Lord_Tryptophan wrote:Re: Win 7 load. This actually seems to work -- to a point.
I get tripped up at the Product Key Entry. I have tried the key that came with the Win 7 disks as well as the key on the certificate pasted to the computer itself (that one is for Vista) as well as a key for old Win XP. None work.
Problem probably is that this copy of Win 7 is an UPGRADE KIT, so it's searching the HD for an existing prior-version key as well?
It seems I'm back to where I stared -- needing an install of an operating sytem I don't even want (Vista) in order to get this to work.
At least the partial success in installing Windows 7 (it even let me tinker with the partition sizes as an initial step) suggests that I might be able to turn this into a useable computer if I get a full-version (rather than upgrade version) of Win 7. Sound right?
Hello,
I have used upgrade versions of Windows (including Win 7) and they should work fine. I am talking about upgrade versions (e.g. from previous Windows version to 7)
They support both clean installation and upgrades (unless it is upgrade from one edition to another - for which I am not 100% sure if it supports clean install - but it should also).
The issue is with the product key. You should only try the Windows 7 one, not the XP one - the XP key won't work at all.
As some workaround, Microsoft offers 90 free trial version of Windows 7 Enterprise edition (the top edition):
It can be downloaded from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/evalcenter/dn407368
It can be installed without entering a key during installation , it is done after installation since it is volume licensing type.
After some time, you can purchase retail copy of Windows 7 edition of your choice and reinstall it.
Windows 7 is supported and should work for this computer.