WinXP to Win7 Upgrade

[FLS]

You need to have an activated copy of WinXP on the HD that you're installing Win7 Upgrade on. If you try to install it on a clean drive the product key won't be accepted. You can't just use your XP product key during the installation. This is only if you're using the Win7 Upgrade version. If you want to use a new HD or just clean out your old drive before the installation you'll have to install WinXP and activate it before you install the Win7 upgrade.

[Spikes]

Didn't think you could upgrade from XP...?

[FLS]

You can't upgrade and keep your files and programs intact, but you can do a clean install and transfer files and settings, then reinstall programs manually. It just won't work on a clean HD, XP must be installed and activated even though it will be saved as Windows.old and won't boot any longer. Once you have Win7 setup and activated you can delete the Windows.old folder.

[cattb]

That was a question in my mind about installing on a clean drive and using the XP key.
 
Thanks
Cattb

[Ghastly]

My own personal opinion is that whoever at MS decided to market yet another "put the user on a limb and hand him a saw" upgrade (i.e - one that requires a functional installation of the old version) should be fired.   Heck, line him or her up against the wall and and I'll fire at 'em myself.

A year or two from now when you have a virus/faulty disk/installed a bad program and you need to run through a Windows repair process, the last thing you need to be fighting with is getting a "a valid, activated copy of Windows XP" running again first, before you can even begin to fix your "real" windows installation.

<S>

[cattb]

use a miorror image software and beat the problem ahead of time, but I agree with you totally.
Should be able to install and use your XP key install windoze 7 ,which could be verified after installation.
Cattb

[Ghastly]

A mirror (or backup) won't always help.  Sometimes, stuff happens - and the problem was latent in the backup/mirror - and you get hosed before you can even get in to do a restore.

Poor Schmuck saves himself a few bucks on the upgrade version over the full. Poor Schmuck installs a piece of software.  Few month's later, Poor Schmuck de-installs said software.  Next time Poor Schmuck starts the system, Poor Schmuck finds that Windows won't boot, or BSOD's.  Poor Schmuck tries to perform a reinstallation so he can get in to do a restore, and finds that the Upgrade version of the software won't even run - it indicates that it doesn't detect an upgradeable installation and terminates (** Maybe, this time, they wised up and the upgrade will install if it detects the same version already exists - but I won't hold my breath).  Poor Schmuck borrows a full version media set from a friend - and finds that the key that came with his Upgrade version isn't accepted by the full version's installation program. Poor Schmuck digs out his old XP cd, attempts to install - and finds that XP will not boot either because MS has released a newer version of IE that put it's executables in Program Files in the same place that XP wanted to put it's, and XP didn't properly clear things out first, and so XP BSOD's too. 

In the end, Poor Schmuck takes the system into a repair center (or calls in someone who does what I used to do) and spends easily 3 to 7 times what he saved on the upgrade version of the OS in the first place.

Been there, seen that before - it sucked then and I'm sure it sucks now.

<S>

[sethipus]

I went through this whole thing, and there is a solution to it.

And it's really hilarious, because this kludge would allow *anyone* to buy an "upgrade" copy of Win7 and install it clean on a new machine, even without owning a previous copy.

In my case, I own a legit copy of WinXP that was installed on a 1tb drive.  I wanted to keep that runnable, and install Windows 7 on the new SSD that I bought (OCZ Vertex 120gb).  I purchased an "upgrade" package of Windows 7, which is just fine because I do own a legit WinXP.  But yeah, Microsoft made this type of install a royal PITA for people.

Here's what you do:

Install Win7 doing the "custom" install so that you install it clean on the new hard drive.  When it asks you for your 25-digit product key, leave it blank, and the installer will continue the installation anyway, and then give you 30 days to activate it or face the consequences.

Once you have finished the install, and you boot up into Windows 7, run the installer again off the dvd.  This time, choose an "upgrade" install.  Let it do the "upgrade" install right over the top of the clean install you just did.  When it asks for your 25-digit product key, this time input the product key that came with your Windows 7 Upgrade package, and it will work.

I know this works because I did it myself.  This isn't just something I read.  I went from Windows XP on my 1tb hard drive to a clean, 64-bit Windows 7 install on my (brand new and unused) OCZ Vertex 120gb SSD, and it's fully activated and running fine.

[guncrasher]

may only work till ms figures it out then does a patch to fix who knows what and determine your upgrade is invalid, or not.  I got the oem version instead of the upgrade. figure same price and only have to install it once. and i can use the xp version the rebuild my old puter and sell it. I need the extra $5 i can get for it 

semp

[llama]

I went through this whole thing, and there is a solution to it.

And it's really hilarious, because this kludge would allow *anyone* to buy an "upgrade" copy of Win7 and install it clean on a new machine, even without owning a previous copy.

In my case, I own a legit copy of WinXP that was installed on a 1tb drive.  I wanted to keep that runnable, and install Windows 7 on the new SSD that I bought (OCZ Vertex 120gb).  I purchased an "upgrade" package of Windows 7, which is just fine because I do own a legit WinXP.  But yeah, Microsoft made this type of install a royal PITA for people.

Here's what you do:

Install Win7 doing the "custom" install so that you install it clean on the new hard drive.  When it asks you for your 25-digit product key, leave it blank, and the installer will continue the installation anyway, and then give you 30 days to activate it or face the consequences.

Once you have finished the install, and you boot up into Windows 7, run the installer again off the dvd.  This time, choose an "upgrade" install.  Let it do the "upgrade" install right over the top of the clean install you just did.  When it asks for your 25-digit product key, this time input the product key that came with your Windows 7 Upgrade package, and it will work.

I know this works because I did it myself.  This isn't just something I read.  I went from Windows XP on my 1tb hard drive to a clean, 64-bit Windows 7 install on my (brand new and unused) OCZ Vertex 120gb SSD, and it's fully activated and running fine.

This also worked for Vista, and Vista and W7 basically use the same installer.

-Llama

[sethipus]

may only work till ms figures it out then does a patch to fix who knows what and determine your upgrade is invalid, or not.  I got the oem version instead of the upgrade. figure same price and only have to install it once. and i can use the xp version the rebuild my old puter and sell it. I need the extra $5 i can get for it 

semp

I ordered the Win7 upgrades (for my computer, my wife's, my daughter's) back in June during a limited-time window where it was only $49 for Home Premium.

I'm not worried about my installation being invalidated.  And if something does happen, I own a perfectly legit copy of Windows XP for this machine that justifies an upgrade package, so I'm covered.

Btw, Win 7 boots off my SSD in around 27 seconds once the mobo stops posting and starts loading Windows.  It would be a lot faster if I had a newer cpu - I'm using a 5-year old Athlon X2 4400 running at stock speed, and 3gb of DDR 333.

[715]

The single copy upgrade cost of Win7 is almost the same as the OEM.  But, if you have 3 computers at home that you might want to upgrade, you can buy the Win7 Home Premium* Family Pack (3 upgrade licenses) for only $150, way cheaper than 3 copies of OEM.  I guess it's a judgment call if the savings are worth the extra trouble of having to reinstall XP to get Win7 to install (or counting on the double install bug mentioned above and elsewhere). 

*I've decided that if I do get Win7 it will be Home Premium as I have never even used any of the extra features that XP Pro has over XP Home, like Remote Desktop or encryption or Domains.

[Delirium]

*I've decided that if I do get Win7 it will be Home Premium as I have never even used any of the extra features that XP Pro has over XP Home, like Remote Desktop or encryption or Domains.

The only big difference I see between Win7 Home and Pro is the fact Pro has XP emulation available to it and Home doesn't. It could make a difference if you use older software from time to time.

[Chalenge]

The real question is will the Ultimate Anytime Upgrade work in this same way? 

[715]

The only big difference I see between Win7 Home and Pro is the fact Pro has XP emulation available to it and Home doesn't. It could make a difference if you use older software from time to time.

Yes, you're right.  XP emulation (virtual machine) doesn't work for games, but I have a lot of old software (like MathCAD etc) that might not work in Win7 and might work in XP emulation mode.  It's kind of a pain that they don't allow upgraders to just keep their old XP as a bootable partition (it does move XP to Windows.old and does a clean install of Win7, but I believe the Windows.old is not operable or bootable).