Windows 10: W10 activation with W7 product Key(approperiate way of installation)

Hi everyone,
I'm planning to buy SSD drive to my laptop, and i would like to know what is the easiest way of upgrading to new W10.
The question is whether:
1. Can i do clean installation of Windows 10 disk when it comes out and activate it with windows 7 Home premium OA product key (with sp1)
2. I must migrate my actual installation of windows 7 to the new SSD and wait until new upgrade comes out and install it via Windows update to have verified windows activation.
3. or there is some better way of doing so.

Also just one side question, i'm running dual boot with Ubuntu, and i would like to know, if upgrade via windows might replace GRUB2 bootloader and do some mess.

Thanks *Smile

:)

 

Activation Issues Windows 10

Hi!

The company that replaced your motherboard screwed you. They needed to get the digital entitlement key. But then they could not because the motherboard was fried.

The only way around this is to install W7 or W8, which ever you have the product key for. Get that activated, and upgrade again. Unless it had W10 on it preloaded. Then just enter that product key.

 

Upgrade to Windows 10 Via Clean Install - Product Key Problem

Spoke with Thomas at the MS "Activate by phone" toll free number.

The only options are to reinstall W7 or buy a W10 product key (no free upgrade). There is no database where your W7 product key is stored along with your W10 product key. The reserve does not create a W10 product key per Thomas. I saw alot of posts stating
that is done and that is not true.

The Official Microsoft Download Tool does not work and all the posts relating to using it are ersatz.

If you double click and execute the setup.exe from the Official Microsoft Download Tool, it does a clean install and you will
not be able to rollback/restore W7. For a clean install, you absolutely need a W10 product key - the W7 product key obviously does not apply/work.

BTW, in my other laptop, the W7->W10 upgrade worked like a champ with zero problems. W10 is a very sweet OS and love it. I have no idea why the upgrade to the other laptop failed as they are the same model of laptop.

This should qualify me as a Microsoft Software Engineer. Appears the bar is set pretty low or resting on the ground.

 

I would probably wait for Win10 to be released, then install from an ISO using the Win7 key.

You can put your existing drive in an external USB enclosure for easy access to your data.
Copy your personal data off the previous drive and store that drive in safe place as a backup.

Programs and applications will have to be installed, but that gives you the opportunity to update the free applications.

Programs you paid for will require the installation key - so prepare and find those keys!
You could update the purchased software as well, but that will cost some extra money - most programs are running well under Win10, so I'd hold off buying new software and see if the version I have works well enough.

I can't answer your question about grub. Other than saying that if you go with a clean install, yes, that function will be lost, but it's easy enough to put back - you've already done it once *Wink

These are my thoughts, other members will offer their advice and counsel. There are lots of ways to accomplish this, plenty of time to decide from the answers given here.

 

If it is possible to activate w10 with w7 key then, everything is fine and strategy is clear *Smile that grub was meant in the case i went with upgrade on top of w7 and not clean installation but, now it is irrelevant *Smile) thanks for answer *Smile

 

Yes, it is possible to activate Win10 with your Win7 key. MS has been busy - here's their new FAQs page for Win10.
Windows 10 FAQ Tips - Microsoft

To be on the safe side (things change in the software world) make a system image of your current Win7 installation. I am doing that on the three machines here before I upgrade.

There are a number of imaging packages, but Windows has one built in
See: Backup Complete Computer - Create an Image Backup - Windows 7 Help Forums

If you're satisfied that your thread / question has been answered, please mark it solved ... just a bit of housekeeping.

Thanks,

Bill
.

 

Just to clarify, although it is possible to activate a Win7 or 8 working build, it's not possible to install a clean version of Win 10 using anything but a Win 10 key.
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/w...da18c08?auth=1

If you attempt to install a clean version of W10 using a Win7 or 8 key, it will not recognise it.

Also, if you attempt to build a Win7 machine, and don't activate it first, a Win10 build will fail.

 

It's possible to do a clean install of Win 10 without any key at all.

If you do an upgrade install on a qualifying OS (7 SP1, 8.1), and choose to keep everything, the Win 10 that results will activate.

You may then clean install 10 on the same hardware.

What I haven't heard is whether you could upgrade on an old HD, swap in an SSD, and clean install on it. It's not precisely the same hardware, but I hope that there's a little slack in what the activation servers are set up to permit, just like for the prior versions of Window (XP, Vista, 7, and 8).