (C:) simple for just such an occasion?

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