Please help! Replace dodgy windows 7 with vista with a view to upgrading to 7 again!

claypigeon101

claypigeon101

claypigeon101

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Hey guys, posted messages earlier in the Hardware section but I've bought a second hand computer with Vista Enterprise 64 bit on it and i want to reset this, the guy before me installed it from a mass license with work so ive got no hope of getting the disc.

I have what i think is an OEM version of Vista on a disc that came with an off the shelf PC from Aldi, if i install this and wipe 7 off my new machine completely can i then buy the student upgrade to 7 professional and it will all be hunky dory?

Will i have any problems with that? still using my vista PC that the CD came with, have the product key on the back of the case.

will it work?
thanks :)
 
If it is OEM then it will be no more legitimate than the rogue Vista Enterprise install.
OEM keys, Volume Licence Keys and Upgrade keys are non-transferable both in terms of change of ownership and installing on another machine, Retail keys are.
If you are a student then you should be able to pick up Win7 retail at a discount from various outlets.
 
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The install trick is legal, but to be license legal you still need to own a previous version of the OS. If that previous version is OEM from another machine - not legal. If that previous version is a VLK/Enterprise version from another company - not legal.

All that link is confirming is that you do not need to have the previous OS actually installed [as sometimes it is impossible to reinstall the previous OS if say disks are missing etc].
 
Thanks to all the restrictions, it's pretty hard to be "license legal" unless you buy full retail versions at £300 a pop.

I used the student win7 deal when I was in college, not realising that it was an upgrade version.

I used to install over an OEM XP license (legal). I've since totally rebuilt my machine (new everything). I'm still using the same student win7, which activates just fine, but is no longer "license legal", since I have a new PC.

But who honestly cares? I spent £80 on my OEM XP and I spent £40 on my win7. They let me activate it and I'm happily using it right now.

As far as I'm concerned, I've paid MS a decent chunk of cash and no one is complaining. I'm not "license legal" but I'm not pirating their stuff either.

And I found out today that student in the US could get FULL RETAIL win7 for the same price we got UPGRADE win7, so I'm damned if I'm paying more to get "license legal" over here.
 
SiriusB said:
The install trick is legal, but to be license legal you still need to own a previous version of the OS. If that previous version is OEM from another machine - not legal. If that previous version is a VLK/Enterprise version from another company - not legal.
Click to expand...

Ah yes, sorry, I did miss the Enterprise version bit in the OP.
 
SiriusB said:
What are you smoking? Home Premium Retail is £105 - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-124-MS. Professional, for those very few who actually need it, is just £164 - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-125-MS

That's bugger all frankly for something you will no doubt use every day for years.
Click to expand...

No, £40 is a good deal. £165 is not "bugger all", unless you are middle-class and loaded.

Some of us earn less than £15k a year, and I can assure you, £165 is a lot of money.

Like I said, American students were being given full retail copies for $29, so having paid £40 for my win7, I'm not going to accept that I'm less legitimate than they are.
 
Middle-class and loaded? If you can afford a computer you can afford £105 for the OS. If you can't, then don't upgrade.

Breaching the software license just because Americans get a better deal is not an excuse.
 
OK guys just to put everything straight, the up-to-date truth is that Eric Ligman from Microsoft posted this statement to clarify this issue.

'If you've owned a computer or laptop since 2001 that had a genuine version of XP (or Vista), then you are legally entitled to buy the Windows 7 upgrade and use this workaround method for activation on a blank hard drive.'

So OEM or not, if you have owned XP or Vista at all that wasn't pirated, cracked, anything else illegal, you are A-OK to have Windows 7 Upgrade.

I'm going to format my drives and clean install Windows 7 Upgrade, and do one of the workarounds, probably the Registry one.

Any thoughts?
 
Yes, you are distorting his words to fit your situation.

Where does he mention OEM?, where does he mention that installing an OEM license on a second machine is ok and considered genuine?
I've looked and I can't find anything like that, all he says is that the "double install trick" is acceptable if the license is considered genuine in the first place, which yours will not be, regardless of how you try to justify it.
 
Exactly. Microsoft realised that in some cases people would buy a new HDD for their computer and no longer have the means to reinstall Windows. The double-install trick lets you install Windows 7 without the hassle of reinstalling a previous OEM OS.

You cannot legally install the Upgrade on a brand new machine and use the OEM license from a previous machine. You aren't legally allowed to install OEM copies to a new motherboard or computer - why would MS allow you to use it as the qualifying OS on a different computer?

If you have a Retail copy of Windows, then you are free to use your Upgrade on any computer you like - assuming the previous OS is not in use anywhere else.

This is the other sticking point. The Upgrade REPLACES the qualifying OS. To be legal you would have to uninstall the OEM or Retail copy of Windows and you can never use it, legally, anywhere else unless you uninstall the Upgrade.
 
Ok,
well all i know is

'If you've owned a computer or laptop since 2001 that had a genuine version of XP (or Vista), then you are legally entitled to buy the Windows 7 upgrade and use this workaround method for activation on a blank hard drive.'

is a direct quote from the microsoft man, he doesnt specify which versions are genuine, he just says 'genuine'.

if he is the layman's translation of the microsoft copyright rules and therefore applicable laws, then that statement is good enough for me.
 
claypigeon101 said:
Ok,
well all i know is

'If you've owned a computer or laptop since 2001 that had a genuine version of XP (or Vista), then you are legally entitled to buy the Windows 7 upgrade and use this workaround method for activation on a blank hard drive.'

is a direct quote from the microsoft man, he doesnt specify which versions are genuine, he just says 'genuine'.

if he is the layman's translation of the microsoft copyright rules and therefore applicable laws, then that statement is good enough for me.
Click to expand...

Doesn't matter if it's 'good enough for you'

If you do that you breach the license agreement. Nobody is gonna come running after you, but just be aware that you are no different to someone who's downloaded windows illegally, except that you've just shelled out £££ for an upgrade version.
 
claypigeon101 said:
Ok,
well all i know is

'If you've owned a computer or laptop since 2001 that had a genuine version of XP (or Vista), then you are legally entitled to buy the Windows 7 upgrade and use this workaround method for activation on a blank hard drive.'

is a direct quote from the microsoft man, he doesnt specify which versions are genuine, he just says 'genuine'.

if he is the layman's translation of the microsoft copyright rules and therefore applicable laws, then that statement is good enough for me.
Click to expand...

Assuming it is the same computer.

That statement says a blank HDD. You should not assume that to mean a different PC. So yes, as long as the PC you intend to install the Upgrade HAD/HAS a qualifying version of Windows, you're free to use the double-install trick to save the hassle of installing a previous OS.

The whole point, again, is because **** happens and it is not always possible to reinstall the older OS. It is not a license to install the cheap Upgrade version of Windows 7 on a completely different system, just because you've owned a previous OS in the last 10 years.

The only exception is if your previous version is Retail, and as I already said you can't use it anymore after you have used the upgrade version.
 
claypigeon101 said:
Ok,
well all i know is...[snip]...
Click to expand...

No, all you know is that you've spotted a way of blagging a cheap copy of windows and now that we have shown you a rather large hole in your plan you are refusing to accept the truth, instead you try and distort the words of some random MS customer service advisor as a way of going "Here, see, i told you so!, it was even said by some random dude at MS" when the poor sod just re-confirmed old news in that "INSTALLING AN UPGRADE VERSION IS POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE ORIGINAL QUALIFYING MEDIA (IE CD/DVD)", that is it.

Wake up and smell the roses, no matter how much you try and spin this to fit your needs it isn't going to happen, sure, you'll have a nice shiny Win7 install at the end of it all, but what is the point when that install will NOT BE GENUINE and yet it still cost you money.
 
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Considering my initial post has done the opposite of help, as I mistakenly thought the PC's current Vista license was a legit OEM one, hopefully this one will go some way to making it better. This is a post by the same Microsoft employee, going into more detail regarding this, and these are some pertinent points:

So when these posts and write-ups state that you can install clean from an Upgrade piece of software and they fail to mention that you need to own a qualifying software license to be legal to use the Upgrade software for the installation, they give the impression that because it is technically possible, it is legal to do. Unfortunately, by doing this, they irresponsibly put end users at risk of loading unlicensed software.
Click to expand...

For those of you without an existing FULL Windows license to upgrade from, you should be aware that an Upgrade license by itself is not a license to install and run Windows on your computer.
Click to expand...

And please remember, No, OEM Microsoft Windows licenses cannot be transferred to another PC, in case you were wondering if an old OEM Windows license you have laying around or on another PC could qualify for the Windows 7 upgrade on a different PC.
Click to expand...



Again, sorry for my previous post, I was wrong and hopefully this one has been more helpful.
 
Definitely more helpful.

As I have said several times, the double-install is simply to allow installation to a blank/new HDD without the hassle of installing your previous OS first. It is not for installing the upgrade to a new PC.
 
Stupot_ said:
Doesn't matter if it's 'good enough for you'

If you do that you breach the license agreement. Nobody is gonna come running after you, but just be aware that you are no different to someone who's downloaded windows illegally, except that you've just shelled out £££ for an upgrade version.
Click to expand...

You are different. You don't have to use 3rd party cracks :D

OK so I'm still a pirate even after spending £120 on XP and 7 upgrade. Not going to lose any sleep over it, I'm afraid.

Would have been nice to be legit, but it's not essential. MS have got some money, as much as I think the product is worth, and I've got a copy + disc + key that I can use without worrying about WGA or anything else.

Oh a pirate's life for me! ;)
 
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