How does the W7 Upgrade re-install work ?

[NicColt]

I haven't been here in a while and just wanted to see your input on how this works now. I tried to search for it but didn't really find the pinpointed answer.

Let's say I had XP Pro activated and installed W7 Upgrade and months later I experienced a had drive crash and everything wiped. How does the re-install work ?

Would you simply re-install W7U clean install and just activated it normally and it's recognized ?

I can't believe that you would have to re-install XP activate that and then re-install with W7U media.

 

[SimMike2]

I think what most people do is the old vista double install trick. Install Win7 the first time and don't enter a CD key. It should install. When it finishes, reinstall a second time and insert the CD key this time. It should work. You might even try installing without the double install trick. It might work. There was a huge thread on the upgrade edition of Windows 7 a few months back.

Toward the end of the install process a box pops up and there is an item that says "activate automatically when online." I usually uncheck this and pick another time to activate. I do this because I might need to reinstall in a few days for various reasons. I usually don't like to activate until I am sure I am going to keep the install. I think they give you thirty days.

 

[NicColt]

1) Install Windows 7 from the media. Do not enter in your product key.
2) After the install is complete, insert the Windows 7 media and run setup from the DVD.
3) This time, do not perform a clean install. You need to do an upgrade, which is the first option.
4) Activate Windows

Good grief.