Windows 7 upgrade on a dell pc.

yoshytoshy

Hi , I'm looking to install windows 7 on a dell pc. But I'm not sure if the upgrade version I'm looking at will work.

I read somewhere on boards ,that upgrade version don't work with oem versions of windows

The windows 7 upgrade version is on the bargain alerts forum at the moment and the lads seem to say it can be installed on a clean machine.

Any help would be appreciated ,I can't really afford to buy it and have it lying around.

Fysh

yoshytoshy wrote: »

Hi , I'm looking to install windows 7 on a dell pc. But I'm not sure if the upgrade version I'm looking at will work.

I read somewhere on boards ,that upgrade version don't work with oem versions of windows

The windows 7 upgrade version is on the bargain alerts forum at the moment and the lads seem to say it can be installed on a clean machine.

Any help would be appreciated ,I can't really afford to buy it and have it lying around.

It should work, but the important thing to bear in mind is that as an upgrade version it becomes linked to your existing licence - ie it will upgrade your existing OEM licence to include Windows 7, meaning that if your current Dell system dies you cannot legally transfer that licence to another machine.

yoshytoshy

Thanks fysh ,the machine it's for is fairly new.

Fysh

yoshytoshy wrote: »

Thanks fysh ,the machine it's for is fairly new.

You should be ok in that case - I'd suggest running the Microsoft Upgrade Advisor and checking the Dell downloads & drivers page for your hardware to make sure any necessary drivers are available.

cpu-dude

yoshytoshy wrote: »

Thanks fysh ,the machine it's for is fairly new.

It's important to make sure you have an upgradable version of Windows, you need to run the MS Upgrade Advisor.

http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx

Fysh

cpu-dude wrote: »

It's important to make sure you have an upgradable version of Windows, you need to run the MS Upgrade Advisor.

http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx

I think (though I could be wrong) that it was admitted that most (though not necessarily all) versions of Win7 Upgrade Media would actually allow a clean install if the original OS is not upgradeable, though of course EULA requirements concerning having a valid licence to start with will still apply in this case.

This page in the Win7 upgrade section suggests as much by instructing users to perform a Custom Install.

DarrenMSP

Fysh wrote: »

I think (though I could be wrong) that it was admitted that most (though not necessarily all) versions of Win7 Upgrade Media would actually allow a clean install if the original OS is not upgradeable, though of course EULA requirements concerning having a valid licence to start with will still apply in this case.

Your correct but MS had said something about it violates the EULA if you use an upgrade copy to do a Clean Install.

Then they came out with a method to do it, So I think its fine to do now.

Microsoft is now communicating (in an official Dutch Press Release) their method of doing a clean install using upgrade media of Windows 7. It is the same method that worked with Vista and involves installing it twice:

* Do a clean install of Windows 7 using an upgrade installation media (DVD/USB)
* When installation is done, do not activate it, as it will not accept your product key.
* Within 30 days (or before activating is required) do an upgrade installation again of using Windows 7 upgrade media (DVD/USB).
* Now you will be able to activate Windows 7 using your product key

yoshytoshy

Thanks for the info ,
the advisor said I should buy either home premium or ultimate version.
The copy in bargain alerts is pro, but it's suppose to have all versions on disk and it chooses which old version you have.

yoshytoshy

Hi ,sorry for coming back here so soon ...

I just installed windows 7 ,no problems at all and I'm happy enough with the first impressions of it.
I didn't get to format the drive ,I just choose to install clean. Problem is I'm left with a 43.5GB windows.old folder.

Is it ok to delete this folder ,or do I need it as part of the boot for windows 7?

Thanks.

DarrenMSP

If you are sure that you don't need anything from in there (its all the programs and stuff from your old Windows (guessing Vista) install), you can go ahead and delete it safely,

In the highly unlikely event you think you might have to revert back to vista, then you should keep it.

But In my opinion, once you have everything you need from in there, delete it!

yoshytoshy

DarrenMSP wrote: »

If you are sure that you don't need anything from in there (its all the programs and stuff from your old Windows (guessing Vista) install), you can go ahead and delete it safely,

In the highly unlikely event you need think you might have to revert back to vista, then you should keep it.

But In my opinion, once you have everything you need from in there, delete it!

I was wondering why it was so big ,I take it the old progra~1 folder is in there with it so.

Cheers.

digme

Hardware Abstraction Layer