Are The Upgrade Rules To Windows 7 Confusing? I Believe They Are
- Windows 7 – Microsoft Clarifies What An Upgrade Is, Contrary To What Any Hack Says
- Mozilla Thunderbird Email Client – Reviewed
- Windows 7 – Why Microsoft Won’t Have Problems Selling It
- Did Microsoft Purposely Price Windows 7 To Prevent Consumers From Upgrading?
- Microsoft’s Windows 7 – Is It Enough? Or Will You Wait To Buy A New PC To Get It?
Since the release of Windows 7 it is now becoming apparent that the upgrade path from previous Windows versions are full of pitfalls. One would of hoped that Microsoft would of had a better plan in place to assist users in their quest to upgrade. It is now becoming clear this will not be the case. Once again we must rely on those who are outside the sphere of Microsoft to find out exactly how to upgrade without the end user committing suicide. LOL
Over at ZDNet, Ed Bott has an excellent article that covers some of the pitfalls one may encounter trying to upgrade, including doing a clean install from an upgrade DVD. Ed spells out how some of these scenarios will play out for some users, including those who are trying to upgrade from XP to Windows 7.
Here is one instance that Ed states will fail if a user tries a clean install using an upgrade media:
So what’s the difference between the full and upgrade versions?
It’s all about the product key. When you enter the product key, the setup program checks to see whether you installed the product on a clean system that didn’t previously have any version of Windows installed. If the answer is yes, it blocks you from entering that key.
Ed also passes on some additional information that may assist some users in making the upgrade less problematic. Check out his article at the link below.
Over at Paul Thurrott’s Supersite he has a good article as well on how to do a clean install from an upgrade media. I would also check out his article if you are going to try and go this route.
Comments welcome.
2 Comments
the oracle
October 29th, 2009
at 4:08am
Just when you think that MS has gotten it right, they appear to pull defeat from the jaws of victory.
I know a great many students are upset over the fact that 32bit Vista can’t be upgraded to 64bit Windows 7.
Then there are those like me, having attended a Launch and Developer Event, and coming home with a copy of Ultimate, then finding that, unlike the retail versions, the package only contains the 32bit version, not 64bit, and with no way to download or order alternate media.
As a student, I am also getting a $30 version of Windows 7 Pro, but that is all screwed up because Digital River screwed the pooch. Then, when they post links to actual ISO files, the 64bit Pro link yields a broken download, time after time.
This is not the way you start off, because no matter how few it actually affects, it gets magnified by the media and word of mouth.
BTW, there is a way to (ostensibly) change the version of the ISO you have through a utility spoken of in several places. It might work for those who have a serial number, but can’t get the proper ISO, yet have access to another.
It’s called Windows 7 ISO Switcher –
http://code.kliu.org/misc/win7utils/
I have not tried it yet, but it’s worth a try if you are having problems and can’t get hold of MS – I waited online for over 55 minutes today, trying to get a 64 bit Ultimate disk – I hung up because I had other things to do.
Ron Schenone
October 29th, 2009
at 4:48am
Hi Marc,
Unbelievable! Thanks for the link.
Check your email. I sent you a message.