Noob alert....

I just bought a new hd for my laptop to install Win7 on.

I have installed the RC version of Win7 ultimate with the intention of getting the full licence from itsnocheating.

BUT itsnotcheating is Win7Pro, not ultimate.

So anyway I have downloaded the 2.3gig ISO file from itsnotcheating, now how do I install this over the top of Win7 Ultimate?

I guess I need to format the drive? OR do I just boot from the ISO file which I have burnt to DVD.

a) how do I format a primary drive that has Windows on it? (the format option is greyed out in device/disc manager)

b) get the laptop to boot from the CD (i've changed the boot sequence in BIOS but it still starts Win7 ultimate)....

gah, i wish they'd make this s*** easier, or me smarter :/

thanks

btw I have googled but ain't got s*** :(

boot from the iso, pick custom install instead of upgrade and you'll be able to format your drive primary drive that has your current windows install on it

to answer those a and b questions:

a) boot to another o/s from a floppy/usb/cd/dvd and do it (windows 7 install disk will let you do this)

b) sounds like you've done the right thing re: boot order already - are you sure you burnt the iso properly so that it's boootable? a common mistake is to burn the iso file itself as a file onto cd filesystem, rather than actually burning the iso image to the cd

Depending on the laptop you might be able to hit a button at bootup to select a boot drive manually (my toshiba is f12 I think) and don't forget to watch the screen like a hawk because if you already have an OS installed it'll probably come up with "press any key to boot from cd" and it only stays there for a few seconds if previous versions of windows are anything to go by.

Thanks,

While I haven't got it sorted I think Jim's on the money with point B.

I chucked the Win7 RC disc in and it booted from that again but won't boot from the ISO file I burnt from itsnotcheating - I suspect I didn't burn this properly.

I haven't noticed that whoop, I'll keep an eye out. It's an ASUS.

BTW it gets light far to early - I'm on holidays and all ready up :(

In a slight hijack, has the Win 7 Family Pack hit stores yet?

If you are already running Win 7, just right click on the ISO and select "Burn disk image" and that will burn it properly and so it is bootable. Is a nifty feature.

Ok all sorted.

I burnt the ISO image I downloaded just as an ISO file rather than image.

So I copied the ISO file to USB then chucked back in my old hard-drive with Vista and a prgram to burn ISO images. Burnt the disk in Vista, changed hard-drives back and booted to the new DVD - all worked sweet - thanks Jim.

Eds - I saw that option but thought that's what I had already done - d'oh. I wouldn't have to have done the above if I'd just clicked burn :(

Ah well next time.

Win7 is so much faster than Vista (obvioulsy a fresh install helps to). I just hope some of my regular software works in here :/

Win7 is so much faster than Vista (obvioulsy a fresh install helps to). I just hope some of my regular software works in here :/

If it worked in Vista it'll work in Win 7. Haven't come across any compatibility issues yet myself (but did from XP to Vista).

In a slight hijack, has the Win 7 Family Pack hit stores yet?

Yeah, it is. I got my copy from DSE last week. It's not on the shelves though, you have to ask for it. I think the offer finishes at the end of the month.

While we are back on the topic:

Can I now use my Win7 disc from itsnotcheating (original disc was mailed out) to install on a different machine but with a different activation key?

I can get another cd key of itsnotcheating but don't want to have to download the files again..... or is the cd locked to that particular activation key that it ships with?

Mission, use that media with a different key, perfectly fine.

You can use the same media to multi install but don't enter a key and uncheck activate when online option, once installed then right click my computer select properties and then select activate at the bottom of the summary page, it will then bitch at you with 3 options select the enter different key option, you will then be prompted for a new key enter new key and then activate the f***er...done