Windows 7 upgrade clean install registry

Microsoft allows users to install and run any version of Windows 7 for up to 30 days without requiring a product activation key, the character alphanumeric string that proves the copy is legitimate. The rearm command can be used as many as three times at the end of each day grace period to extend the activation-free ride for approximately four months.

Some users commenting on Thurrott's blog reported that they were able to do a clean install using a Windows 7 upgrade key without resorting to his registry hack and the rearm command.

Thurrott, however, was skeptical. Here are the latest Insider stories. Follow the Windows 7 Install Wizard to install the operating system on the blank, empty and clean system. User can try to input the serial number to check if setup accepts the key. After Windows 7 is installed, boot up to desktop, and manually enter the Windows 7 upgrade product key to activate online or activate via phone. Steps above, which is practically how to perform clean install with a Windows 7 full version media and product key, should work for some, if not most, users.

On system that the system still does not accept an upgrade version product key, or face activation failure error code of 0xCF, try one or more of the following workarounds to get Windows 7 activated:.

Steps above have also been used to clean install Windows Vista Upgrade version. The next screen is a more graphical progress bar indicating Windows 7 is still working in the background.

The first options you will come across are selections for Language, Time and currency format, and Keyboard layout. Since this system only has one hard drive, only one place Windows 7 can go. Advanced options are shown in the next screen shot. The advanced options allow creation of multiple partitions and the option of formatting existing partitions. Here is where Windows 7 installs major components of the OS.

This process can take 10 to 60 minutes depending on the system. You can hit the Restart Now button or just allow the reboot to happen automatically after several seconds. Here we see progress as Windows 7 updates the registry settings.

This process may take several minutes before going to the next screen. Setup is now preparing the system for initial booting. Unlike the previous screen capture, you will not see this on each boot. Here is where Windows 7 tests the systems video performance to see if Aero will be enabled or not. This test will only last a few minutes. Here is where the initial account creation happens.

Choose the Language to install , Time and currency format , and Keyboard or input method that you'd like to use in your new Windows 7 installation. Do not select the Repair your computer link at the bottom of the window even if you're completing this clean install of Windows 7 as part of some larger repair project for your computer. The Repair your computer link is used to start a Windows 7 Startup Repair or perform another recovery or repair task from System Recovery Options.

If you're performing a clean install of Windows 7 as a solution to a major problem but have not yet tried a Startup Repair, do that first. It could save you the trouble of completing this clean install process.

Read through the agreement, check the I accept the license terms checkbox under the agreement text, and then select Next to confirm that you agree with the terms.

You should always read 'small print' especially when it comes to operating systems and other software. Most programs, Windows 7 included, have legally binding limits on how many computers the application can be installed on, among other limitations.

You are not breaking any laws or contracts by reinstalling Windows 7 via this clean install. As long as this particular copy of Windows 7 is only being operated on one computer, you're OK. In the Which type of installation do you want? Even if you are upgrading from a previous operating system to Windows 7, I highly recommend that you do not follow the Upgrade installation. You'll get better performance with less chance of issues if you follow these clean install steps.

In this screen, you'll see each partition that Windows 7 recognizes. Since a clean install involves the removal of all operating system related partitions, if they exist, we'll do this now. If, and only if, you're installing Windows 7 on a new hard drive, which of course does not have an operating system on it to remove, you can skip directly to Step 15! Windows 7 setup considers partition management as an advanced task, so you'll need to select the Drive options advanced link to make those options available.

In the next few steps, you'll delete the partitions containing the operating system you're replacing with Windows 7, be it Windows Vista, Windows XP, a previous installation of Windows 7, etc. Now that all available drive options are listed, you can delete any operating system related partitions from your existing hard drive s. Before continuing, please be aware that deleting a partition will permanently erase all data from that drive. By all data I mean the operating system that's installed, all programs, all data saved by those programs, all music, all video, all documents, etc.

Your list of partitions may differ considerably from mine shown above. On my computer, I am performing a clean install of Windows 7 on a computer with a small 30 GB hard drive that has previously had Windows 7 installed. Many people, for example, have second hard drives or partitions that act as backup drives. That's certainly not a drive you want to be deleting. The message says 'The partition might contain recovery files, system files, or important software from your computer manufacturer. If you delete this partition, any data stored on it will be lost.

As I spelled out in the last step, please be aware that all the data stored on that drive will be lost. If you have not backed up everything you want to keep, select Cancel , end the Windows 7 clean install process, restart your computer to boot back into whatever operating system you have installed, and back up everything you want to keep.

To be clear: This is the point of no return! There's no reason to be scared, I just want it to be very clear that you can't undo the deletion of the drive you selected after you choose this OK button. For example, the Windows 7 installation I had on my PC previously created this special MB very small partition to store system data in.

This is most definitely related to the operating system that I'm trying to completely remove from my computer, so I'll delete this as well. As you can see, the partition we deleted in the last step is gone. It may appear like it's still there but if you look closely, you'll see that that same As you can now see, all the space on the installed hard drive is unallocated.

No partitions exist on this computer. The number of partitions displayed and whether those partitions are unallocated portions of a hard drive, previously partitioned spaces, or previously formatted and blank partitions, will depend on your specific system and which partitions you deleted in the last several steps. If you're installing Windows 7 on a computer with a single hard drive on which you've just deleted all the partitions from, your screen should look like the one above, aside from your hard drive being a different size.

Choose the appropriate unallocated space to install Windows 7 on and then select Next. You do not need to manually create a new partition nor are you required to manually format a new partition.