How to clean install from Windows 7 Upgrade media

Mike Halsey | Oct 22, 2009 | Comments

Tip: Click here to run a free scan for common PC errors

One of the biggest unanswered questions about Windows 7 is whether you can perform a clean install using the upgrade edition of the operating system.

With legacy versions of Windows you needed to ‘show’ it an install CD from your older version of Windows.  The problem here is that Microsoft allowed OEM PC makers to customise these discs, sometimes to the point where they were not recognisable as upgrade media by the installer, even though you had a legitimate copy.

install04

With Windows Vista they changed this but you had to perform a workaround to get a clean install.  Firstly you had to install Vista upgrade without entering a product key, and then you had to install it again performing an upgrade on the version you had already installed.  This was time-consuming and many people didn’t like it… understandably.

With Windows 7 Microsoft have only released the upgrade versions for the first time today and have been keeping very tight-lipped on this subject.  The good, nay, excellent news is that performing a clean install using upgrade media is now the same as performing a clean install.

Windows 7 will just install merrily on your hard disk with it’s upgrade product code and activate.  You don’t need an XP or Vista disc, and you don’t need to install it over itself.  This is excellent news and, while I haven’t yet tried this myself, reports are coming in from across the web that this is indeed the case.

Many people will now ask if it’s necessary to buy the full version of Windows 7.  Quite simply now the answer is that it isn’t.  This means an significant price cut for Windows 7 over previous versions, effective immediately.

Update:

While it is not necessary to buy a full version of Windows 7 it is still a legal requirement to do so if you do not own a legal copy of either Windows XP or Windows Vista. The article did not make that completely clear. (Martin)

Subscribe To RSS Feed Updates

('DiggThis’)

Leave A Comment: Comments

Filed Under: Windows 7 News

Tags: •

Need Windows 7 Help? Click Here
Next Post: »»
Prev Post: »»

About the Author: The author of the new Windows 7 Power Users Guide, a how-to guide for non-technical Windows users on how to get the best out of Microsoft's new operating system, with step-by-step and quick guides. You can follow Mike on Twitter or on his own website The Long Climb

  • David Dykstra
    I can confirm this works.
  • Name
    It didn't work for me. Installed my upgrade version of Windows 7 Professional "upgrade version" on a blank hard drive. Said my product key was invalid. So I left it blank and it finished it's install. Runs great. Go to activate it manually inside windows and no dice. Product key still invalid. I had to re-run the install and "upgrade" installed it over top my Win 7 I just installed. Just like the crap with Vista. When will Microsoft learn to actually please their customer's?
  • franning01
    Did this work? I'm also getting same message.
  • chieftain20
    Seconded. This works. Done it on my laptop, and activated it just fine.
  • jkvato
    One thing I've been hearing the last few months is that an upgrade Win 7 will only install if it detects an existing, activated OS. Has anyone tried installing an upgrade Win 7 on a blank hard drive?
  • chieftain20
    That's what a clean install is. Start from a blank hard drive ("clean" hard drive).
  • jkvato
    Agreed. However, there is some gray area here. Microsoft has been saying that you have to have an older version of Windows already installed and activated on your PC before you install an upgrade version of Windows 7. After verifying that your old OS is genuine, Win 7 would then reformat your partition and install itself "clean" (which some people may consider to be "clean install" because it cleans your hard drive during install). I'm hoping to avoid this and just install it on an empty hard drive.
  • George
    jkvato> As the last paragraph of this article says "Many people will now ask if it’s necessary to buy the full version of Windows 7. Quite simply now the answer is that it isn’t. This means an significant price cut for Windows 7 over previous versions, effective immediately."

    The "Upgrade" version does not check to see if you have a previous copy of Windows. So you can install the "Upgrade" version onto a clean hard drive without any problems.
  • Joel
    A clean install mean you wipe out the previous software and start over, losing all installed software in the process. It does not mean start from a clean hard drive. Microsoft isn't going to let you do an upgrade if it doesn't have some indication that you have a previous version of windows.
  • Sherry
    I did - no go at first on wiped HD. Disk read error after first boot during install. I had to call Microsoft. The problem resolved itsef, They said good thing I called. They had to do a work around so that they could get my upgrade version registered. they did somthing in the registry to bypass the registration then reactivated it ater the installation was complete. I would say it is probably best to call Microsoft if you plan to use an upgrade Windows 7 on a clean hard drive.
blog comments powered by Disqus