It’s Official - Vista Trick Still Works!

The folks at Microsoft might be greedy, but apparently they are not stupid. The trick that allowed many to install an upgrade version of Vista has been confirmed to work with Windows 7.  This will assure those sitting on the fence due to price considerations a way out of the quagmire.

It was first confirmed on Paul Thurrott’s site, and later reported on ComputerWorld.

Users can do a “clean” installation of Windows 7 using an upgrade license to save $80-$100 over the price of a “full” edition, a popular blog reported today.

According to Paul Thurrott, who writes the Supersite for Windows blog, Microsoft’s upgrade media and product keys can be used to do a full installation of Windows 7 on PCs that do not have an earlier version of the OS.

Microsoft’s Windows 7 upgrades are designed to do “in-place” or “custom” installs on PCs running Windows XP, Windows Vista or one of the preview editions of Windows 7. But Thurrott said that a few simple steps lets users install upgrade editions, which are considerably cheaper than the full versions designed for fresh installations.

Windows 7 Home Premium, for example, costs $119.99 as an upgrade, but $199.99 for the full edition, a difference of $80. The full versions of Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate, however, cost $100 more than the corresponding upgrades.

Nearly three years ago, Thurrott showed users a similar trick with the then just-released Vista; that technique, however, required users to install Vista twice.

Today, Thurrott spelled out how to conduct a clean install using a Windows 7 upgrade license. The process requires users to install but not activate Windows 7 with the accompanying product key. After the installation is completed, users must make a minor change to the Windows registry, use the Windows “rearm” command, then reboot.

“When Windows 7 reboots, run the Activate Windows utility, type in your product key and activate Windows,” Thurrott said. “Voila!”

The rearm command can also be used to run a copy of Windows 7 for up to 120 days without activation, a trick that Microsoft confirmed two months ago.

I hope the rearm command works on the Windows Enterprise version I am trying out, as it will allow a time to either get used to the crappy excuse for a menu, or find a replacement for it, bringing back the tried-and-true drill down hierarchical one. Being able to rearm the install will further my transformation to the dark side (loss of caring about  proper drive organization).

I have the Windows Ultimate version from the house party ready to go on Quadzilla, but I am hoping to get another version on a machine for my daughter (she likes the pretty colors, and is not left-brained). I am also a student at the community college, so I was going to buy the previously-approved version of Windows 7 through Digital River (student discount), but I’m going to hold off now, after the news of earlier today.

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the Franken-puter Windows 7 modification …it’s all about being retro all the way.

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