Member Avatar for wisedave

Hello,

My wife's Toshiba Satellite Laptop (a couple of years old) is freaking out all of the time. She wants to do a fresh install of Windows 7 (it currently has Windows 7). I have a desk top computer that is in the closet that I also want to install Windows 7 on (currently has XP).

Which of the many choices of Windows 7 do I need to purchase? I only need to Home version but am confused about the purchase of an 'upgrade/update', OEM, etc....

Can you direct me on what route to go down on this?

Thanks for any input or effort!

Cheers,

Dave

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Quick summary for : the Toshiba almost certainly has an OEM Windows 7 license that can be reused to do a fresh install on that laptop. That OEM license does not cover a second computer. Running Windows 7 on the XP desktop at the same time requires a separate, valid Windows 7 license (unless a multi-license bundle is purchased).

What the common SKUs mean in plain terms: retail (full) editions are the most flexible and may be transferred to another machine; OEM/system-builder copies are cheaper but legally tied to the first PC they activate on; upgrade SKUs are cheaper and require a qualifying prior OS but still usually require a clean install when moving from XP (in-place XP->7 upgrades are not supported). Family/multi-license packs can be a cost-saving option when available.

Practical checklist for this scenario: for the Toshiba, record the COA product key (sticker under battery or underside), confirm the exact edition (Home Premium vs Professional), back up data, and use either the manufacturer recovery media or same-edition install media to perform a clean install; if online activation fails, phone activation or obtaining OEM recovery media from Toshiba typically resolves it. For the XP desktop, expect a clean install; run a compatibility/driver check first, gather drivers, set BIOS/boot to DVD or USB, and decide between buying a retail full license (transferable), an upgrade SKU, or a cheaper OEM/system-builder SKU (non-transferable).

Thread clarifications: is correct that retail media will often accept a COA key in practice, while is also correct that factory/OEM images are manufacturer-specific. Both experiences are valid for different reasons. The key legal point is licensing: one license per running machine unless a multi-license product is purchased.

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Member Avatar for caperjack

lets start with this fact ,you cant upgrade from winxp to win7 needs to be a full install .you should run the win7 upgrade advisory on the xp computer .
download it here http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=20

as for you wife's laptop she should have system restore disks ,or she could try holding down the zero key and boot the laptop and it should take the laptop to a recovery/restore to factory settings option ,make sure to back up any important data she may need to save .

Edited by caperjack because: n/a
Member Avatar for wisedave

lets start with this fact ,you cant upgrade from winxp to win7 needs to be a full install .you should run the win7 upgrade advisory on the xp computer .
download it here http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=20

as for you wife's laptop she should have system restore disks ,or she could try holding down the zero key and boot the laptop and it should take the laptop to a recovery/restore to factory settings option ,make sure to back up any important data she may need to save .

Thanks for the advice.....but I need to add this.

My wife is dead set to perform a complete fresh install of Windows 7. She does not want to reset to factory settings, etc.

Can't I just purchase a copy of Windows 7 O.S. and install it on both? If so, which one do I need?

Thanks for the input!

-Dave

Member Avatar for caperjack

you need to buy the exact version that's on you wife's laptop .so you can install it on her laptop using her key[it should be on the underside of the laptop] ,and then install it on your computer ,using the new key that came with new win7 ,follow ,unless you buy multiple key version of win7 it can only be installed on one computer

Member Avatar for tstory28

If you are talking about the version of Windows 7 that came preinstalled on the computer, you will NEVER find it in a store since it is an OEM version. Only way to get that OEM version is to talk to Toshiba since they have the exact version that will work with her laptop. That being said...

Since she does not want a factory version of Windows 7, you will have to go and purchase one from the store which will cost you at least $200 unless you get lucky and find a deal somewhere. Another thing, you will want to make sure it is a full install disk because an upgrade disk will not work in your situation. When you purchase it, you will have a single product key which can only be used on ONE computer.

Insert the disk into the DVD drive and make sure your BIOS is set to boot from Optical drive first. Run through all the typical questions during setup and when asked for product key, use the key that is included with the DVD. You will not be able to use the key on the bottom of the computer.

If you want to install Windows 7 on your Windows XP computer, you will have to purchase a separate Windows 7 Full Installation disk with product key.

Member Avatar for caperjack

You will not be able to use the key on the bottom of the computer.

and why not I/we do it all the time on customers laptops when they don't have there recovery dvd's ,and the harddrive is dead .and I/we just use a Retail win7 dvd[same version as thers] to install it ,and just use the key on the bottom of the laptop

Member Avatar for tstory28

I have tried it in the past and those keys on the bottom of the PCs only works with OEM disks, not full disks or upgrade disks.

Member Avatar for caperjack

I have tried it in the past and those keys on the bottom of the PCs only works with OEM disks, not full disks or upgrade disks.

well like i sad i do it all the time and they work for me

Member Avatar for tstory28

OK... I guess I will have to try it again when it comes up as a problem.

Member Avatar for phoenix_2000

if your key works however, you could practically just buy ANY windows version, and use your wifes key on it.
Microsoft puts every version of windows on all the disks to save on the disk pressing costs.
You can later install windows using the same DVD, but with the code on the box, on your other computer.

Member Avatar for caperjack

Microsoft sells a family pack which allows you to install Winidows 7 Home on up to three computers. As for upgrade/full, you can actually do a full (from scratch) install of Windows 7 from an upgrade disk. See

http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows-7/clean-install-windows-7-with-upgrade-media

yeah you could do that with vista as well ,you just install it without putting in the key, then when after the install is done , you take the dvd out ,then put the dvd back in and start the install from within windows and it sees itself as a previous install and reinstalls and then you put the key in ,something like that ,i have done it with a vista upgrade disk i just threw away

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