Duchess Jack Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 I bought a stripped down PC and three licences of Windows 7. First two computers went fine. The third is having problems because the Windows 7 is an upgrade. Now I have a pirated XP disk that I am hoping I can use as a foundation for the upgrade, but I cannot get the beginning parts of the upgrade off. It just gets to the point were it wants the DVD key and than says its wrong because there wasn't an existing windows program on the computer. How do I remove what windows has already loaded on my computer, so I can load XP? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennykravitz2004 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 One of a couple ways. Take the HDD out of the current PC, drop in another box, and reformat, then return to original PC. Or, use the install disc to reformat the HDD (but I'm presuming this is where the issue stems from?). I don't recall if the Win 7 OS load/install is the same, or close to, Win XP. I am certain by using the Win XP install, you can reformat the HDD - delete the partition and format. Or at least delete the partition, which should get you where you need to for a clean install. Win 7 does not support upgrade from Win XP. GL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duchess Jack Posted April 9, 2011 Author Share Posted April 9, 2011 I figured I could do the whole, putting it in a new box thing, but I hoped there was something easier. Windows 7 doesn't seem to allow for me to format. Are hard drives plug and play? That is to say - can I wait until my operating system opens before I plug the drive in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 I figured I could do the whole, putting it in a new box thing, but I hoped there was something easier. Windows 7 doesn't seem to allow for me to format. Are hard drives plug and play? That is to say - can I wait until my operating system opens before I plug the drive in? According to the link in Lenny's post, Win 7 doesn't support upgrading from XP. How did you do the first two PCs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duchess Jack Posted April 9, 2011 Author Share Posted April 9, 2011 (edited) great question. they both had XP. edited to add: looks like that posted in 2009. perhaps things changed. Edited April 9, 2011 by Duchess Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddahj Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 (edited) Do you have the full version of Windows 7? I'm pretty sure you have to do a clean install when XP is installed on a machine. Why you were able to do it on the 1st two machines & not the 3rd is strange. What are the ages of the machines? Is that one older than the rest? If the hardware isn't compatible with W7, then you might not be able to intall it. Edited April 9, 2011 by buddahj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennykravitz2004 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Looks like there is an upgrade path from XP to 7. Consensus seems to be it's a PITA though... If you boot from your XP disc, you should be able to delete the partition and reformat the drive. Deleting the partition should do the trick, I would think. Once you delete the partition, you should be able to install using the 7 disc as if it were a blank drive. At worst, format the drive from the XP disc then load the 7 OS on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitansFan Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Have you tried installing it without entering the license code? When I built my latest computer, I had the same problem you have in that I couldn't use the upgrade code because there was nothing to upgrade from. Instead, I just installed it without entering the code, then went back and "upgraded" with the license code and it worked fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithkt Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Have you tried installing it without entering the license code? When I built my latest computer, I had the same problem you have in that I couldn't use the upgrade code because there was nothing to upgrade from. Instead, I just installed it without entering the code, then went back and "upgraded" with the license code and it worked fine. Bingo. This is the recommended method of performing a clean install using an upgrade disc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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