Students = Cheap windows 7

Fat Dog said:
It's really easy mate. Forget running this .exe file. Download via torrent an Ultimate version, check it is legit (e.g. check its MD5), remove the ei.cfg file, and burn the image. You now have a retail, all versions, Windows 7 install disk. Install your version BUT DO NOT ACTIVATE. Upgrade the non activated OS you have just installed and use the supplied student key. Job done.
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Sounds good. What is this ei.cfg file and is it present on my retail version of W7?
 
Fat Dog said:
It's really easy mate. Forget running this .exe file. Download via torrent an Ultimate version, check it is legit (e.g. check its MD5), remove the ei.cfg file, and burn the image. You now have a retail, all versions, Windows 7 install disk. Install your version BUT DO NOT ACTIVATE. Upgrade the non activated OS you have just installed and use the supplied student key. Job done.
Click to expand...

Also if it helps:

You can burn a bootable DVD from the downloaded files using the process mentioned earlier (and in detail in sevenforums.com)

Also don't enter a key with the first install (the upgrade one will be rejected then anyway)

I actually find it better with the 2nd install to use the "custom install" rather then the "upgrade install". Feels cleaner as you are left with a windows.old directory to delete containing all of the previous unneeded install.
 
simpletom said:
Sounds good. What is this ei.cfg file and is it present on my retail version of W7?
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Yes it is present. W7 is slightly different from Vista in that every Vista DVD was physically the same. The key you entered determined the version to be installed. With W7, the DVDs are all different and there is a tiny ei.cfg file on each disk which tells the installer which version to install. So if you download an Ultimate version via torrent, it will always install Ultimate no matter what, which obviously is not helpful. If you remove this ei.cfg file, you can choose which version to install. The easiest way is to download a tool to do it - just google ei.cfg removal tool.
 
Fat Dog said:
Yes it is present. W7 is slightly different from Vista in that every Vista DVD was physically the same. The key you entered determined the version to be installed. With W7, the DVDs are all different and there is a tiny ei.cfg file on each disk which tells the installer which version to install. So if you download an Ultimate version via torrent, it will always install Ultimate no matter what, which obviously is not helpful. If you remove this ei.cfg file, you can choose which version to install. The easiest way is to download a tool to do it - just google ei.cfg removal tool.
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Cheers. However, my retail and my 'student' version are both Home Premium. This, surely, means I need not remove the ei.cfg file?

Thanks for the info so far.

Why aren't people just doing it propely? Or presumably is it because you all tried to get super cheap OS without having a legitimate one to begin with
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I do. I have Vista 32 but apparantly you cannot upgrade from 32 to 64 easily. Simple as.
 
DampCat said:
Why aren't people just doing it propely? Or presumably is it because you all tried to get super cheap OS without having a legitimate one to begin with :(
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Lots of reasons, many of which are legit. Me, for example, I want to secure erase my X25 first before installing W7. How am I supposed to do that if all I have is this .exe file?

Don't suggest people are crooks with no evidence. Next time I won't be so polite.
 
Just to confirm what has been said.
I've just finished doing the following:

Fresh Win7 Professional install from Retail Media
Did not enter a product key
Ran setup.exe from Win7 Professional DVD from within Windows 7
Choose the "Upgrade" option
Took ages to "upgrade" with numerous system reboots
On Upgrade completion - asks for Product Key
Entered Student product Key
All Done
 
Excellent. Well, that is my rocking weekend sorted:o

Don't suggest people are crooks with no evidence. Next time I won't be so polite.
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As long as you are willing to allow Dampcat to personally validate your installs, you should be fine.
 
I have just realised I donated my cd drive to my mums shuttle pc. Is there any way it can be installed via flash drive? I have an 8gb one kicking about somewhere which should be plenty!
 
stoofa said:
Just to confirm what has been said.
I've just finished doing the following:

Fresh Win7 Professional install from Retail Media
Did not enter a product key
Ran setup.exe from Win7 Professional DVD from within Windows 7
Choose the "Upgrade" option
Took ages to "upgrade" with numerous system reboots
On Upgrade completion - asks for Product Key
Entered Student product Key
All Done
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Have you activated the installation?
 
Could someone confirm the following:

- Would I be able to install XP on a brand new hard-drive DESPITE having installed it (with the very same copy) on my current hard-drive? Just so I can get an OS on my new hard-drive to upgrade from when installing Windows 7.

- Would the XP install need to be "verified" and registered before Windows 7 will install? Because I've already registered this XP to my current hard-drive/pc, and I know you can't have 2 XP's with 1 liscence.

- Would Windows 7 Pro 64bit Upgrade Edition actually RUN on Windows XP 32bit?
 
Last edited:
Can comfirm the following with regards to the student upgrade download

  • You can boot from the disk providing you create an ISO of the installation and burn it to a DVD
  • I have done a fresh install on a blank hard drive
  • I have just activated it with the serial key emailed to me with the download link
  • Never asked for a previous version of Windows
 
my son d/loaded the student version to his c drive and if you click on th exe itgoes so far then an error message stating " we are unable to creat or save new files in the folder in which thia app was d/loaded please check the folder properties to make sure that you have security permision on the folder to write files and that folder is not read only" what doe that mean ? - should he have d/loaded to desktop or my documents ?
 
elpedro said:
Can comfirm the following with regards to the student upgrade download

  • You can boot from the disk providing you create an ISO of the installation and burn it to a DVD
  • I have done a fresh install on a blank hard drive
  • I have just activated it with the serial key emailed to me with the download link
  • Never asked for a previous version of Windows
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o_o Let me get this straight, you installed W7 (Home Premium or Professional?) on a brand new out-of-the-box hard-drive, and it didn't require a previous install?!

What happened exactly?

And how did you create the boot image, what software did you use?
 
stoofa said:
No - not activated as I've done all of the installing on a machine here at work rather than the actual machine this Student Upgrade was purchased for.
I can see no reason why it won't activate - the key in question won't be blacklisted.
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I’ve read that if you try a workaround as you did that even though the installation is allowed the activation fails which is why I was looking for confirmation.
So the crux of the matter is has anyone done this and successfully activated it?
 
kidkhaos said:
just one question is the upgrade student version motherboard locked like the oem used to be?
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This is what I want to know too. If it is motherboard locked and one wishes to upgrade their comp at a later date, does that mean:

1: You have to call microsoft explaining you only have it installed on one PC and then you are up and running?

OR

2: You can never upgrade as it literally is locked to that MOBO only for the life of the mobo?
 
elpedro said:
Can comfirm the following with regards to the student upgrade download

  • You can boot from the disk providing you create an ISO of the installation and burn it to a DVD
  • I have done a fresh install on a blank hard drive
  • I have just activated it with the serial key emailed to me with the download link
  • Never asked for a previous version of Windows
Click to expand...

StarSolitude said:
o_o Let me get this straight, you installed W7 (Home Premium or Professional?) on a brand new out-of-the-box hard-drive, and it didn't require a previous install?!

What happened exactly?

And how did you create the boot image, what software did you use?
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This is what I would like to know?

This thread is full of people running the upgrade from the download, which of course requires some sort of OS installed in the first place on which to run the exe file and then upgrade. However, what happens if you spent the extra £9 or whatever and got the upgrade on a physical disk? My sister got a Vista upgrade with her laptop. It came as a disk, I formatted the drive, stuck the disk in, and it installed as if it was any old full retail version. I think all we need to do is use an upgrade dvd to boot from on a blank drive, and if this upgrade can be made from the exe file downloaded, all the better.
 
jaybee said:




This is what I want to know too. If it is motherboard locked and one wishes to upgrade their comp at a later date, does that mean:

1: You have to call microsoft explaining you only have it installed on one PC and then you are up and running?

OR

2: You can never upgrade as it literally is locked to that MOBO only for the life of the mobo?
Click to expand...

AFAIK, Upgrade versions are Retail. They cant be OEM as OEM requires them to be sold with a new PC, and the upgrade version cleary isnt.
 
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