This definitely works for RC to RTM, but only for Ultimate as the article disclaimer indicates:
Lastly, be aware that the RC-to-Retail upgrade process only works with the retail edition of Windows 7 Ultimate. A technique which opens the upgrade process to Windows 7 Professional or Home Premium hasn’t been developed yet. We are, however, exploring possibilities; should one bear out, we will update this article with the necessary steps.
That should be displayed more prominently imo, as the price of Ultimate jumps drastically for all versions and the pre-order deals in June were only for HP and Pro.
I concur - this is great info just in time for the release. I will be installing the European version of W7 which I think does not allow an upgrade at all. Does anyone have any experience with this release relative to W7RC. Given that an upgrade may not be possible, what's the next best (least worst) route?
Thanx in advance for your help - Al
This is great! I'm assuming that this will work for Upgrade retail disks as well as Full (not-upgrade) disks? There's a big difference in price between the two.
@Allan: For Euro users, a clean install is unfortunately the only way. I do advise making a backup of your current user profile using Windows Easy Transfer... This will save all of your desktop settings, favorites (for both Firefox and IE), documents, SOME program settings, and more. You'll have to reinstall drivers and any programs that were lost in the reformat, but the WET file will save you a lot of time.
@CyberBob: As far as I am aware, it will work for upgrade and FPP discs just the same.
Ive done this 2 times now and some applications will work that came with windows... but other things like firefox or even installers for programs will not launch.
There are SO MANY variables that could lead to the problem you are experiencing. Some users on another forum were experiencing the same symptom (with a clean install)... Bad memory for one person, overheating processor for a second, a virus scanner for a third person was gumming up the works.
What I can tell you is that I had no troubles on my end. The PC happily browsed on firefox, etc. I wish I could be more help, but there are simply too many variables to consider to give you a concrete answer.
Hi to all. my rc win7(watermark says win 7 evaluation copy build 7100) but the minclient reads=7077.0 and minserver=7000.0. Can i still do the upgrade. IF not what do i do? and on a final note where do get the serial and product key to activate(surly the rc keys wont do job). And if some one could provide them or a link or even a crack would be much appreciated. Thanks for your time.
Hi to all. my rc win7(watermark says win 7 evaluation copy build 7100) but the minclient reads=7077.0 and minserver=7000.0. Can i still do the upgrade. IF not what do i do? and on a final note where do get the serial and product key to activate(surly the rc keys wont do job). And if some one could provide them or a link or even a crack would be much appreciated. Thanks for your time.
1. Yes, it will still work.
2. You buy Windows. We're not here to help you steal.
Hi i am sorry, i dont want to steal or do anything illigle but i am concerned that with the rc i could not even get into the trail with out the activation key, which i got from microsoft but will it be the same with the rtm where i dont know where to get a key from? PLEASE dont think i want to do anything illigle but i was and i still concerned. Thank you so much for your reply.
The registry tweak to enable upgrade to any RTM version is brilliant! Doesn't really help me as a TN subscriber but will be a great solution for all those pre-order upgraders.
Hi i'v followed your instructions perfectly and have attemted 3 times but i still have build 7100 but in my cversion.ini the minclient is 7077 and the minserver 7000. PLEASE PLEASE help! am i doing something wrong. what should i do?
Hi i'v followed your instructions perfectly and have attemted 3 times but i still have build 7100 but in my cversion.ini the minclient is 7077 and the minserver 7000. PLEASE PLEASE help! am i doing something wrong. what should i do?
Do you have a valid RTM key and installation disc/image? This isn't a magical hack to transform a RC install into an RTM install, it simply tricks the RTM installer into thinking the installed RC version is compatible for upgrade to RTM.
Curious whether you've tried this on the 90 day Enterprise trial. I've just spent many hours loading up a 64 bit Win 7 trial with all my office software to confirm compatibility before deploying to a production environment. Very impressive, positive result. All the software works magnificently, some of which is very poorly coded and crash prone. All my printers, scanners, etc perform using Vista 64 drivers. No issues with SBS 2003 or MS Exchange.
I set up the trial build knowing that it would be good only for a short time, so have used trial versions of all the applications. Now you've got me wondering whether this RC-to-RTM conversion might work on a RTM Enterprise trial to Professional Retail conversion.
Thanks but I have done some research and have found out my 'rc' version is actualy a pre-rc version and that it says it is build 7100 and is not elegable for this upgrade
Will it work if i try do a clean instal instead of an upgrade? my minserver reads 7000 what should i make the minclient? Thanks for all the help so far:)
i have used this three times on machines that I had done minimal testing on an seemed to work great. Am TN subscriber also and dont really want to do a clean install machine that is just used for testing
i have used this three times on machines that I had done minimal testing on an seemed to work great. Am TN subscriber also and dont really want to do a clean install machine that is just used for testing
I'm really pleased this worked for you, Pigpenz! Thanks for posting.
Thrax
🐌Austin, TX Icrontian
Comments
That should be displayed more prominently imo, as the price of Ultimate jumps drastically for all versions and the pre-order deals in June were only for HP and Pro.
/me sings.
This guide now includes the steps necessary to upgrade from the Windows 7 release candidate to any retail version of Windows 7.
We have certified the steps by successfully converting an RC install to the retail version of Windows 7 Professional.
Enjoy!
Thanx in advance for your help - Al
@CyberBob: As far as I am aware, it will work for upgrade and FPP discs just the same.
Any suggestions?
What I can tell you is that I had no troubles on my end. The PC happily browsed on firefox, etc. I wish I could be more help, but there are simply too many variables to consider to give you a concrete answer.
1. Yes, it will still work.
2. You buy Windows. We're not here to help you steal.
I set up the trial build knowing that it would be good only for a short time, so have used trial versions of all the applications. Now you've got me wondering whether this RC-to-RTM conversion might work on a RTM Enterprise trial to Professional Retail conversion.
I'm really pleased this worked for you, Pigpenz! Thanks for posting.