I have Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit on my desktop, and I've been running the Win 7 beta version on my laptop.

The beta version is about to expire, and I want to install Home Premium on it. I have the DVDs from Microsoft already.

My question is: When I hit the Microsoft website to buy a new copy of windows, can I just get the product key from them and install Win 7 using the DVD that I have? Or do I still have to DL the Win 7 .iso file from them and use that to install it?

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I think you will need to re-download a fresh iso.

I haven't had time to back up all my stuff and re-install an old o/s yet. So, to buy some more time I tried changing the date on my PC back a week. It's now informing me that my copy is going to expire in 7 days time. So it appears to have fooled it, but I won't be able to find out for definite for another 20 minutes (currently 23:40 here.)

That used to be the crack when Windows Vista first came out so I wouldn't be surprised if it's worked, haha.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ Mikey Mike I think you will need to re-download a fresh iso. I haven't had time to back up all my stuff and re-install an old o/s yet. So, to buy some more time I tried changing the date on my PC back a week. It's now informing me that my copy is going to expire in 7 days time. So it appears to have fooled it, but I won't be able to find out for definite for another 20 minutes (currently 23:40 here.) That used to be the crack when Windows Vista first came out so I wouldn't be surprised if it's worked, haha.

Lol at setting the time back

Ok, so each product key is kind of 'tied' to the DVD or .iso that it comes with?

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In this case, with the RC edition, yes.


From the Microcunt website:

Starting on March 1, 2010 your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Your work will not be saved during the shutdown.

The Windows 7 RC will fully expire on June 1, 2010. Your PC running the Windows 7 RC will continue shutting down every two hours and your files won’t be saved during shutdown. In addition, your wallpaper will change to a solid black background with a persistent message on your desktop. You’ll also get periodic notifications that Windows isn’t genuine. That means your PC may no longer be able to obtain optional updates or downloads requiring genuine Windows validation.

To avoid interruption, please reinstall a prior version of Windows or move to Windows 7. In either case, you'll need to do a custom (clean) install to replace the RC. As with any clean installation, you'll need to back up your data then reinstall your applications and restore the data.

Thanks again for helping us test Windows 7.


http://www.microsoft.com/windows/wi...-candidate.aspx

Yeah, I know I'll have to do a clean install, but I have the DVDs from Microsoft already. Will those DVDs only work with the first product key I bought, or will I be able to install Win 7 from those DVDs with any valid product key?

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Though its a real bother to install a new OS...gone are the days of Win98 when doing a clan install every few weeks was considered normal. Now in the past few months have just gotten my computer set up just the way i like it and i needed to do a fresh install. And now the stupid windows update doesnt find some drivers for my laptop that the RC version found in a few seconds wtf is p with that

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Haha, oh yeah. Not sure why I posted that, doesn't actually answer anything does it? What a dick head.

However, I'm fairly certain I read that you will need to download the RTM version. Just re-installing the RC version with your newly acquired key won't work. I can't find the article, but unless someone can confirm otherwise I am pretty sure you will need to do some re-downloading.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ Mikey Mike Haha, oh yeah. Not sure why I posted that, doesn't actually answer anything does it? What a dick head. However, I'm fairly certain I read that you will need to download the RTM version. Just re-installing the RC version with your newly acquired key won't work. I can't find the article, but unless someone can confirm otherwise I am pretty sure you will need to do some re-downloading.

No no, I have the full RTM version DVDs, purchased from the MS website, with a product key. I used the DVDs to install Win 7 on my desktop a couple of months ago. What I want to do is buy a new product key from MS, and install Win 7 on my laptop using the DVDs I already have. Possible to do?

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I wish I'd just read the thread properly first time. Yes, you should be able to use the same DVDs.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ Mikey Mike I wish I'd just read the thread properly first time. Yes, you should be able to use the same DVDs.

Lol

Cheers Mike.

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So it worked fine with the DVDs I already had. Just had to input the new product key when it asked. It activated fine too.

Thanks again Mike.

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If you're resourceful, u can activate it again if need be.