Win 7 upgrade from a broken XP installation?

[okalex]

I read that Windows 7 upgrade media will install a fully functional OS only on machines with some previous version of windows installed, but does that installation have to be a functioning one?

I am wondering if I first need to fix things that don't work in an existing XP installation before I can make a clean install (there is no data I need to keep there) using a win 7 upgrade DVD, or if the installation should work as long as the win 7 installation process can detect a previous OS.

What kind of problem in the old OS (except, obviously, not being a genuine/licensed installation) could prevent successful installation of Windows 7 using a Win 7 upgrade CD?

 

[mikeymikec]

I read that Windows 7 upgrade media will install a fully functional OS only on machines with some previous version of windows installed, but does that installation have to be a functioning one?

Not true, at least in my experience. I've installed a Win7 upgrade licence on a blank disk via the DVD without it acting any differently to a normal install.

You wouldn't be able to do an 'upgrade' from XP to Win7 anyway AFAIK, and my certainty increases if we're talking from 32-bit XP to 64-bit Win7.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Just do the double-install trick, and blow away the buggy XP install.

However, you can leave it on there, and select "Custom" (not "Upgrade"), and delete the partition and re-create it when you install Win7.

 

[okalex]

Thanks for your answers. I am asking this question because the upgrade information by Microsoft says the following:

Windows 7 upgrade media was designed to be used on a computer that has Windows XP or Windows Vista installed on it.
You can use upgrade media to install Windows 7 on a computer that doesn't have Windows XP, Windows Vista, or any version of Windows installed on it by starting (or booting) your computer from the Windows 7 upgrade installation disc or a USB flash drive and performing a custom installation. However, you won't be able to activate Windows 7, which validates that you have a genuine copy of Windows and allows you access to all the features.
We recommend that you install Windows XP or Windows Vista before installing Windows 7 using upgrade media. Before you attempt to install Windows 7 using upgrade media on a computer that doesn't have Windows on it, see Installing and reinstalling Windows 7.

From which it seems that the upgrade media must be able to detect the installation of the old OS for the installation to succeed, so maybe something wrong with the old OS might make it see to the installation process that the old OS is not present.

 

[mikeymikec]

Just do the double-install trick, and blow away the buggy XP install.

However, you can leave it on there, and select "Custom" (not "Upgrade"), and delete the partition and re-create it when you install Win7.

I don't think I even had to do the double-install trick, though admittedly I would have blown partitions away first (don't forget to back up... duh ). Can't definitely remember. Though I am fairly sure that it has been years since I last had to do double-install Vista install tricks, and I did a WIn7 'upgrade' less than a year ago.

 

[grss1982]

I read that Windows 7 upgrade media will install a fully functional OS only on machines with some previous version of windows installed, but does that installation have to be a functioning one?

I am wondering if I first need to fix things that don't work in an existing XP installation before I can make a clean install (there is no data I need to keep there) using a win 7 upgrade DVD, or if the installation should work as long as the win 7 installation process can detect a previous OS.

What kind of problem in the old OS (except, obviously, not being a genuine/licensed installation) could prevent successful installation of Windows 7 using a Win 7 upgrade CD?

If you have a working O.S.: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/171382-clean-install-windows-7-windows-xp-desktop.html

If you don't have a working O.S.: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/31402-clean-install-upgrade-windows-7-version.html