Windows 7 Upgrade Version

There are two OEM versions. One for computer manufacturers such as Dell and HP. The OEM version they use is tailored for their respective hardware and will only work on their hardware.

The second version is intended for builders of computers. You can purchase parts at any computer store and build a computer. This computer can run the builder OEM vesion of Windows. This version is a full retail version with the exception it can only be installed on a single new computer.

Your MacbookPro having never had Windows 7 installed before is a new computer as far as this version of Windows is concerned. So it will install and work just as well as a full retail version.

Actually,,,,,,,, You can use an Upgrade version for XP, upgrading inplace (meaning a merged upgrade type like you can with Vista to W7) isn't supported because it literally can't be done. It's just a play on words I guess.🙂

You can only clean install W7 (Upgrade or otherwise) over XP is the only issue. And that is supported.

It will leave a Windows.old file, if I remember, with some of your old files for you to go through when your done.

Downloading W.E.T. (Windows Easy Transfer) will transfer your files to an external HD or DVD (or USB stick I think) and back again when it's done installing.

The easy way of doing it is to just clean install W7, then before you update or enter the serial # install it again over the install you just did (yes, upgrade the upgrade) and then you can enter the serial # and start your updates. There are other ways if you Yahoo/Google it.

Jaygyver wrote:

The easy way of doing it is to just clean install W7, then before you update or enter the serial # install it again over the install you just did (yes, upgrade the upgrade) and then you can enter the serial # and start your updates. There are other ways if you Yahoo/Google it.

Which is of course, a licensing violation, so maybe don't recommend it here.

Actually, it's not, that's one of the ways that Microsoft's own support people suggest for the ones that don't understand how to do it. A clean install is the only way to UPgrade XP. When you upgrade XP with the W7 disk it will still do a clean install to it. What you use to save your files is a moot point.

If you do a Google search (or even at Microsoft's own site) the "XP upgrade" install issue has been beat up for over a year that I looked into it.

Jaygyver wrote:

Actually, it's not, that's one of the ways that Microsoft's own support people suggest for the ones that don't understand how to do it. A clean install is the only way to UPgrade XP. When you upgrade XP with the W7 disk it will still do a clean install to it. What you use to save your files is a moot point.

If you do a Google search (or even at Microsoft's own site) the "XP upgrade" install issue has been beat up for over a year that I looked into it.

Of course you're right, the OP has a copy of XP, so the license is valid ... apologies.