Windows 7 forum: Help me start over with a Windows 7 upgrade

You should be able to do a clean install of "7" and not worry about the microsoft police. Put the upgrade disk in the computer, and you will be asked how you want to proceed...overwrite, clean install etc. Obviously, back up your files and settings first, as you will lose those. Choose the clean install, and follow the guided steps from there. The fact that a qualified version of windows is present will allow you to proceed without challenge, so long as you have not made major changes (4) to the hardware "tagging" your computer...hard drives, memory, processor etc.
Too bad you have had so many problems with Win 7. I have done clean installs on 2 home computers, and it has been a breath of fresh air. Good luck!

I have just completed 14 laptops and 2 desktop conversions all the laptops I had to do a custom install which cleans the drive and fresh installs the win 7 operating system.
As for the desktop computers one was XP and the Other Vista and both worked well with an upgrade but it was well worth running windows7 upgrade adviser before installing win 7 it helped me sort out what was wanted and what i could upgrade. In one case with vista upgrade to win 7 it stopped the win 7 upgrade till I had upgraded the video card driver. Have Fun.

I have done many upgrades with various versions of Windows over the years and at first I often had the same results until someone turned me on to a better way to do it. If you are using the "Upgrade' for Win7 then yo will have to reinstall Vista first and then upgrade. Do the reinstall of Vista first and then create a file on your desktop with any name on it and then insert your Win7 disc. When it starts to boot kill it and copy it into the file you created. Remove the disc and open the file and execute the upgrade from there. Sit back and enjoy the show. I have rarely had a problem with windows upgrades done this way.
Moon)Dawg
P.S. Hats off to Doug

First (and very important) while you are still up and running, download and run the Microsoft Windows 7 upgrade advisor (just Google for that). You may not like what it says, but believe what it says! You may have incompatible hardware or software and it is best to know these things ahead of time. Now---you must have an existing OS in order to install an upgrade----right? There is a work around. Starting with Vista, there is a method of installing an "Upgrade" copy of Windows without having a previous OS installed (or even a OS disk handy for verification). To put it simply, you install Windows 7 over Windows 7! This method has been highly circulated over the Internet and Microsoft IS aware of it. In my opinion, if Microsoft didn't approve, they would issue a patch or a harsh statement condeming the process, but they have not done either. Step ONE: boot from the OS CD (do NOT install from within Windows). The install will start and progress until you see the screen for an "upgrade" install or a "new" install. You will choose a "new" install and let it continue until setup asks for the OS "KEY". Do NOT enter the key and do NOT allow the install to connect to the Internet. "JUST SAY NO"! The Install will complete. Next, and from within the OS, you will INSTALL WINDOWS 7!! That's correct, insert the OS CD and when the window appears select "install". This time, you will choose "Upgrade" and you will insert the OS "KEY" when asked and also allow setup to check for updates. When finished you have a fully functional Windows 7 OS. I realize that there are moral, ethical and even legal questions about this process, but when I was on a cruise recently, something onboard completely trashed my Windows OS and I was forced to reinstall from the only disk I had with me. It was a Windows 7 Professional upgrade disk. Without this method I would have been dead in the water (and on a cruise ship)! You obviously purchased Vista, but had a failed Windows 7 upgrade, so I don't see any problem in doing it this way. Be kind to yourself, though----run the Windows 7 upgrade advisor NOW, while you still can. Good luck and have fun!

That is correct. I have done this many times for Clients. In your case you DID purchase a Windows Operating System so you are entitled an upgrade anyway. The big objections come from those who do not understand that this process is NOT stealing. Let's say that you have been a MAC user all your life and have never purchased a Windows OS. This process will still work (a full install from an upgrade disk), but this would be where the ethical, moral and legal issues would arise. As for some of my Clients, they purchased a Computer from a Retail outlet with Windows Premium already installed, and then purchased a windows 7 Professional upgrade---which I installed. Their Hard Drive dies. They have already purchased a Windows OS that the PC Maker supplied + an upgrade. Does this mean that they now have to purchase a FULL version to install on their new Hard Drive? They have nothing to show Microsoft that they are entitled an upgrade---it's on the Hard Drive that went bad. I used the upgrade disk that they purchased to do a full install. They are all up and running with no issues and all Systems are fully activated by Microsoft. YES, you can install a FULL version using ONLY the UPGRADE DVD.

Forgot to mention: I HAD WIN 7 Ultimate RC under VMWare for several months... That expired Mar 1 2010..

I liked what it did... I moved ALL my W2K apps over with NO Problems...

So, I AM going to Win 7 (probably Pro) ... just trying to minimize the cost...

Jim B

Since you bought an upgrade you must have a licensed copy of another windows os to use the upgrade you bought. You cannot completely wipe your hard drive and install an upgrade. You must buy a full Windows 7 version to do this. But you can do a clean install that will not piggyback your Windows Vista. Hope this helps.

As long as windows activation sees the same computer for reinstall, it will activate after install no problem. Just save all of your programs to reinstall- if you are missing anything, I suggest using free stuff available at ninite.com. If you need to add anything that you do not have disc for once your internet is up, save time and money, as this will install all at one shot after simply choosing from menu on that website!

I bought the upgrade vista to Win7 when 7 first came out. First did vista to 7 upgrade. It was fine, but had to do reinstall later. The disc has option for full clean install, so I did that. Used original key. No problem.

Well Richard you are going to have two problems: First, "wiping the drive clean" will destroy all of your data that you have accumulated. Not only will you lose your documents, photos, music, etc. but also your program files. The second issue is that you purchased an "upgrade" version of Windows 7, which means you must install it as an "upgrade" of a current Windows OS, such as Vista.
Personally the first thing I would do would be to uninstall Norton. In my experience Norton fouls up more systems than it protects. I suspect you had Norton running when you did the Windows 7 upgrade. Is that correct?
After uninstalling Norton, and be sure to use their uninstall tools as Norton is omnipresent and it's not a simple uninstall. Next I suggest you set a start point and then load the Windows 7 disc, doing a boot from the CD/DVD. You will have to go into your BIOS settings to set the boot order. Then after Windows finishes loading files select "Custom Installation". You will then be asked if you want to install Windows 7 or repair it. This can be found in the lower LH area of the setup screen. 7 will then give you several options to repair. I would begin with the startup option and work your way down until you reach the Windows prompt option. That is more than likely as far as you should venture.
Don't be afraid to attempt the repair several times. It will take a lot less time than reinstalling all of your software.
If Windows fails to repair itself then you may still have options. I would go to "System Restore" and see if you can be successful restoring your system to a point BEFORE you installed Windows 7. If that is successful then you have saved all of your files and programs and you are in a position to install the Windows 7 upgrade again.
If this fails then you will have to format your HDD, reinstall Vista and install Windows 7. Of course now you will have to install all of the programs you want to continue to run.
Backup everything on an external drive, CD or DVD before you start any procedures and set your System Restore points. Good luck!

you must remember when installing new OS, it is always better to do a "clean install". just back up all your important files and wipe your hard drive clean....

Hey. Not entirely sure if it is legal or not, but you did buy the upgrade honestly. Anyway, a friend of mine has, on a couple of occasions, installed his Copy of Windows 7 home premium (as a Clean Install) then, after that completed, re-installed Windows 7 Home premium again (as an Upgrade). This "tricks" the copy of the OS into thinking it was a usual upgrade, and allows you to reuse the upgrade.

Alternatively, you could do what I did, and reinstall The Vista copy, then install Windows 7 again.

Hope this helps

The easy way to do it is to just boot from the Windows 7 installation CD (32-bit or 64-bit, according to which OS you want), and follow the instructions for a new installation (not an upgrade). That installation will save your current stuff in "windows.old", which you can delete after the installation using "Disk Cleanup" (cleanup system files option).

To boot from a CD or DVD, you may need to go into your BIOS and change the boot order to boot from CD first.

It really is an easy installation, just remember that the for the first reboot you're offered during the installation, don't choose "boot from CD" again, or you'll be back where you started *smile*. I've done this installation several times, and it has ended well each time.

If you have a reasonably fast computer, the installation won't take you long, but getting all your additional software re-installed (including video card driver, antivirus, browsers, and so on) can take some time.

-Roger

First i would uninstall norton utilities. Then reformate your harddrive, so its a clean slate. Go back to Microsoft and reinstall your upgrade Windows 7. Any Antivirus programs must be removed prior to installing a new Operating system. After you have installed your new Operating system then if you still like rienstall the Norton programs you feel you need. Nortons programs take up memory and in my opinion they take alot of memory. Good luck

So you're upgrading to Windows 7? Well it's far superior to Vista (in my opinion!) As long as you have your Vista (or XP) disk just put the Windows 7 disk in(and set the BIOS to boot from the optical drive) and when you boot you should start to run setup, windows will at some stage ask you to put your original Vista (or XP) disk in to verify that it is an upgrade, and then replace the Vista disk with your new Win7 disk to carry on as a full install.
Don't forget to back up everything you want to keep as it will wipe your hard drive!