Windows 7 Clean Install Upgrade Disc Formatting
Oct 27, 2010
I have a laptop which has been giving me a hard time lately, and I need to reinstall windows 7 (for the 4th time in 1.2 years). I have never reformatted it before and all I have is the windows 7 upgrade disk that came with it (I got it back in September when all of those free upgrade deals were going on, it originally had vista.) I read that you can have activation issues after formatting the hard drive while installing using the upgrade disc. I think Microsoft let you do it if your email them to activate it, but I'm not sure and I don't know where you would do this. Since I don't feel like formatting it, installing vista, and then reinstalling 7.
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Jul 9, 2010
Well I was wanting to clean install win 7 to wipe my hard drive as it is full of junk and I plan on moving to a new pc. I was wanting to know two things -
1 - Would these method on this website [URL] work to clean install
2 - If I take my hard drive and put it in a completely new computer would I get any activation issues if I were to clean install win 7 or if I just left the hard drive as it is would it have any problems
My copy of win 7 is Home premium and I downloaded it through the UK student deal although I bought a backup disc from them.
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Jun 29, 2010
I have seen a lot on clean installs but all guides are from like 2009. Is clean install still a way to install windows 7 with upgrade disc on a new hdd? since i have a hdd with vista on it and i have the licence how do i install 7 with the licence and a black hdd?
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Dec 31, 2011
I just performed a clean install on my new SSD and didn't enter the product key at install. However, I'm at the "preparing your computer for the first time use" screen and it won't accept my install key on my Windows 7 x64 Pro upgrade disc. I'm stuck.
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Jun 22, 2011
Clean install of windows 7 w/out disc? (new computer didn't come w/)? I just got a new Acer laptop and I wanted to do a clean install of Windows 7 like it did on my last laptop (I love being bloatware free!). Problem is that this laptop didn't come with a Windows disc, or any disc for that matter as I guess all the recovery info is on a HD partition. So how do I get a clean install of Windows 7?Also, I just remembered, I do have a Windows 7 disc from my old laptop. Would that work? What would I use for activation key if so?
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Feb 3, 2010
Does anyone know whether there is a difference in performance between doing a clean install of Windows 7 vs upgrading Vista? Any better stability? I'm just wondering whether it's worth the trouble of the clean install.
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Sep 20, 2010
I bought a new hard drive and win 7 upgrade disc (I do own a copy of win 98 and win xp upgrade so thats all legal) I put the win 7 upgrade disc in and it started to install it gets right to the bit where you need to put your product key in and then its says INVALID LICENCE KEY I ve tried and tried but thats all it will say (and yes I did un check the activate windows on line)
So I then tried installing my xp upgrade disc after it scans the hard drive it says please put your copy of win 98 in the disc drive to see if you are eligible for the upgrade (not exact words but you get the drift) after it checks it then it says put you xp disc back in the drive. but it wont install it just keeps going round in a loop doing the same things as above and wanting to re formate the drive all the time and asking for the win 98 disc.
I am now thinking of having to install win 98 then xp upgrade then win 7 (I want to use the 64 bit disc too) seems a bit long winded but I don't know what else to do. Its a bit of a pain because win 98 disc won't recognise my cd drive I assume because its SATA, anyway I have an old ATA/IDE cd drive which I ve just rigged up and win 98 is now formating the drive but its gona take ages.
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Feb 16, 2012
I did a reformat of my hard drives, completely clean, recently, and reinstalled my copy of Windows 7 without problems. However, the activation did not go smoothly, my key is a Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit UPGRADE key, and it told me that it couldn't be used.
I have read the other threads on this subject, but couldn't figure out if there was another way or not to deal with this situation, other than buying another copy of windows, or wiping again, installing xp or vista, and then upgrading.If possible, I would prefer to not have to reinstall windows, or move my files around, because I was borrowing the external drive I used to reformat the first time, and I'm currently in college.
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Dec 11, 2009
I have a 64 bit HP DV7 laptop with Vista 64 bit installed
What would be better? an upgrade to windows 7 or a clean install, I heard that a clean install will really run a lot better, what are the differences if any?
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May 28, 2010
I am currently running genuine Windows Vista Ultimate (32-bit), which has been clean-installed. I have now got a Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit I think) clean install DVD. I want to install Windows 7, but instead of a clean install, I prefer to just upgrade. Yes I know a clean install is always better, but I don't really want to spend time re-installing software and reconfiguring the whole PC the way I like it.
When I try to run setup from within Vista I get "This installation disc isn't compatible with your version of Windows". I have done a Ghost image of my current Vista partition, so if anything goes wrong during upgrade, I am prepared to just do a full restore, like nothing ever happened.
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Oct 8, 2011
I have a windows 7pro upgrade key that ive never used. Is it possible to use it on a clean install, on a brand new hdd?Also would it be possible for me to to use a key from win7 home ed from a pc that broke down?...
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May 1, 2012
I want to start building my computer ASAP but I would have to wait a little longer seeing how I would have to purchase Windows 7 for 100 bucks. However my school offers windows 7 professional for free to students as a upgrade download. Also I could pay 24 dollars to get a CD copy of it. Would I be able to save possibly 60 bucks by using this upgrade CD/download as the "clean install"? Or is it only good for upgrading from a previous windows -> 7?
For instance, I would buy Windows 7 Professional 64 bit from the site (it's labeled as an "upgrade" though) and pop it into my newly built desktop and just install windows using that? Is that possible? Also if I was to use the free download are there any ways for me to burn it onto a cd and use that?
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Nov 4, 2012
I am replacing my current hard drive with a SSD. I am also changing the motherboard, CPU, and RAM. So, I guess you can call it a new system. What I need to do is install a Window 7 upgrade media on the new SSD. I will be using my Windows 7 upgrade media from a Family 3 pack Windows 7 upgrade media. I used this Family 3 packs to upgrade this computer on the current hard drive and two other computers. So, I have used it three times. According to everything I have seen I will need to do a double install to ensure that Windows 7 will activate. What I need to know do I need to activate Windows XP before installing Windows 7?
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Dec 13, 2012
Want to upgrade Vista Home to Windows 7 Premium. The workstation definitely has the horse power for Windows 7.But visiting computer shops, the upgrade options are cleared out or not available and they suggest a new install of Windows 7 Professional, they also say its cheaper than an upgrade $140 vs $250. Windows 8 is not an option at this time.I have very little data or software on the current machine with Vista,but do have Outlook 2010.Will a new install of Windows 7 clean out the hard drive and I'll need to re-install Outlook?
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Apr 13, 2010
I would like to do a clean install of windows 7 on my laptop which currently has vista preinstalled. Am i able to wipe the HD of all traces of vista and do a clean install of windows 7 with an upgrade file? I am trying to find out if i am eligible for the student upgrade of windows 7 professional which im assuming would have to be downloaded first then installed over vista but i would rather delete vista altogether.
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Nov 14, 2011
I'm currently going through my first motherboard upgrade and I have a few questions. First, will a new motherboard/CPU upgrade do anything to my harddrive? Second, is a clean Windows 7 install via USB install method recommended?
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Dec 19, 2012
In a moment of weakness, I ordered the retail Windows 8 Pro Upgrade Media from an online vendor and I received it yesterday with both 32bit,64bit media and Key.I made a Custom install with the 64bit media on a 80GB partition created and formatted with Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit Windows 7 Disk Management - a clean install with DELL OEM Reinstall Disk - on my Dell lappy. Since it was an upgrade media, I followed Brink's tutorial refreshing it after the first install. Everything went on well and Windows 8 Pro activated without any hitch.After reading that many users who had bought the media from the vendor were able to do a clean install even on a new HDD, I decided to try it.So I reformattedd the partition and installed the Windoes 8 Pro and what a surprise! It activated automatically without any hitch and what more now I have a dual boot system with OEM Windows 7 & and Windows 8 Pro.I also observed, when I followed Brink's tutorial and installed Win 8, the windows.old folder contained 1.32GB files and with the later clean install though there was a Windows.old folder it was empty.The media purchased from the online vendor is distributed by a Microsoft authorised distributor and replicated in Singapore.
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Oct 21, 2009
I am sure this has been asked before, but I need to know if I get the upgrade disk and for whatever reason I have to do a clean install again, will the upgrade disk do that or will I have to load Windows XP back on then use the upgrade disk from there?
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Dec 24, 2009
Guys my first post and I have looked at the tutorials just wanting to clear up a few things. I have Windows Vista Home 32 Bit and upgraded to Windows 7 Pro 64 bit. I installed a new HDD at the time as I wanted Windows 7 on that instead of on the Vista drive. That has left me with the little issue of the product key not being valid, as I didn't install on the top of the older system.
Now I will need to activate it at some point and have just come across the forum and your excellent tutorials, now you have linked to Paul Thurrott's guide and he mentions a double install method which is supported by Microsoft. I would prefer this route as it looks easy, and less likely that I will do it wrong. My main questions are when I installed Windows 7 I stupidly clicked the Activate Online thing. Will double install or any of the other methods still work? Will the double install lose all my upgrades I have had to make to get all my devices working?
not to bothered but would prefer this not to happen as it took me 3 days to do my drivers and various other installs to get back to being able to run fully. Anyway so far I am very impressed by Windows 7 and well Vista will never be used again and once I have this little issue sorted I may well be getting rid of vista of my other HDD.
Just one final question how much RAM can I install now that I am running Windows 7 64 bit, I currently have 2gb (1gb per channel for processor). I know what type to get but what is the Maximum it will take for the OS. Anyway I know it is Christmas and not to fussed if I get a reply tonight or tomorrow, I hope some one can help me. Finally I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.
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Jul 1, 2010
i had windows vista on my pc and i did a Clean Installation of windows 7.but now i have some problems,and i want to install windows 7 again.do i have to go back to windows vista? i have a windows 7 upgrade dvd.
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Oct 25, 2009
How to Do a Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version ?
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Apr 14, 2010
I was wondering after read the stickie if anyone here has had success using a windows 7 professional upgrade and a fresh hard drive?I don't want to mess around with the registry if i can help it but dont want to have to install xp just to install windows 7 at the same time i dont want to throw money away on the upgrade even though its cheap if i cant use it without faffing trying to find my xp stuff, also i want 64bit and for what i have found i cant put that onto my xp
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May 23, 2012
I have a Sony Vaio VGN-NW270F 15" laptop with Windows 7 (64 bit) Home Premium. 320 gb. Oh i'm also out of warranty.Computer always freezes at the point where it says "starting windows" and stays frozen. I even left it for alone for 24 hrs and it stayed on that screen.
Things I've tried:
1. I used safe mode to repair windows = just restarted in normal mode and froze at "windows is starting"
2. Used safe mode to restore to earlier point = could not to restore message
3. Created repair disc from another Vaio win 64 = froze at "windows is starting"
4. Used registry clean and malware bytes in safe mode = malware bytes found nothing & reg clean did nothing
5. Fresh install of windows 7 = windows bar loaded then froze at "windows is starting"
6. Reformatted hard drive & performed fresh install = windows bar loaded 7 froze at same point
7. Bought new Western digital 320 gb SATA Hard drive & tried install of win 7= same results
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Dec 28, 2010
is there anyway i can do this? also i dont know how to do it from the bios i also want to make sure there are no traces of vista and all data is gone.
additional informartion:
toshiba satellite a500
4gb ram
500gb hd
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May 16, 2011
I have a couple questions I have been trying to hunt the answers down for. Im super paranoid considering the not so easy to find rules and regulations Microsoft has for its software.I currently have an OEM version of Windows 7 Home on my laptop. I was wondering if:
1. I can upgrade from a Windows 7 Home (which was pre-installed on my laptop) to Windows 7 Professional using Windows Upgrade Anytime? If so,
2. Will problems that I have on my current windows transfer to the upgraded version? If not,Is it possible to do a 'clean install' of the upgrade?
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Jun 5, 2012
As I will build a new computer, I need windows 7. (I only have Vista on my old)Is it, as described in this video, good enough to buy upgrade version for this?
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Mar 3, 2009
Anyway, I am running build 7022 x86 and was planning on upgrading my maching and going with x64. First, is this possible as a simple upgrade? If so, are there any concerns or issues I should know about when attempting this? A clean install is not out of the question but obviously when testing these new builds, its nice to be able to just upgrade.
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Sep 5, 2010
We already tried the link for the steps to do a clean install. Clean Install Windows 7 We still get 0xC004f061 The software licensing service determined that this specified product key can only be used for upgrading, not for clean installations.
We have a full older version & hoped sticking it in the hard drive would allow Windows 7 to find it. We really don't want to have to install the old one then the new one.
Problem with the detailed instructions was we got to the Activate window and we never got the Automatically activate Windows when I'm online checkbox. Just typed in key hit (Next) and it went through it's activation check & didn't like us.
Problem is we have been at it all day and this is like the 10th time we installed it. Computer had a virus. Took it a while to confirm the Bootable section of the hard drive was fried.. So we really don't want to take it down again, in order to install an old OS so the upgrade can "see" it.
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May 19, 2011
I have an acer laptop which came with vista, i then upgraded it to 7 with the upgrade that acer sent me. I made an image of it which i had to use after getting a virus. I now want to install a clean installation of 7. After reading some of the other tutorials which said you can use the upgrade dvd to do this, i tried it but with no joy. I changed the BIOS to boot from DVD drive but the upgrade DVD does nothing.
I have the acer recovery discs but they were made when the machine had vista on it. i've used them but after i use them the "bootmgr is missing" and i have use my image again to get the computer up and running again.
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Aug 11, 2009
Ok, now that Windows 7 is out "officially" who do you guys think?
I installed fine using Upgrade from Vista SP2 Ultimate. Everything worked fine without any new driver install. All my programs worked right away.
I like the system, I like the speed. So I keep asking myself will it be better if I install again in a "clean install" way?
What's your opinion, what's better? And what you did?
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Aug 24, 2009
Can you fresh install with an Upgrade version of Windows 7? I want to save some money by buying the Upgrade. However, if I have to install my old OS first then upgrade, that isn't really a clean install. I'm wondering if you simply have to prove you have an older Windows version so that you can upgrade, or if it literally has to be on the PC for it to work.
Second, does anyone know if the Upgrade trick works with Win 7? As in, you install the Upgrade without entering a key, then "upgrade" your upgrade?
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