Windows 7 Upgrade

[boozie]

So my brother wants to buy a new computer and we were wondering if there is a legal way to buy http://www.microsoft.com/student/en/us/windows/buynow/default.aspxv and install on a brand new PC. (He is a student) My guess is no.

He has a legal copy of XP on his current old PC which he will be retiring, but it is a pre-build Compaq so he has no XP install disc.

 

[Steltek]

If he is buying a new PC, it will almost certainly come with some flavor of Windows 7 pre-installed by the OEM which is included in the price of the machine.

He shouldn't need a new copy of the OS in this circumstance, unless I'm missing something...

 

[superccs]

Do the custom install option when running the upgrade. You can do it ... I have done it before.

 

[boozie]

If he is buying a new PC, it will almost certainly come with some flavor of Windows 7 pre-installed by the OEM which is included in the price of the machine.

He shouldn't need a new copy of the OS in this circumstance, unless I'm missing something...

Well he was either building it himself or buying from Ibuypower without the OS installed. The windows rep told me it had to be an upgrade from existing windows even though I think booting from the DVD drive and custom installing would have worked.

 

[corkyg]

Fact is, a direct upgrade from XP to 7 can't be done. Replacing XP with 7 requires a clean install, even as an upgrade.

 

[boozie]

Fact is, a direct upgrade from XP to 7 can't be done. Replacing XP with 7 requires a clean install, even as an upgrade.

Yea I know. The question is whether the $30 student upgrade version can be used to do a custom install on a PC with no OS installed.

 

[corkyg]

It should be able to do that provided it is a full retail student version and not a OEM specific version.

 

[GundamW]

I have the retail Upgrade version of Win7Pro and I was able to do a clean install.

I used the instruction here. At least "Workaround 3" worked for me.
http://www.mydigitallife.info/clean...t-key-on-formatted-or-empty-blank-hard-drive/

Not sure if the student upgrade is any different besides the price.

 

[ViRGE]

Keep in mind that using an upgrade-only edition to do a full install is not within the license. You only have the right to use an upgrade-only edition of you have a previous version of Windows to surrender.

 

[boozie]

Keep in mind that using an upgrade-only edition to do a full install is not within the license. You only have the right to use an upgrade-only edition of you have a previous version of Windows to surrender.

But this is hairy. He will be retiring his old PC, so that would in theory be the surrender. But since it is a Compaq, he doesn't actually have an OS install disc so I think it doesn't count.

Slightly offtopic, is there an easy way to xfer an XP install disc to a flash drive?

 

[ViRGE]

But this is hairy. He will be retiring his old PC, so that would in theory be the surrender. But since it is a Compaq, he doesn't actually have an OS install disc so I think it doesn't count.

Slightly offtopic, is there an easy way to xfer an XP install disc to a flash drive?

It's only a valid surrender if the license for the old version of Windows can first be transferred to his new machine. Basically if you didn't pay a lot for Windows at some point, it's probably not a retail license.

 

[tomt4535]

It doesn't matter if you have the disk or not. The COA sticker on the bottom of the laptop with the CD Key is what entitles you to use the software.

 

[VirtualLarry]

It's only a valid surrender if the license for the old version of Windows can first be transferred to his new machine. Basically if you didn't pay a lot for Windows at some point, it's probably not a retail license.

Not true, the Win7 license could have been installed on the old machine, with a valid prior OS/COA, and then later tranferred to a new machine. It's still a valid license at that point.

Edit: I guess the point is moot, the original link is now broken.

 

[boozie]

He ended up just buying it at full price at Ibuypower. There wasn't a straightforward legal way around it.