how many windows 7 dvds do i need

mukki

i work as a computer repair man

with xp you need to have 7 cds to hand
xp home oem
xp pro oem
xp home retail
xp pro retail
xp media center edition oem
xp pro 64 oem
xp pro 64 retail

with vista 2 dvd does them all
vista sp2 32 bit
vista sp2 64bit

what do i need for windows 7, i have windows 7 home basic, will it install ultimate/home basic or whatever depending on what code i enter, or what dvds do i need to get

AlmightyCushion

If you remove the ei.cfg file from the dvd you should be able to install whatever version you need. Not too sure how it works though, whether it gives you a menu or it depends on the product key you entered.

mukki

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

If you remove the ei.cfg file from the dvd you should be able to install whatever version you need. Not too sure how it works though, whether it gives you a menu or it depends on the product key you entered.

brilliant, so i'll just need the 2 disks again

AlmightyCushion

Yep. I'm actually kind of pissed off that microsoft did this though. That was one of the great things about vista. My parents desktop has xp on it and I dread having to re-install it as I keep losing the disk and whatever disk I do manage to find always ends up being the wrong one and doesn't work with the product key. At least they made an easy workaround for 7.

Biggins

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

If you remove the ei.cfg file from the dvd you should be able to install whatever version you need. Not too sure how it works though, whether it gives you a menu or it depends on the product key you entered.

One of the nice things to come out of Microsoft’s complete overhaul of the Windows installer for Vista and beyond was that it did away with the idea that different variations of Windows needed different discs. Previously each distribution of XP (Home/Pro/MCE) required its own disc, and then each license type (OEM/Retail/VLK) also required its own disc. This lead to an astounding number of disc types, and complete and utter frustration when for users attempting to install Windows and not having the correct disc to go with the key they had.

With Vista’s image based installer, we saw Microsoft consolidate all of this – one disc could contain every distribution of Windows, allowing a user to always be able to install Windows with any Windows disc, regardless of what their key was. This greatly simplified the installation process, resolving one of the most frustrating things about installing Windows XP.

So imagine our surprise when we’re taking a look at our TechNet copies of Windows 7 and find that there’s a different installation disc for each distribution of Windows. With the version of the Windows installer that comes with Win7, there is a new file at /Sources/ei.cfg that tells the Windows installer what OS it should install. Here’s what the file looks like from the ultimate disc:

[EditionID]
Ultimate
[Channel]
Retail
[VL]
0

When the Windows installer sees this file, it becomes keyed to whatever distribution the file specifies. In this case with an Ultimate disc, we cannot install Home Premium or Professional. We have not yet had a chance to test OEM and retail keys since we don’t have both, however it certainly looks like the installer is going to make a distinction there too.

Perhaps the most interesting bit of this is that the installation process itself hasn’t changed – the Windows installer still supports One Disc to Rule Them All operation, and the Windows image that comes with Ultimate for example has absolutely no problem installing lesser versions. In fact if you remove ei.cfg so that the Windows installer is not told to install a specific version, it will revert to One Disc mode. The distinction between discs is entirely trivial, dictated by a single 51 byte configuration file. You can have a One Disc installer, Microsoft just don’t want it to be the default action for some reason.

Now to be fair, this didn’t entirely catch us off-guard. We first saw this file and its functionality with the Win7 Beta, but until now we did not know if this was something that was specific to the testing versions of Win7, or if it was going to be pushed out in to retail with this limitation. Now we know our answer.

The biggest downer though is that this file is fairly tricky to remove. For copies of Windows packed in ISO files or burnt to discs, this requires remastering the ISO/disc in order to maintain its bootability – it’s not possible to just copy the contents to a new file/disc sans ei.cfg and have a One Disc. Building a proper bootable ISO/disc is still more of a dark art than a science. Users looking to install Windows from a USB flash drive will have an easier time – since installers set up on those types of drives are rewritable it’s easy to remove the offending file. Though this may not be the case with officially distributed flash drives should Microsoft go ahead and distribute Win7 that way, as rumors suggest they will.

In any case this is a significantly disappointing action coming from Microsoft. The One Disc returned the sanity to installing Windows, and made having so many distributions more bearable. Now as far as pressed media is concerned, we’re back to the dark ages of Windows XP (I guess Microsoft really was trying to copy everything about XP?). Geeks would be well advised to burn a copy of Windows 7 with One Disc capabilities as soon as they have it – if the experience is anything like Vista then the benefits will quickly make themselves apparent.

http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=630

or alternate version: http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/07/23/how-to-select-any-edition-or-version-sku-of-windows-7-to-install-from-single-edition-dvd-disc-media-or-iso/

Overheal

I once came across a very handy torrent call XP all in one or 7 in 1 or something like that. I cant link it. The included folder contained keys and cracks. But the disk itself was fairly swiss Army and kosher. It had a light linux distro which let you pick which version you wanted to run as. so you only needed the one disc to do any xp repair job.

Cant speak for stability though - it did a great job installing XP Home OEM but the cousins had the PC dead in a week all the same. Whether it was dodgy OS or dumbass cousins ill leave you to decide though :rolleyes: google at your own risk. thats all i have to say.

Sandvich

I installed the Home Premium version by accident, and I only have a legal key for the Home Premium N version. IT won't let me "upgrade". What do I do?

Overheal

You will probably need to perform an OS Reinstall or Reformat, starting from the OS you are upgrading from (eg. Reformat -> Install XP -> Install correct Upgrade)

mukki

done, thanks AMC, it still took a bit of googling


you need to use ultraiso (magiciso causes a image.wim error)

make the image from your win7 dvd
open the image and delete the file ei.cfg file in sources folder
save the image
burn to dvd



then install win 7 legally on any win7 pc using the product key on its case

Sandvich

Overheal wrote: »

You will probably need to perform an OS Reinstall or Reformat, starting from the OS you are upgrading from (eg. Reformat -> Install XP -> Install correct Upgrade)

This is crazy though, since they're not all on the same disk, what if someone installed the wrong version and can't back everything up? It would take ages to set everything up, install all the right drivers again, etc.

IT said during the install there was a way to rollback...

kaimera

Sandvich wrote: »

This is crazy though, since they're not all on the same disk, what if someone installed the wrong version and can't back everything up? It would take ages to set everything up, install all the right drivers again, etc.

IT said during the install there was a way to rollback...

surely the serial key would have said invalid when you put it in to unlock home premium?

Sandvich

kaimera wrote: »

surely the serial key would have said invalid when you put it in to unlock home premium?

It did, and it confused me. Then when I had the field blank, I pressed enter, and I was like oh okay and it continued the installation. It was either that or I um... I don't know? It didn't give me an option to revert at that stage either. I presumed once it was finished I could.

So without a reinstall, I'm just doomed to lose functionality? Or will it allow me to downgrae?

Overheal

Sandvich wrote: »

This is crazy though, since they're not all on the same disk, what if someone installed the wrong version and can't back everything up? It would take ages to set everything up, install all the right drivers again, etc.

In this internet age, theres no such thing as that anymore. The only question is backing up music and photos and things of that nature. All programs and drivers roam the internet like a meadow full of bunnies and old software.

IT said during the install there was a way to rollback...

That being the case, investigate that option first then. I would still backup all the same, to be on the safe side. Murphys law.