Windows 7 upgrade

[imported_Salamander]

My home built pc started with an OEM version of XP Home, which I then used an OEM upgrade to get Vista Home Premium. I did an upgrade install of WIndows 7RC1. Will I be able to to a clean install of the Windows 7 upgrade ( I did the pre-purchase) over the RC1? Or will I have to re-install the OEM Vista upgrade first?

 

[ViRGE]

As a point of clarification beforehand, there is no OEM upgrade. All upgrade kits are retail

With that said, RC1->RTM is not an officially supported upgrade path. You may be able to hack it in, but officially you'd need to go from XP or Vista. It may be possible to trick W7 in to doing a clean install, but no one will know until it ships.

 

[Athena]

According to an unknown Microsoft spokesman referenced here:

If you are running the Windows 7 Release Candidate, and you have activated it, you will not need to reinstall an older version of Windows before using an Windows 7 upgrade disk.

However, you will not be able to do an upgrade installation, in which your existing programs and data are left in place. Instead, you'll have to do what Microsoft calls a custom installation. This is essentially a clean install, but your existing operating system, programs and data are squirreled away in a folder labeled WINDOWS.OLD. You end up with a fresh Windows 7 setup, but you can access that folder to get to any needed data. (Sorry, the programs in there won't work - you'll need to reinstall them.)