Hi, everyone!

I just received an email from Microsoft advising that my free Windows 7 upgrade has shipped, so I'm anxiously awaiting its arrival.

I have the OEM version of Vista and the original CD, so does anyone know if I'll be able to do a clean install (which I prefer) or will I have to simply perform the upgrade?

I did a clean install when I upgraded from Win98 to WinXP, but both were retail versions.

Thanks!

Susan

According to ***this*** you can.

The UPS guy just left and I have my Windows 7 Upgrade in my hot little hands. Newegg shipped last night from their Memphis warehouse and I got it today. Woo hoo!

Susan-

How did you get it free, I have Vista Ultimate and would like to get it too.

Thanks

maggie

Maggie57 when did you buy your Vista. I saw this on a web search for free windows 7 upgrade

If you bought a Windows Vista-based PC in the last four months, it's likely that you're eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 7.
I also found this link.

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/10/22/today-is-windows-7-free-upgrade-day-and-other-deals/

Hi Winfrey

How are you? No, I bought my Vista two years ago, so that means I guess I do not get a free one???


Thanks

maggie

You can do a clean install, as long as you still have Vista installed.

Otherwise, you have to do the trick where you install Windows 7 fully, then install it again as an "upgrade".

I prefer a clean install over an upgrade any day, it takes less times (quite a bit less) and you don't run into any issues/conflicts.

Templeton Peck

Would I not lose all my files and folders and mail with a clean install? I think I will wait till the price comes down, since I cannot get a free one, my Vista is two years old.

Thanks

maggie

That's correct - if you purchased a Vista computer in the last 4 months, you were eligible for a free Windows 7 Upgrade (some computer manufacturers did not offer the free upgrade for all their machines).

With a clean install, you would lose everything, maggie. However, Windows 7 does have a nifty little feature which will put you files etc. into a "windows.old" file, so you can restore them. It is not recommended that you rely on this, however. If you do the clean install, you should also back up the files etc. you want to reinstall elsewhere.

I would not hold my breath for the price to come down anytime soon, if ever. You can get an upgrade for $120. If you're happy with your Vista, I would just keep it for now.

You would lose your files as mentioned by Draclvr, but you can always just back them up first to a external hard drive.

Then just copy your data back over after the install. You also have to re-install any applications/programs, but you should have the discs for most of those and of course you can download the rest off the Internet.

There is also "Windows Easy Transfer", which is on the Windows 7 disc, which you can use if you want to retain some old settings (but not programs).

I just personally find an upgrade can get rather messy and it takes a fair bit of time more over a clean install.

@Templeton Today on windows weekly with paul thurott, he spoke about the upgrade process..To leo laportes and everybody listening surprise paul stated there is no need to have any O/S installed or to have any Discs for verification. It can be installed as a full O/S, which was very good news. I am not totally sure hes right but who knows.... You can listen to the podcast tomorrow. If you want to hear more on that and other windows subject. It is Windows Weekly Episode 127 ..... http://twit.tv/
He does a live telecast usually every Thursday @11:00 and post it Friday at the twit site.

@Maggie do not rush out and upgrade if your are comfortable (as I Am) with Vista . 1/2 of our computers are staying w/ vista 64 and the others upgraded (Clean Install) today...When and if you do upgrade Draclvr is correct, it does backup user accounts to a folder, but should never be used as your safety net . ..There are other steps (precaution) to take before any upgrade. Also other ways of exporting then importing settings and docs as mentioned above post.....

One more thing to think about, If and when you decide its time to move to win 7 find two other friends or family and share the cost of a family pack. Costco & Amazon have it for sale @..$135-150 for 3 licenses. Now you got a great upgrade price.

This link has the quotes from 27 sites/magazines on their final word on windows 7...It was funny to read 26 rather good reviews and 1 was harsh to say the least..See if you can guess who was the one who stated. " I need to go wash my eyes out with bleach " http://gizmodo.com/5387822/27-takes-on-windows-7?skyline=true&s=i

You know there are many who dont think its sounds correct. By now somebody should know the answer. Paul T posted his thought on the upgrade and has many commenters not totally agreeing...But nobody knows for sure...If you feel like reading bunch of grownups arguing here's the link.


http://community.winsupersite.com/blogs/...r-answered.aspx

So, does this mean that I can install my Windows 7 upgrade on my 500 GB hard drive which I installed in the computer I built this spring, but have never connected? That would make me VERY happy as I was planning on upgrading over my XP Pro which was going to be a pain. That would make my life SOOoooo much easier. I'll listen to that podcast tomorrow.

Oh, I can't wait to read these!

If I'm reading what you wrote correctly, the upgrade version can be installed as a clean install with no verification?

Then why would anyone buy the non-upgrade version for more money?

If you don't need to have a previous version installed, just the disc to verify that you indeed owned a previous version for the upgrade, that would be great, but no verification doesn't make any sense to me.

The only way to do it without verifying before, was to install it once fully (Windows 7) and then again as an upgrade, as mentioned in my previous post.

Doesn't sound quite right to me either, but I'll wait to see...

Oh, that was just classic from "guess who" in the midst of the other reviews! Love it.

For those who are interested. Tekzilla has a web show this week thats answers many questions about win 7 from upgrading , backing up to other decisions like 32 or 64 bit.?
It about 40 minutes.
http://revision3.com/tekzilla/windows7

Thanks, patchman. You are a wealth of information!

Jenny, thanks for the link. Now I just have to figure out if I can reformat my C: drive first or if Windows 7 will perform a clean install for me. I really want to wipe out all traces of Vista.

Maggie57, I purchased my computer last month and it came with a free Windows 7 upgrade certificate. I don't know how far back the freebies were offered but, if you purchased your computer a few years ago, I doubt if it will qualify.

Templeton Peck, when I upgraded from Win98 to WinXP, I reformatted my C: drive, did a clean install and inserted my Win98 disk when requested. I'm hoping I can do the same with the Windows 7 upgrade because I'd prefer to start over with a clean slate. I have all of my user files on my D: drive, so I don't have to worry about losing any data.

You can't install the upgrade unless you own a previous version of Windows (I think only Vista and WinXP qualify) because you will be asked to insert your original Vista or WinXP CD at some point before you can proceed. I purchased the WinXP upgrade because it was a lot cheaper than the full package, but I had the original Win98 CD, so there wasn't a problem.

Susan

Susie, Windows 7 offers the option of doing a clean install or an upgrade when you start the installation. You shouldn't have to reformat your drive. Things have changed a lot from when you upgraded from 98 to XP.

Hi, Draclvr!

Thanks for the info! That's good to know because I always get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever I type the words "format C:" !

Susan

Been there and done that, Susie!

Patchman and Drac-

After thinking about it more and more, I will keep my Vista for now. I am happy with it. When I buy, I will problably buy at Sam's Club, but I will just wait. You know I am not hearing one bad thing about windows 7, so far that is good. But I will wait. Thanks so much.

Maggie

Thats the way it should be, you decide.Many are happy with vista/Xp any waiting ..It great to have choice..You will know when or if its time..

Magie you say "I am not hearing one bad thing about windows 7"..you must have missed the apple reviews of win 7.....They are not to happy... The way they bash it it sounds like they are reviewing win 1.0.....But you are correct it is very hard to find a bad review.

Anyways At least you will know more about Win 7 pros/cons when you feel like upgrading.

Take Care Maggie

P.S
Templeton, you & Draclvr were correct on the upgrade path earlier in the discussion,
Paul Thurott just updated his blog with this statment regarding the upgrade disc without another o/s installed.
"UPDATE: I tried this type of install in a VM and it did not work. Based on the error message I got, the Vista-era rules apply. That is, you'll have to do a stupid "install it twice" workaround as described above. Sigh."

on win 7 is there a way to look at the c drive where all the files are stored? My wife just bought a new pc with win 7 on it. I clicked on windows explorer and it didn't help at all. Thanks
Richard

Well, my two versions of win7 arrived yesterday.
But it wasn't until today I finally got around to first install a new HD (easy as pie, lol) and then win7.
Took me about a total of 2 hours I think.

The thing that took the longest was to realise, that I needed to plug my USB keyboard into my actual PC instead of the KVM switch - to be able to boot from DVD/CD

Well that's kind of bizarre.
Doesn't the KVM emulate a generic USB keyboard?