OK, so it’s not so much a hack as a simple workaround. Paul Thurrot explains, here, how to do a clean install of Win7 on an empty hard drive using Win7 upgrade media. Now, for some that sounds like a license to “steal” a full install (~$220 for Win7 Premium) for an upgrade (~$120) price. Not cool, folks. As Microsoft’s Eric Ligman points out,
“For those of you without an existing Windows license to upgrade from, you should be aware that an upgrade license by itself is not a license to install and run Windows on your computer…
“In order to upgrade, you need to have a qualifying license to upgrade from. Regardless of what any hack says, a Windows 7 upgrade is an upgrade.”
Note the “For those of you without an existing Windows license to upgrade from… ” Now, many of us do have existing qualifying Windows licenses to upgrade from (Win2K through Vista, for the most part). They might be on “retired” (and unused) hardware–an old PC or hard drive–but if it’s indeed unused and NOT GOING TO BE USED AGAIN, then that installation ought to morally, and probably legally, qualify for an “upgrade” installation, even if it is on new hardware.
Now, of course there are the restrictions placed on OEM installations that do not allow reinstalling the OEM Windows OS on new hardware. But still… I do have non-OEM media/licenses that’s for qualifying Windows versions not installed on ANY computer. So, I may well take Thurrot’s workarounds and do at least one Win7 clean install from upgrade media. After all, that’s $100 difference in price, and I would be “upgrading” an existing (unused) license… Of course, that would leave me one fewer licenses to use for Windows VMs, but that’s not such a biggie.
Oh! Bright point: the “gold” release of Ubuntu 9.10 is… now. 🙂
Buh-bye!
Update after the jump: