How to Register Windows 7 Upgrade

This article will show how to register Windows 7 Upgrade when it was used for a clean install (no prior Windows OS required). This method can register Windows 7 Upgrade on a new computer install or a reformatted hard drive. Using a Windows 7 Upgrade license can save $100 versus the price of the full Windows 7 version. This hack for Windows 7 Upgrade is legal if you own a complete copy of Windows XP or Windows Vista and is easier than installing or reinstalling the same or an old version of Windows.

1. Step 1
   
   
   
   Open the registry editor

   Press the Start Menu.
   In the "Search programs and files" text box type "regedit" and press ENTER.
   Click "Yes" on the "User Account Controls" window.
   This will open up the registry editor.

2. Step 2
   
   
   
   Navigate to the OOBE Folder

   Click the arrows next to the a registry key to open the registry folder:
   
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup/OOBE/

3. Step 3
   
   
   

   In the OOBE Folder, double click on the "MediaBootInstall" key.

4. Step 4
   
   
   

   Change the Vale from "1" to "0".

5. Step 5
   
   
   

   Press the Start Menu.
   In the "Search programs and files" text box type "cmd" and Right-click on the short cut that appears on the top.
   Select the "Run as administrator" option.
   Click "Yes" on the "User Account Controls" window.
   This will open up the command promt.

6. Step 6
   
   
   

   In the command line window, type: slmgr /rearm
   
   Press ENTER.

7. Step 7
   
   
   

   Close the command line window and reboot Windows 7.
   After Windows 7 starts, click on Start Menu, right click "Computer" and select "Properties". Type in your product key and activate Windows 7.

Enjoy !

Tips & Warnings

• Download Microsoft Win 7 Guide
  
• Make sure you have Windows 7 Upgrade.
• Make sure you have a full retail version of Windows XP or Vista to be compliant with Microsoft's User Agreement.
• Microsoft confirms that this Windows 7 install trick is legal if the customer owns a full version of Windows XP or Windows Vista.
• Edit the registry with caution.
• DO NOT USE this trick if you do not own a full version of Windows XP or Vista.
• Using this hack on Windows 7 Upgrade without owning a full version of Windows XP or Windows Vista is a violation of the Microsoft's User Agreement.

How to upgrade Windows XP to Windows 7

Windows Xp in quickly nearing its end of life as support from Microsoft is now slated to expire in April of 2011. With the release of Windows 7, users can now upgrade to the latest version of Windows that adds great functionality and also requires less computer power than the fledging Windows Vista. It is important to note that users of Windows Vista can upgrade to Windows 7 but users of Windows XP must backup files or use a migration tool such as Windows 7 Easy Transfer. Note that all applications must be reinstalled for XP users making the upgrade!

1. Step 1

   Verify that you can upgrade your computer to Windows 7 - The easiest way to determine if your computer can "handle" Windows 7 is to run the free Windows 7 Upgrade advisor from Microsoft - http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/

2. Step 2

   Backup your data and files - Because you have to complete "wipe-out" and run a "clean install" of Windows 7 on an XP machine, you must backup all files that you want to preserve. The easiest way to do this is to backup to an external drive. Other options include burning to USB drives, CDs, DVDs, or posting your data to an online resource. Note that you can run the "Windows Easy Transfer" application to help copy data to your external drives. This application is included on the Windows 7 installation DVD.

3. Step 3

   Be prepared to reinstall all applications - Before "cleansing" your machine, make sure you have copies of all installs for your applications. Obviously CDs and DVDs are best. If you have a downloaded install, make sure you copy it to your backed up data in the step above.

4. Step 4

   Upgrade - Begin the upgrade process by inserting the Windows 7 DVD and double-clicking the setup.exe file if it does not start up automatically. You will be prompted to accept the license agreement, etc. Pay attention when the partition option comes up. If you want to replace your old version of Windows, select the partition that has the old XP install (this is usually the largest partition for the normal Windows user).

5. Step 5

   Restore backup up files - After the Windows 7 installation completes, you can now copy all your backed up files from your backup media to your "fresh" installation. Note that the Windows Easy Transfer application can be utilized again to speed up this process.

6. Step 6

   Clean-up your hard drive - When performing the upgrade, your old version of Windows is backed up to a Windows.old directory. To get this space back (it can be massive), run the Disk Cleanup utility which can be found at Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup. Once the application launches you can click on "Clean up system files" and select the "Previous

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How to Upgrade Vista to Windows 7

You can now upgrade Windows Vista to Windows 7. If you have waited for Windows 7 to be released because of the inefficiency of the Windows Vista operating system, you no longer need to wait. The Microsoft group that put together Windows 7 actually listened to their customers and made improvements where needed, and cut the system requirements of the new operating system. This article explains how to upgrade Windows Vista to Windows 7.

1. Step 1

   Get a copy of the Microsoft Upgrade advisor to test compatibility with you existing programs and hardware devices before upgrading to Windows 7. A link to this program on the Microsoft website is listed in the resources section of this article. Resolve any issues indicated before proceeding.

2. Step 2

   Determine the current hardware you are using to access the internet. It should be either a LAN card or motherboard feature for the wired network connection or a Wi-fi card or motherboard feature for the wireless network connection. Once you know the manufacturer and model number, go to the manufacturer's website and download a driver for Windows 7. Do not install the driver at this time, you want to keep a copy of the file either on CD, DVD, memory card, or USB drive. This will be a lifesaver if you cannot gain internet access if the card's drivers are not included on the Windows 7 install DVD.

3. Step 3

   Save any important files you cannot live without on an external hard drive, memory cards, USB drive, or burned to DVD's next. This includes important photos, word files, excel spreadsheets, tax information, etc. that cannot be replaced.

4. Step 4

   Use the Windows 7 backup tool to make an image of your current hard drive. This software is included on the Windows 7 DVD. You may want to save some of the larger files like music, photo, and video files separately and delete these files before starting the backup in order to make the image smaller if you ever need to restore the hard drive.

5. Step 5

   Insert the Windows 7 DVD to start the upgrade. If the DVD does not autorun, then go to my computer and select the DVD drive and double click on setup.exe. The direct upgrade will work for only Windows Vista with Service pack 1 or Service pack 2 installed.

6. Step 6

   Allow Windows 7 to download the latest upgrades. During the installation Windows will give you the option. Accept the upgrades and continue. After the update is complete continue installation of Windows 7 upgrade on your existing computer.

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WINDOWS 7 SUPPORT

The date is October 22, 2009, Windows 7 was released today. Its kind of funny, I remember when Windows XP was released and people actually stood in line to get a copy and make the transition from the 98/ME versions. When Windows Vista was released there was also a lot of fanfare that unfortunately turned sour. Vista brought with it a lot of change, and people don't like change, at least not that much.

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It was too cutesy for me, lots of flash and not a lot of substance. So, today I went down to my local Staples and purchased the Windows 7 Professional upgrade to put on a machine. There wasn't a lot of fanfare and I didn't see anyone standing in line to buy the new operating system. I definitely felt like an early adopter when I paid for it and walked out of the store. Let's hope I don't regret it.

Why did I buy the professional upgrade instead of the home version? Because I want to see and test out the Windows XP Mode that is only available in the professional and ultimate versions of Windows 7.

See the chart below for a comparison (straight off the installation box) of the different versions of Windows 7.


Installing Windows 7 I'm going to install Windows 7 by reformatting and installing a fresh copy of Windows 7, instead of upgrading over a previous version.

Windows 7 will upgrade over Vista, but the upgrade path for Windows XP is more difficult. According to the directions inside the case, you should run the Windows Upgrade Advisor, then save your important files and settings to an external hard drive using the Windows Easy Transfer Utility or copy the files to a CD, DVD, or flash drive. After you've backed up your data, you need to make sure you have all the installation disks for your programs and license keys. For Windows XP, Microsoft wants you to perform a “custom (advanced)” install, and finally use the Windows Easy Transfer to restore your files and settings. Sounds like a normal “wipe the hard drive and start over procedure” to me.

Opening the installation case, I found two DVDs, one for the 32-bit installation and one for the 64=bit installation. I chose to install the 64-bit version on this particular computer. I should tell you the computer I'm installing Windows 7 on is an AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3500+ (about 2.2GHz) with 1.5GB of RAM, and a 300GB hard drive.

The installation took about 35 minutes to complete. The impressive thing was it found all the drivers for the computer right off. For the most part, it was an uneventful installation. No glitches during the install and all the drivers are installed and working properly. I was prepared for the worst, and I have to admit I'm very surprised. Everything appears to be working from the start.

In fact, I'm typing this article on the new computer (using OpenOffice 3.1)Now I need to install some more programs and see how it behaves....

I'll be updating this page frequently as I study and analyze the new operating system in the coming weeks.

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All new information in the download -

Installation of Win 7

Optimization of Win 7

Customization of Win 7

Features of Win 7

Security of Win 7

Repair and / or Recovery of Win 7

Other Ways To Fix Win 7

Data Backup for Win 7

Advanced Techniques for Win 7

Troubleshooting unexpected errors

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Acer Recovery CD:Restore failed! Reason: 0xf0000051

What error messages appear during an Acer Recovery procedure?

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On Acer Computers, there are generally three partitions on the hard drive, the hidden PQService partition that holds the recovery information for the hard drive, the main partition (Acer), and a data partition (AcerData). When you try to use the Acer Recovery CDs or DVDs to reinstall the operating system, you may encounter either the 0xf0000051 or the 0xd0000017 error. Both errors happen during the system restore. First you start the computer with the Acer System disk and then put the Recovery disc in when it asks. Its during this part of the recovery that the above error messages might appear.

These error messages appear because the file structure on the hard drive is not what the recovery program expects, therefore the recovery software fails with an error.

How Do I Correct the Error and Recover an Acer Computer hard drive?In order to correct the hard drive partitions so the recovery program will work, you can use a variety of tools listed below.

1) killdisk - Use the killdisk program to wipe the hard drive clean off all partitions.

2) Ubuntu or another Linux alternative bootdisk.

Create a boot disk for the Ubuntu Live CD and boot the computer from it. During the boot process it will ask to "Try Ubuntu without any change to your computer". This is the option you want. Once Ubuntu loads, find the partition editor program under the System, Administration menu..

To delete a partition, right click on the partition that you wish to delete and select "Delete" from the menu. Once you are sure that you've selected the correct partition, and are positive that you have backed up all the files or data that you wish to save from that partition, click the "Apply" button at the top of the Window, and the partition will be deleted.

3) Use the Acer Hard Drive Format Utility, on some versions of Acer computers when you have the option to create Recovery disks, the system creates a hard drive format utility CD as well.

Boot from this CD and format the hard drive.The utility will recreate 1 partition (C: drive), after the partition has been created, you'll be able to reload the HDD with the backup media. The file is an ISO image for CD media only (not compatible with floppy diskettes). Create a CD disc from the ISO image file using a CD writer program on another computer. Once the hard drive partitions have been deleted by any of the utilities above, you can proceed with rebooting the computer using the Acer System CD and proceeding with the complete recovery of the system.

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