|Tigers Johnson| Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 I used my brothers school e-mail address to upgrade my laptop from Vista to windows 7. I bought Windows 7 upgrade from the store for my PC. I can't get the download version to work out of the e-mail to re-upgrade my laptop again.... so here is the ?? Can I use the product key from the one I downloaded with the upgrade CD I bought in the store? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Highly doubtful to not a chance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatScratchFever Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 [quote name='Elflocko' date='29 December 2009 - 09:21 PM' timestamp='1262136107' post='849451'] Highly doubtful to not a chance... [/quote] Actually, you can. Win 7 was designed that way on purpose. You can even use upgrade CD as a Full Install disk. I've done it myself. The dirty little secret is that the upgrade disk and full install disk are exactly the same, for all practical purposes. Technically, to "legally" use the upgrade disk, you have to have a license for a previous version of Windows, but there is no mechanism in place to verify that. As long as you have a Product Key, you can install from any disk to your heart's content. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 [quote name='CatScratchFever' date='30 December 2009 - 06:45 AM' timestamp='1262180706' post='849575'] Actually, you can. Win 7 was designed that way on purpose. You can even use upgrade CD as a Full Install disk. I've done it myself. The dirty little secret is that the upgrade disk and full install disk are exactly the same, for all practical purposes. Technically, to "legally" use the upgrade disk, you have to have a license for a previous version of Windows, but there is no mechanism in place to verify that. As long as you have a Product Key, you can install from any disk to your heart's content. [/quote] Only one way to find out I guess, but I still have my doubts. Granted my experience is with enterprise licensing, but I have still had issues using licenses between different versions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatScratchFever Posted December 31, 2009 Report Share Posted December 31, 2009 [quote name='Elflocko' date='30 December 2009 - 10:43 AM' timestamp='1262184218' post='849596'] Only one way to find out I guess, but I still have my doubts. Granted my experience is with enterprise licensing, but I have still had issues using licenses between different versions... [/quote] Doubt no more, my friend. I have first-hand experience doing it. I also bought a $30 upgrade download from the same place TJ did. All they give you is a key and an upgrade executable file that can only be run from the computer you are upgrading. I wanted to do a clean install, so I ditched those files, and used a full install disk from a buddy of mine. Booted off disk, used the key I had and presto. M$ did it right this time around. They responded to complaints that with older Windows upgrades you had to install the old OS first, then do an upgrade. Give them credit for making it way easier this time. I've also heard that no matter what version of 7 you bought, you can install any version from any disk. It determines what version to install based on the key you enter. I have not tried that myself, but as far as using a full install disk with an upgrade key... no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted December 31, 2009 Report Share Posted December 31, 2009 [quote name='CatScratchFever' date='30 December 2009 - 06:54 PM' timestamp='1262224488' post='849791'] Doubt no more, my friend. I have first-hand experience doing it. I also bought a $30 upgrade download from the same place TJ did. All they give you is a key and an upgrade executable file that can only be run from the computer you are upgrading. I wanted to do a clean install, so I ditched those files, and used a full install disk from a buddy of mine. Booted off disk, used the key I had and presto. M$ did it right this time around. They responded to complaints that with older Windows upgrades you had to install the old OS first, then do an upgrade. Give them credit for making it way easier this time. I've also heard that no matter what version of 7 you bought, you can install any version from any disk. It determines what version to install based on the key you enter. I have not tried that myself, but as far as using a full install disk with an upgrade key... no problem. [/quote] Niiiice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatScratchFever Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 More useful info: Apparently every edition of Win7 IS included on every disk, but a single file keeps you from installing any other version that the one you bought. Naturally, there's a "workaround".... [url="http://lifehacker.com/5438005/eicfg-removal-utility-lets-you-use-any-product-key-with-your-windows-7-disc"]http://lifehacker.com/5438005/eicfg-removal-utility-lets-you-use-any-product-key-with-your-windows-7-disc[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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