CGar Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 (edited) So from what I've read, you can use the Windows 7 upgrade CD to do and in-place upgrade or a clean install, that part I understand. What I'm unclear about is what it takes to pass the "upgrade" criteria. On my main hard drive, I have Windows 7 RC installed On my old hard drive, I had Windows Vista Ultimate OEM installed (I think I still have the key somewhere) I still have a retail Windows XP Home CD and key So obviously the first of the options does not qualify for an upgrade, but do either of the other two options count? Or does the OS have to already be installed on the hard-drive I want to run Windows 7? Or does it only ask for a previous key? Edited June 27, 2009 by CGar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grewnd33 Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 From my understanding, and this may be incorrect, is that you can do a clean install and do not need the other keys or anything on the hard drive. The good thing is that if you order your "upgrade" dvd and its not what you want, you have all the way until October to cancel it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majortom1981 Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 I would think you might need an actual key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
null_ Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 I would think you might need an actual key. Yes, you will need the upgrade product key provided with your copy of Windows 7. It remains unseen whether or not what pre-requisites will be required to use said key (such as inputting a product key for a qualifying previous version of Windows, or if a previous version of Windows will need to be installed prior to utilizing the upgrade media). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majortom1981 Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Yes, you will need the upgrade product key provided with your copy of Windows 7. It remains unseen whether or not what pre-requisites will be required to use said key (such as inputting a product key for a qualifying previous version of Windows, or if a previous version of Windows will need to be installed prior to utilizing the upgrade media). No i am saying you will probably need a previous version of windows key to install the upgrade. Windows 2000,and windows xp users can use the upgrade version but have to do a clean install .So i would think they would ask for your previous versions cd-key. That will determine a valid copy \ to upgrade from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
null_ Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 No i am saying you will probably need a previous version of windows key to install the upgrade. Windows 2000,and windows xp users can use the upgrade version but have to do a clean install .So i would think they would ask for your previous versions cd-key. That will determine a valid copy \ to upgrade from. I would imagine this is how it would work (and I believe this is how it should work). Hopefully Microsoft will release more information on the upgrade media within the near future on what will be required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satchmo Bevins Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 What I would like to know is: Do I need an ACTUAL Vista CD to pop in the drive for version check or will typing in the product code suffice? I have a (provable) valid Vista Home Product code. Thanks for any information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grewnd33 Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 I think you can also use the key you received for your Windows 7 RC that you received when you installed the official Windows 7 RC and received a key from MS. I received this via email: You've been using Windows? 7 for a while now, and we hope you've been enjoying a simpler PC experience. Because you've been a loyal Windows customer, we're offering you the Windows 7 upgrade at a great introductory price* - only $49.99 for Home Premium or $99.99 for Professional. It's our way of saying thanks for trying it out. To take advantage of this deal, pre-order your copy while supplies last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbuck Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 I think you can also use the key you received for your Windows 7 RC that you received when you installed the official Windows 7 RC and received a key from MS. I received this via email:You've been using Windows? 7 for a while now, and we hope you've been enjoying a simpler PC experience. Because you've been a loyal Windows customer, we're offering you the Windows 7 upgrade at a great introductory price* - only $49.99 for Home Premium or $99.99 for Professional. It's our way of saying thanks for trying it out. To take advantage of this deal, pre-order your copy while supplies last. I realize that thatseems> to imply that it will work with the RC, but I frankly doubt it. Upgrades work with permanent installs. I know that in previous years that you could start the upgrade to do a clean install, and at some point it would as for a copy of the previous operating system to confirm (I recall installing a Win 95 upgrade that demanded I load a couple of dozen Win 3.1 floppies before it was satisfied that I was entitled to the upgrade). I don't think that's the current mechanism, but it may involve the original product key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grewnd33 Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Yes, but I also do remember that with either Vista or Xp there was a loophole in the "upgrade" process. You could install the full copy of one of those OSes using an upgrade disc and the key without having a previous copy of Windows. Something like this I mean: http://windowssecrets.com/2008/04/03/01-It...ed-in-Vista-SP1 It's official: upgrade hack included in Vista SP1 Scott Dunn By Scott Dunn The new Service Pack 1 version of Windows Vista allows end users to purchase the "upgrade edition" and install it on any PC ? with no need to purchase the more expensive "full edition." The same behavior was present when Vista was originally released, but the fact that the trick wasn't removed from SP1 suggests that Microsoft executives approved the back door as a way to make the price of Vista more appealing to sophisticated buyers. Previous Windows version not needed for upgrade Just after Vista was first released to consumers on Jan. 30, 2007, an article in the Windows Secrets Newsletter explained that the upgrade edition of the operating system could be installed on a "clean" hard drive. For whatever reason, Vista had been programmed to accept itself as a "qualifying product." This eliminated any need for users to purchase the full edition of Vista or to upgrade Vista only over an older instance of Windows. The Feb. 1, 2007, article by Windows Secrets editorial director Brian Livingston explained that the procedure is supported by several built-in dialog boxes. This indicates that the trick had been deliberately included by Vista's developers. To boost the sales of retail packages, Microsoft announced just over one month ago significant price cuts in Vista, beginning with Service Pack 1. The savings over the old prices vary among different Vista versions, such as Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate. In the U.S., the list price of the upgrade edition is at least $100 cheaper than the full edition. Smaller savings exist in other markets, such as Canada and the European Union, as shown in the table below. The price reductions on the Service Pack 1 version of Vista are even more significant because the upgrade trick still works in SP1, rendering unnecessary the purchase of Vista's full edition. Shortly after the hidden upgrade method was published, Microsoft officials publicly stated that the procedure would violate Vista's end-user license agreement. Section 13 of the Vista EULA (PDF version) says, "To use upgrade software, you must first be licensed for the software that is eligible for the upgrade." "We believe only a very small percentage of people will take the time to implement this workaround, and we encourage all customers to follow our official guidelines for upgrading to Windows Vista, which can be found at WindowsVista.com, instead," said a Microsoft press representative quoted in a News.com article on Feb. 14, 2007. "Following these guidelines will allow customers to easily and validly upgrade to Windows Vista," he continued. Since that time, of course, Microsoft has had over one year to remove the upgrade back door before releasing the SP1 version of Vista. Livingston believes that the company must have consciously decided not to do so. "The fact that the upgrade edition will still upgrade over itself in Vista SP1 proves that Microsoft executives knowingly support the upgrade trick," he says. "I think the feature was deliberately included to make it unnecessary for more advanced and price-sensitive users to ever buy the full version. There is no ethical dilemma with people using a feature that Microsoft has specifically programmed into Vista." Ironically, the original release of Vista's upgrade edition was disappointing to many consumers. They'd been told by Microsoft that the Vista upgrade process would no longer accept the insertion of a disc containing an older version of Windows as proof that Vista was upgrading over a qualifying product. Instead, users heard from Microsoft that the Vista upgrade procedure must be launched while a copy of Windows 2000 or XP was actually running. The upgrade trick that Vista developers included, however, renders that requirement moot. A Vista upgrade disc will install and activate properly even on a blank hard drive that has never previously been used. Installing software from an original distribution disc to an empty hard drive, which is called a "clean install," is a best practice recommended by security organizations, such as NIST and US-CERT. Vista, unlike XP and previous Windows versions, doesn't make a clean install easy. The original Windows Secrets article contains step-by-step instructions on upgrading Vista in this way. In a nutshell, the procedure involves booting a PC from the Vista upgrade DVD. Next, a clean install is performed without the user entering the disc's product key or downloading any patches. Once this unactivated, trial version of Vista is running, the setup program is launched again ? this time from within Vista. At this point, the "upgrade" option is selected, the product key is entered, and Vista can be activated exactly like the full edition of the product. Upgrading Vista on a clean machine works in SP1 Once Microsoft released the SP1 version of Vista, I tested the upgrade trick again to see whether the company had removed the feature. I used an upgrade disc of Vista Ultimate SP1 that I'd ordered at retail from Amazon.com. I repeated the original steps and found they work just as well on the SP1 version of Vista as they did on the old version. For PC users who are thinking about installing Windows Vista, the upgrade technique has even more value than it did last year. There are two reasons: 1. Quality. Vista SP1 is arguably a better product than the old, gold version of the operating system. SP1 includes 551 bug fixes, according to a white paper available from a Microsoft.com download page. The company claims in a press release that SP1 addresses security, reliability, and performance concerns with the older version of Vista. 2. Price. Whether or not you believe Vista was overpriced before, it's clearly a less-expensive product now than it was a year ago. As reported by Computerworld, the price cuts range from zero to 47%, depending on the country and the version of Vista. Table 1, below, shows that the upgrade edition of Vista is always cheaper than the full edition of the same version (Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate.) The figures are based on documents provided to Windows Secrets by Microsoft's public relations firm, Waggener Edstrom. The following table shows Microsoft's new suggested list prices and the percentage reduction from Vista's original prices. Street prices for Vista SP1 currently average about 10% less than suggested retail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGar Posted June 27, 2009 Author Share Posted June 27, 2009 Ah k, well since noone is sure, the upgrade is only $40 with that coupon, so it's worth trying anyways. I also made a typo in my first post (i'm retarded >_<), I put Windows 7 Ultimate instead of Windows Vista Ultimate on the 2nd hard drive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 I just hope I can do a clean install (from Vista). I plan on getting an SSD later this year for Windows 7 and I don't want to upgrade through Vista but rather a clean install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grewnd33 Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Taken from www.keznews.com: "What are customers getting? Well, they're getting the upgrade editions of Windows 7 Professional and Home Premium. I have seen questions related to whether a clean install of Windows 7 was possible using the upgrade media. The answer is apparently yes. But the fact of the matter is that with the upgrade, Windows 7 media consumers also get an upgrade license. Meaning that they might install Windows 7 as they see feet, either upgrade or clean install, but only as long as they already have a genuine, licensed copy of Windows Vista or Windows XP. Otherwise, they would be breaking the EULA, essentially pirating." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grewnd33 Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 By the way, if a mod finds anything I just posted as being inappropriate, please remove it at your discretion. I am only trying to shed light on this question, not offer piracy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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