Upgrading Windows 7 OEM to Windows Professional OEM

I have a Compaq notebook with an OEM version of Windows 7 Home Edition installed. Windows needs to be reinstalled which I have the recovery dvd. But, I also have an OEM dvd installation disk of Windows 7 Professional which has never been used and it has the key. Can I do an upgrade using this Professional OEM dvd on my notebook or do you think it could cause problems. Can you upgrade using OEM installation dvds. I've never used OEM versions before except what has always came with my computers. I know that if it had been a retail version, there wouldn't be any problems but since it's an OEM I thought I would ask first before I tried it.

 

Cathy,

Is this desirable?

Create an Entire Drive image of HD0. (In case the following fails)
Delete the partitions on HD0.
Install Windows 7 Professional OEM to HD0.

 

I was just hoping I could "upgrade" without losing my installed programs and having to start over. I hardly ever use this notebook so I really haven't decided what I'll do. I was just checking to see what my options are. I know I can do a format, install from my recovery disk but then I have to install programs again and updates. Right now I can't get 2 updates to install even though I have downloaded and tried to do it manually. I try to keep this notebook updated just in case I have to use it when I can't use my desktop. I have ran the Fixit, and several other things but none of them helped. If I don't get all of the junk with this OEM dvd, your way would be more desirable rather than using my recovery disk. Since it's only 2 updates and I can still use it, I have thought about just hiding them and "trying" to forget about it but it bugs me and won't leave me alone. Thanks for your suggestion.

 

you need a pro-version key for the upgrade from home to pro ("anytime upgrade"), either oem or retail or msdn or whatelse.
i think the home oem key is stored in bios, any win7 home will be activated immediately, same for pro on the other notebook.
but it is possible you wont get the oem pro not installed because it is bound to the other notebook.

 

Are all oems "bound to other hardware" even though they haven't been used or do they have to be installed first? This one was still sealed in plastic and it came with the pro version key plus Windows Anytime Upgrade.

 

@chattycathy They only get bound to the hardware (the motherboard) when you activate Windows. You may be able to do an Anytime Upgrade to Windows 7 Pro. I say "may," becuase from what I've just been reading, Anytime Upgrades have worked for some people but not for others when using OEM keys.

At lease you can give it a try, and if it doesn't work post back here.

 

I thought it had to be installed first but because I haven't used one before, I wanted to ask rather than assuming. It may be a few days before I go this route if I do and then it will be as a last resort. I ran the Tweaking.com program today and had it to do some repairs. After it finished I shut it down to give it and me a rest. I will get back to it in a day or so and see how the updates are doing. If they work now as they should, I will wait about installing my Pro version. If not, I will give it a try and then if it doesn't work, I'll use my recovery cd. Thanks for everyone's replies!

 

@chattycathy If Winodws Repair does not help, you should be able to fix any issues you have with Windows by doing an In-Place Upgrade update of Windows 7 Home Premium.

 

Could I do this by using my recovery cd? I haven't tried it yet because in the past with older systems, I was thinking I lost all of my programs, settings, etc. when I did this. But, that's been a few years and systems ago so I could be remembering incorrectly. Feel free to tell me if I am and I hope I am. I don't have a retail version of Home Premium. I just have what came on the notebook with a recovery cd made.

 

Backup up what you despair losing. Afaik a OEM serial can be accepted but not all OEM install disks, activate, stay activated or even will install depending. Just one possibility is accepting a serial but on immediate or subsequent uses the install will be deemed invalid. Why? One reason is secondary validation comes from the BIOS & has to match up with specific or specific branded hardware. This is my experience of installing W7 on hundreds of PC's. But I haven't done a fresh install of 7 in years. I've just installed a custom install on specific hardware that only needed BIOS activation. YMMV.

 

@chattycathy No, you will need to download a Windows ISO and then either burn it to DVD or make a bootable flash drive with for example USB/DVD Download Tool or Rufus.

You can download Windows 7 Home Premium 32 and 64 bit ISOs here.
hxxp://getintopc.com/softwares/operating-systems/windows-7-home-premium-free-download-iso-32-bit-64-bit/

 

You could upgrade to Win10 and you won't lose your installed programs. Worth considering.

 

I had thought about downloading an ISO but hadn't found one that I was sure I could trust yet. I will save that link in case that's the route I decide to take. I also had heard that some of the OEMs wouldn't activate so that has left me undecided also. Plus, I have considered "trying" Windows 10 before I restore back to the Home Edition but I've heard so much bad about it and from what I saw on one in Walmart, I wasn't impressed but I didn't try to do that much with it. I have a friend that wishes she had never done it and it's too late to go back to 7 on her machine. Of course she didn't have a backup. But I also have a family member that loves it! But he had 8 and hated it before he got 10. Also, why are they letting us have a operating system for "free"? What is the price we will have to pay? I guess I'm too suspicious but I can't help but wonder, "What are they up to?" After all of that, I still haven't completely ruled it out because like I said, I hardly ever use my notebook so it might be interesting to try it out with 10 and it might work better with it. Decisions, decisions. I won't be able to work on it today because I've got to leave but I'll be back on it tomorrow. Thanks everyone for your time and suggestions.

 

A Google search would turn up more on this topic. But in short Microsoft is giving a free upgrade because they want as many people on Windows 10 as possible to encourage programmers to write apps for it. That in turn increases the likelihood that people will buy Windows phones and/or tablets, where Microsoft has only miniscule market share. In addition Windows 10 gives them more of an opportunity to gather and use your personal data, though much of that functionality has been backported to Windows 8 and Windows 7 as well as I understand.

A good option in your situation is (1) upgrade to Windows 10, (2) install Classic Shell to make it as familiar as possible, (3) change settings to prevent data transfer to Microsoft, including using a local account, per any of the many guides available on the internet. O&O ShutUp10 or similar is also an option.

This will give you a Windows 10 computer that will continue to receive operating system updates through 2025, with minimal disruption and minimal privacy issues.

 

Cathy,

If you decide on a Win10 upgrade, download a Win10 ISO from...

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/techbench

Write the ISO to a USB flash drive with Rufus...

https://rufus.akeo.ie/

Double click setup.exe on the flash drive. You don't need to have any Windows Updates done prior to this step.

 

If it helps, a friend gave me his Windows 7 Home Basic OEM Key that was previously activated on his notebook. I could activate Windows with this Key on my home computer without problems, and using my own modified ISO. Beforehand I contacted Microsoft support to see what they had to say, and most technicians said it would be OK, and that "if Windows activates than you have nothing to worry about". However, others said "you could face problems 30 days after the activation" -> That never happened

So I guess you'll be OK.

 

I hope you're right. After nothing else had worked, I installed my OEM Professional today and it activated. But, it didn't help a thing. Windows Update still just sits there and says it's downloading but the modem nor Windows update is showing that it is. It stays at 0% downloads and the ethernet light never flashes unless I open up a browser. But it still doesn't ever start downloading. Do any of you think if I format and start over that would fix my problem or is it Microsoft that is doing this. I have let it try for so many hours and so many times, I've lost count. My desktop doesn't take this long. If that will fix my problem, I will do it but I'll wait and make sure that this OEM version stays activated and good. Then I will format and install it rather than the Home Edition.

 

I don't think formatting will help. In fact, I'd say that if you have to format then way until you successfully updated your copy of Windows before activating again, because you only have 25 activations.

I went through the same thing, one day I let Windows update for 48 hours and it didn't update at all. It's clearly a problem on Microsoft's side (I suspect they do this on purpose so people go to Windows 10).

What I did was follow numerous guides on how to fix Windows update. These are a good start:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/gp/windows-update-issues/en-us

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/troubleshoot-problems-installing-updates#1TC=windows-8

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/971058

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH3jJ1tpCDg

 

Cathy,

I've seen other posts about this Win7 update issue. Another reason to upgrade to Win10. With Win10 you never have to check your Windows updates.

 

amarildojr, thank you for those links. I will try them tomorrow. Right now, I have put my laptop up and I'm using my desktop.
Brian K, I wondered if it was them trying to push Windows 10 on us. That makes me push my heels in and refuse to update to Win10. Don't they know "you can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar"? This just activiates my stubbornness. If that's what they're doing, they going about it the wrong way.

 

@chattycathy A reboot and then running Windows Update again may help. also, you may want to have a look at this post.

 

Cathy,

That may be so but as Win10 is a better OS, I don't care. We'll all be on Win10 eventually.

 

Nothing has worked yet. I'm getting to the point of either trying WSUS Offline Update or just forgetting about it. But, if I do the WSUS Offline Update and make an ISO at least I'll can use it for my desktop and my notebook if I need to do a clean install on either of them. Has anyone tried the WSUS Offline Update and if so, how long does it take? I don't have a router to share my internet connection so that's why I'm asking.

 

Sorry Cathy but what are you stuck on? WU? Sounds crazy but sometimes it takes WU almost 3hrs to finish looking for updates. Are you talking about W7 SP1 or W7 without SP1? Without SP1 probably going have to download SP1 separately & not from WU, then install by itself. That alone could take 8hrs then start again with WU. During this process when you can, not interrupting Windows & when the desktop is fully loaded wait 10min reboot wait 10mins then shutdown wait 5mins. Repeat 3 times after all major updates. Believe me you won't believe how many times going back to WU it takes to get them all installed. This process is for use in extreme examples. I hate it when the owner insists on doing it this way instead of loading an image. Oh well I just triple my fee.

 

@chattycathy I'll try out AutoPatcher today, I'm also stuck with the updates. Could you try AutoPatcher to see if it work for you?