Upgrade path xp to 7 (has windows 7 coa)

[nsanto17]

I have a bunch of workstations that have the windows 7 coa but have XP currently loaded on them. Is there an upgrade path or do i need to do a complete re-install?

Workstations came with window 7 coa but were downgraded to xp.

Thanks in advance.

Nick

 

[vacunita]

Unfortunately you will need to do a complete restore according to Microsoft's own article.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ie/windows7/help/upgrading-from-windows-xp-to-windows-7

If there are very many Pc's you need to upgrade you might want to consider deployment from a network share.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/pilot-and-deploy-windows-7.aspx

Step-by-Step: Basic Windows Deployment for IT Professionals

http://technet.microsoft.com/library/dd349348.aspx#BKMK_5

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Phil AKA Vacunita
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Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

Web & Tech

 

[goombawaho]

Better to do a complete fresh install anyway to clear out the system. More work, yes but better end results probably. Make sure when you install to specify the correct product that you have on the COA, i.e., Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 7 Professional. You can't register a Home Premium with a Professional key code.

 

[Nelviticus]

You can actually upgrade XP to 7 if you have a Vista disc handy, I did it myself. It's quite tedious though so I'd only bother if you really don't want to do a fresh install of 7.

You use the Vista disc to upgrade from XP to Vista, but you don't activate Vista at this point. You can then use your Windows 7 disc to upgrade from Vista to 7.

Note that the editions need to match - I upgraded from XP Professional to Vista Business, and from there to 7 Professional.

Nelviticus

 

[goombawaho]

It's quite tedious though

Yeah, I guess that would DEFINE tedious in my book + negating the fresh install benefits. But true.

 

[Nelviticus]

Unfortunately it was the only option for me as the only graphics drivers available for my laptop were for XP and Vista; neither would install under Windows 7, despite every trick on the interwebs. The only way I could get a fully-working machine was to jump through two upgrade hoops (on top of the aborted fresh install hoop). So although Win 7 wouldn't let me install the Vista drivers, it would quite happily use them if they were already present following an upgrade.

Nelviticus

 

[BionicJohn]

You can upgrade straight from WinXP to Win7.

However, you will need to use "Windows Easy Transfer" to backup and restore all user data, as all users, their profiles and data will be permanently deleted.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows7/products/features/windows-easy-transfer

It's lengthy but does work.



Iechyd da! John
Glannau Mersi, Lloegr.