The Secrets to Clean-Installing Windows 7 with Upgrade Media

Unfortunately, Microsoft is still making it difficult to perform a clean install of Windows 7 using Upgrade media, as it did with Windows Vista.  You can’t simply use Upgrade media to do a clean install of Windows 7 on a new or previously formatted PC, but there are workarounds and this time they are easier.

In older versions of Windows, Microsoft would prompt you to insert an install floppy or CD from a previous version, to prove that you qualified for the upgrade version.  But with Windows XP, PC makers began being able to drastically change the install CD, (all those extra programs that Dell, HP, and the like, would push onto your desktop that most of us just uninstalled after setup). 

With Vista, Microsoft added support for in-place upgrades from Windows XP, but in order to use Upgrade media, you had to perform a double install in order to activate Windows.  (The process for how to do this is documented by Paul Thurrott here How to Clean Install Windows Vista with Upgrade Media).  Although performing a clean install of Windows 7 using Upgrade media isn’t simple, the following methods are considered legal by Microsoft and should work for most users.

First Let’s Understand What We Are Actually Doing

Performing a clean install--or what Microsoft calls a custom install--is when you boot your PC with Windows 7 Setup media (typically a Setup DVD, but with this version it could also be a specially created, bootable USB memory device containing the Setup bits) with the intention of installing just Windows 7 on the PC. There could be a previous version of Windows (XP or Vista) installed on the PC already. You will either install Windows 7 to a separate partition or will wipe out the previous Windows version during Setup.  As always, please be sure to back up any data first.  (This guide is intended to help you perform a clean install using Windows 7  Upgrade media.  The author is not responsible for lost data.  Please, please backup your data first.)

Here’s the problem.  While anyone with a valid, licensed copy of Windows XP or Vista qualifies for any Upgrade version of Windows 7, only Vista users can do an in-place upgrade, which is the install type for which Upgrade Media is optimized.  If you're an XP user, there's no way to do an in-place upgrade. So you have to perform a migration, which consists of three steps:

1. Backup your crucial data and settings using Windows Easy Transfer (it's on the Windows 7 Setup DVD) and make note of the applications that are installed, because you'll have to manually reinstall them again after the fact.

2. Perform a clean install of Windows 7 using the Upgrade media. I describe this process in this article.

3. Restore your crucial data and settings using Windows Easy Transfer (part of Windows 7) and then reinstall your applications.

There are millions of people out there who will be performing clean installs with Upgrade media. Many people have experienced issues with Windows 7 upgrades, especially those trying to do clean installs with Upgrade media, but if you follow the advice in this article, you will get up and running. You will get a legally activated, legitimate version of Windows 7 installed on your PC.

Note: In all of these methods, you should observe one simple rule. Do not enter your product key during Setup. Instead, you will attempt to activate Windows 7 manually after it is installed. So you can just enter your product key later.

If you have a previous version of Windows (XP or Vista), try launching Windows 7 Setup from that OS first, even if you want to wipe out the previous Windows verison. If you run Windows 7 Setup from your previous OS, Windows 7 will always activate.

If you boot your PC with the Windows 7 Setup DVD, as described below, and there is an existing install of Windows on the first partition, Windows 7 will always activate. If the existing install of Windows is on some other partition, Windows 7 should still activate. There are instances in which this won't work--especially when people really muck around with directory structures and so on, but it should activate.

Windows 7 Setup does its compliance checking before the phase of Setup where you format the disc. (Unlike with Windows Vista.) This means that you can format your existing hard drive, and blow away a previous Windows version, and not worry about activation. If it was there, Windows 7 will still activate.

Recovery partitions don't count. While Windows 7 Setup will look for previous installations of Windows, it will not look for recovery partitions or use them for compliance checking.

While I provide two workarounds for Windows 7 installs that will not activate, Microsoft's preference is that you simply call Microsoft Support instead. The call is free, and they will get you up and running (i.e. activated) very quickly.

Method #1:  Boot with the Upgrade Setup Media

Here's what you do. Insert the Windows 7 Upgrade DVD in your PC's optical disc, reboot the computer, boot off the DVD, and then follow the steps to install Windows 7. If you are installing onto a computer that already has another version of Windows, be sure to back everything up first.

After Windows 7 is set up, and you've booted into the desktop, run Windows Update, download any pending updates, reboot as needed, and repeat until there are no more updates. Then, type activate in Start Menu Search to bring up the Activate Windows utility. Type in your product key and attempt to activate Windows.

If it works, you're all set. You're done. Congratulations.

Here's what you do want to see.

If this does not work, either call Microsoft Support and have them provide you with an activation code, or move on to method 2.

Here's what you don't want to see. But don't worry, we can overcome this.

Method 2:  Registry Hack

Note:  Method 2 is not supported By Microsoft and any time you work with the registry you take a chance at causing complications.  If you are new to regedit or simply nervouse about later complications, use Method #3.

Open regedit.exe with Start Menu Search and navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup/OOBE/

Change MediaBootInstall from "1" to "0". (Double-click it and then enter 0 in the dialog that appears.)

Close RegEdit.

Open the Start Menu again and type cmd in Start Menu search to display a shortcut to the Command Line utility. Right-click this shortcut and choose "Run as administrator." Handle the UAC prompt.

In the command line window, type: slmgr /rearm

Then tap ENTER and wait for the "Command completed successfully" dialog.

Then, close the command line window and reboot. When Windows 7 reboots, run the Activate Windows utility, type in your product key and activate windows.

If it works, you're all set. You're done. Congratulations.

If this does not work, you can try two different things:

First, ensure there are no pending Windows Updates to install. Some of these can cause this method to fail. Install them and reboot PC. Re-run the command line (with administrative privileges) noted above, reboot again, and re-attempt the activation.

If that does not work, try Method #3.

Method #3:  The “Double Install”  Method

1. Insert the Windows 7 Setup DVD in the optical drive if it isn't already there and choose Run Setup from the auto-run dialog that appears. Or, if it is already inserted, navigate to the optical drive in Computer and double-click is icon to trigger Setup.

2. At the appropriate stage of Setup, choose Upgrade (and not Custom). Windows 7 will install as before, though you might notice that it takes quite a bit longer this time. Because you're upgrading this time, you won't be prompted to enter your user name or most of the other information that you need to provide during a clean install. Using the user name (and password) you created during the first install, logon to Windows 7.

Now, activation will work. To activate Windows 7 immediately, type activate in Start Menu Search. This brings up the Activate Windows utility. Type in your product key and attempt to activate Windows.