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Windows 8 Update or OEM Version?

C

Carbo

Diamond Member
Running Windows 7 Pro, 64 bit on a Dell XPS15. I'm considering a move to 8 and I see that MS has that $40 offer available to upgrade.
My preference when installing a new OS is to do so on a formatted hard drive, wiping the disk clean with Kill Disk or something similar, and writing zeros to the drive. If I do this can I install the upgrade version of 8, or will this require the OEM version?
 
I bought Windows 8 update from Microsoft and did a clean install on my HP laptop just fine. Didnt even check to see if I have previous version of Windows..
 
It probably works, but some people claim they have to call to activate since it fails (or edit the registry). The thing is, I believe it's a grey area as the upgrade is intended to be used by someone currently using an older OS with a valid and legitimate license. The OEM is for people installing on a clean drive. The grey area is when you own Windows 7 but have a clean SSD and want Windows 8 on it.

I don't think Microsoft would press too hard on this area since I'm sure they are happy you are buying Windows 8 anyway.
 
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