How To Upgrade to Windows 7 from XP or the Beta or RC versions

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/3075/how-to-upgrade-the-windows-7-rc-to-rtm/ ^ | 10/22/2009 | papasmurf

[papasmurf]

HOW TO UPGRADE WINDOWS 7 BETA OR RC TO WINDOWS 7 RTM (RETAIL VERSION)

You can’t upgrade directly from a pre-release version—at least, not without a quick and easy workaround. Here is that workaround...

The Problem

Windows 7 checks whether or not the current version you are running is a pre-release copy, and prevents you from upgrading further. For reference purposes, this is the error you’ll see when you try and upgrade.

The Solution

The solution is to edit a file inside the Windows 7 DVD—which you’ll have to extract to the hard drive to proceed.

• If you are using an ISO image for the installation progress, you can use the awesome 7-Zip utility to extract the ISO to a folder on the drive.
• If you are using an actual DVD, you can simply copy all of the files from the DVD to a folder on your hard drive.

Once you’ve extract the files, browse down into the “sources” folder to find the cversion.ini file.

Once you’ve opened up the cversion.ini file, you’ll notice that the MinClient line has a value of 7233.0, and since the Windows 7 RC release is build 7100, you can understand why it’s not working.

All you need to do is change the MinClient value to something less than the current build you are using. For the RC release, you can change it to 7000.

 

Now you can simply launch the setup.exe file from within the folder, and do the upgrade directly from the hard drive. Once you’ve started the setup, click Install now.

Once you get to the type of installation screen, choose to Upgrade the existing install.

Once you reach the Compatibility Report screen (if it doesn’t show up at all, be happy about it), you’ll see the list of applications that probably won’t work once you upgrade. Realistically most of these apps will work just fine, but the important thing is that you’ll be able to upgrade.

Note: You could always smooth the upgrade process by removing any apps that have compatibility problems, before you do the upgrade.

At this point, the upgrade should start working, and will take a rather long time.

 

Important Notes

There are a few important things to keep in mind when you are upgrading to the final version:

• The Windows 7 beta or RC releases were Ultimate edition, so you’ll only be able to upgrade to the RTM (final) if you are installing Ultimate Edition.
• Whenever possible, you should really backup your files and do a clean install. There are less headaches this way, and you get the benefit of a nice clean profile.

Happy upgrading!

[Boucheau]

All the benchmarks that I have seen, including our own, show that Windows 7 will run faster than Vista on the same hardware.

That was not true for everything that was tested. But overall it was faster.

I am enthusiastic about using and recommending Windows 7 to my clients. I’ve put it through its paces and believe it to be a solid performer.

No, I’m not Bill Gates and I don’t work for Microsoft. :) In fact, I’ve spent the last two years, or so, warning everyone about Vista. Not only that, we stopped selling systems with Vista installed—clients blame us, not Microsoft.

[Randy Larsen]

PING!

[oldbill]

PC Mover is not what it advertises to be.

It fails to transfer some programs that are fully compatible, and some of those it transfers not only don’t work but become impossible to remove because it screws up the capability to uninstall or remove them.

It is not as magical as they say. Read online reviews before you buy.

[Boucheau]

Microsoft released the final system requirements for windows 7 on April 30, 2009. These system requirements represent the bare minimum required to run windows 7 and are valid for all versions of the OS.

1 GHz processor (32- or 64-bit)
1 GB of RAM (32-bit); 2 GB of RAM (64-bit)
16 GB of available disk space (32-bit); 20 GB of avaiable disk space (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

If you plan to run windows XP mode with windows 7, the minimum requirements are 2 GB of RAM and 15 GB of additional disk space.

Windows Virtual PC requires a CPU with Intel-VT or AMD-V enabled, as it utilizes the latest hardware virtualization advancements.

These system requirements are basically the same as for Windows Vista. Therefore, your Windows Vista machine will run windows 7 just as well. In this case, you may opt for an operating system upgrade instead of buying a new PC.

[toomanygrasshoppers]

ping

[papasmurf]

I made a mistake in calling it PC Mover when, in fact, it’s PC Mover UPGRADE ASSISTANT, a different product.

[jcsjcm]

bookmark

[Christian4Bush]

Bump for later study

[papasmurf]

Check this post out, and the comments from Ed Morrissey of Hot Air.

[oldbill]

What post?

[AFreeBird]

... ‘Upgrading’ your operating system can be fraught with problems, large and small, some of which will lay dormant for some time before being revealed.

... Spend your time and money on better things. Do a clean install and create a recovery disk. You’ll be glad you did.

I have to concur with that advice. Better to backup important files, wipe the HD, and do a clean install of the OS and then the applications. Upgrading leaves too many leftovers that can crop up to bite you in the @$$.

[paulycy]

I could do an in-place Vista x64 to w7 install but maybe a clean install on relatively new hardware is better.

I am using a Dell provided lame Retrospect version that doesn’t really work well and hasn’t let me create a recovery CD.

Is there an open source backup and restore program you recommend for Vista x64? If not, which commercial program would you recommend?

Thanks.

[Bob]

Windows 7, while better than Vista, does need to have, at least, 2 gigabytes of Ram, and a modern processor.

According to the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, minimum memory needed is 1 gigabyte, running on a minimum 1 GHz processor.

[Boucheau]

Good question!

OK, here you go:

Runtime Software has a nifty little program call DriveImage XML that should do the trick.

http://www.runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm

Their YouTube Intro/Basic Tutorial is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTEnKA7tOXM

And a detailed how-to is here: http://www.tipsfor.us/ghost-windows-xp-for-free/

I strongly recommend that computer users with data that is at all important them, that’s pretty much everybody, get an online backup service.

Go here for some good reviews of online backup services: http://www.onlinebackuptopten.com

While I’m at it, if you need help you can contact me privately and I can give you some tips on getting in contact with some very good computer consultants who can help for very reasonable prices.

I hope that helps.

[AFreeBird]

I would first ask is: How much data, and what kind? Is it mostly stored in you users directory?

Vista should have a rudimentary backup/restore program. Now whether or not W7 will be able to restore from that file is another thing. (it should)

You only really want to backup your data. But if you want, a full complete backup of your Vista partition could never hurt, but it's more work.

[paulycy]

but it's more work.

I'm quite experienced and am looking for a solid solution that allows me to back up a whole volume onto a terabyte drive and create an emergency/restore CD.

I don't mind the work. I got nuthin' but time here. :0)

[paulycy]

DriveImage XML

Thanks. I'll check it out.

I've considered an online BU account but I am limited in how much I can upload/download on my satellite connection so I bought a terabyte drive for $100. Works great!

[Boucheau]

Oops! I forgot to mention that DriveImage XML is free.

Runtime has a very good data recovery program called GetDataBack that we will use occasionally in our shop for more basic jobs.

No, I don’t work for Runtime, nor do I or have any affiliation with them.

I probably should not have to state that at FR but, I did anyway. ;D

[papasmurf]

This one...http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2369500/posts

[papasmurf]

You’ll get no argument from me that a clean install is the best install.

There are folks who, for their own reasons, can’t or won’t or are afraid to attempt that. The XP upgrade portion of this post was targeted on them.

I have to question, though, the logic of telling a user that they’ll have problems using this application, as someone else did, then telling them to perform the very procedure they are trying to avoid. LOL

I used it for a customer that no longer had his original applications install media, it worked as advertised.