Upgrade the Windows 7 RC to retail

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Comments

  • edited October 2009
    Will this procedure work with an oem (system builder's) disk of Win 7 or must it be an upgrade disk?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited October 2009
    If the system builder's disk is a standard OEM copy, which has not been modified by the OEM, then yes it will work fine.
  • MBT
    edited October 2009
    Can we be certain that upgrading this way will remove the RC expiration date of June,2010?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited October 2009
    It is certain. The expiration date is determined by the activation server's analysis of your product's key; RTM keys have no expiration date, while the limited list of RC keys are all flagged to expire on 6/010.
  • edited October 2009
    step 4. You may not have hklm (=keyroot instead). search for Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version string in registry and you'll find the version name.
  • edited October 2009
    First of all, thank you SO much Robert! I've been walking around with a flashdrive that has the Win7 install binaries on it and was hoping to upgrade my tablet (currently running 7100) to the RTM; this should let me do it!

    On a side note, why does upgrade from Vista work? Vista is build 6000...

    @Kenny C: You can not do an in-place upgrade from XP to Win7; at least, not normally. Technically, if you lower the MinClient value (from the instructions) to 2600 (the build number for XP) it *might* work but I absolutely do not recommend this.

    However, you will be able to use your upgrade disc to install Win7 - you'll just have to do a clean install over XP (which usually means reformatting). Put in the disc and boot off it, select Install. It should detect your XP copy and allow you to install Win7, but it will require that you do a clean install rather than an in-place upgrade.
  • edited October 2009
    Thanks for this guide. Do you also have an idea to downgrade the RTM Ultimate to Home Premium ? Would be cool as well for many people (yeah I know that MS won't support it now....). Thx !
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited October 2009
    Scotty: You can try setting the minclient version number to 7600 and performing an upgrade, but I can't guarantee that "upgrading" an RTM to an RTM will work.
  • edited October 2009
    Thanks Thrax, but id didn't work. So I have to do more research....
  • edited October 2009
    News: If your on the RC you can still upgrade with the E version. You just can't upgrade from vista with E Version.
  • gl
    edited October 2009
    Thanks a bunch for the registry hack, I just upgraded Ultimate64 RC to HomePremium64 RTM without any problems.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited October 2009
    You're welcome, GL! Thanks for letting us know it worked for you.
  • edited October 2009
    The modification sounds great but I am struggling and need help. I can find the cversion.ini file. when I go to change it i get the access denied message. i can save it as a txt file, but then I have two file and the orig ini file still has 7233. can someone advise? i downloaded the home premium version today
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited October 2009
    Right click the file, hit properties, and uncheck "Read only." That should fix the problem.
  • edited October 2009
    Can I use a Windows 7 Upgrade disk, or do I need to have the Full version for this to work?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited October 2009
    You can use an upgrade disc.
  • edited October 2009
    Hi Robert, I know the article states any retail version, but could you confirm will this fix work if I buy the any of the Upgrade any time Versions or do I have to buy the complete upgrade version.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited October 2009
    You need an upgrade, OEM, or full retail license. I cannot reasonably assert that an anytime upgrade will work.
  • edited October 2009
    Thanks for the great article. I just did this to go from Windows 7 Home Premium RC to Windows 7 Ultimate OEM version. You may wonder how I originally got Windows 7 Home Premium RC. I used a trick from Windows Secrets to install Home Premium instead of Ultimate. I did this because I thought that is what version I would finally want. BUT, I changed my mind and decided on Ultimate for the final version.

    Because of this, though, I did have to perform Step 3 and change the registry keys from Home Premium to Ultimate. Otherwise, it wouldn't let me upgrade. In any case, it all worked great and the upgrade took about an hour and a half. Thanks again for the great article.
  • edited October 2009
    Worked flawlessly, like I never had to upgrade. The only difference is the version(and the lack of features) and no more watermark on my screen. Thanks!
  • edited October 2009
    Is there anyway to bypass the space requirements? I'm running W7 RC 7100 on a 35gb partition with 7gb free. I like to keep my OS partition small and all my files on the other parts of my HDD. But the setup says I need 11gb?? wtf?! I don't want to have to uninstall a few apps just to upgrade to the retail version... Any help appreciated. Thanks!
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited October 2009
    You're welcome, guys! Thanks for dropping us a line. :)
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited October 2009
    Jonathan wrote:
    Is there anyway to bypass the space requirements? I'm running W7 RC 7100 on a 35gb partition with 7gb free. I like to keep my OS partition small and all my files on the other parts of my HDD. But the setup says I need 11gb?? wtf?! I don't want to have to uninstall a few apps just to upgrade to the retail version... Any help appreciated. Thanks!

    The space requirements are not a joke! The Windows install routine needs significant temporary space, and space to move your files during the install process. You might try reclaiming some space by turning off hibernate: Launch a command prompt as an administrator and type "powercfg -h off" and hit enter. After you restart, it will clear the hibernate file which is equal to the amount of RAM you have. If you have 4GB RAM, it might push you overr 11GB. Otherwise, burn some data to dvd temporarily.
  • edited October 2009
    Hi,
    Thanks for the great article. Can step 3 above be used to upgrade from Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional in place? Or are the registry settings different for a Vista to Win 7 upgrade?

    Thank you!
  • edited October 2009
    Hey Robert,

    Thanks a million for you article. One question. I have ordered Windows 7 Professional Upgrade. Will the procedure work on this version of the retail?
    Also, if for some reason it fails or I get application or issues with my RC partition, can I go ahead and do a clean install on my XP partition? Or will I get a serial # conflict (do I have to unistall from the RC partition or somehow deactivate the licence?)

    Thanks in advance,

    Randall
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited October 2009
    Hi,
    Thanks for the great article. Can step 3 above be used to upgrade from Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional in place? Or are the registry settings different for a Vista to Win 7 upgrade?

    Thank you!

    It might be usable, but I can't guarantee you anything. I'd back up your important data before you try. Though it's best just to do a clean install, as upgrades from one OS to another are never all that great.
    Hey Robert,

    Thanks a million for you article. One question. I have ordered Windows 7 Professional Upgrade. Will the procedure work on this version of the retail?
    Also, if for some reason it fails or I get application or issues with my RC partition, can I go ahead and do a clean install on my XP partition? Or will I get a serial # conflict (do I have to unistall from the RC partition or somehow deactivate the licence?)

    Thanks in advance,

    Randall

    1. Yes, it will work.

    2. You can do a clean install on your XP partition, but it's advisable to format the RC partition if it's being problematic. You'll get two Windows 7 entries at boot if you don't.

    3. You won't have any activation problems.
  • edited October 2009
    I followed all the directions, checked and double checked the registry file and the Windows 7 instalation disk copied to a network drive and it still says that I can't upgrade an Ultimate to a Professional. I just got the disk in the mail yesterday. Any ideas?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited October 2009
    Please post a picture of the registry. Secondly, you have the release candidate installed, correct? NOT one of the leaked Ultimate RTMs?
  • edited October 2009
    I am having difficulty with step 3. Cracking open the registry on the Release candidate box. Is this on the system or part of the 7 DVD? Is there a specific line to type in after regedit in the command line?
  • Richard_ConnecticutRichard_Connecticut Hamden, Connecticut
    edited October 2009
    Thrax wrote:
    Please post a picture of the registry. Secondly, you have the release candidate installed, correct? NOT one of the leaked Ultimate RTMs?

    Nope, not one of the leaked Ultimate RTM's. Got it directly from Microsoft. Everything is legit.

    I tried installing it from a folder in the root directory, then I attached a network drive and tried to install from there. I moved an old "Windows Old" folder from the root directory. I rebooted and rechecked, nada. Thanks for your help!
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