OEM WinXP from Dell; upgrade to Win7?

E

Ed-Hawco

Member
Hi. Noob here. I've installed Parallels but haven't created any VMs yet because I realized my WinXP is a OEM thing. Even though I plan to remove WinXP from the old Dell (going Linux), I don't think I can use the disk to install it on the Mac because, well, it's a Dell OEM thing and there seems to be a lot of complications.

So I'm thinking... can I buy the UPGRADE of Win7 and install it directly on the Mac (via Parallels), bypassing WinXP althogether? As in, just using my XP to get the upgrade price.

Is that feasible? I know that the upgrade path from WinXP to Win7 is to do a clean install (that works for me) but does the Win7 still have to go on the same machine?

The biggest problem is that the OEM disk doesn't even have a Windows activation key or any other kind of number associated with it, so how do I get Win7 at the upgrade price? (It's not worth it to me to pay full price for Win7 for the small amount I'll be using it...)

All advice appreciated!
 
Hello Ed-Hawco,

For the information about the upgrade offers, please contact Microsoft.

They will be able to provide you correct information.

Thank you.
 
Well, that doesn't help because MS will just try to upsell me and and tell me I shouldn't be using Windows on a Mac.

The question was less about what the offers are and more about how Parallels behaves when installing Windows. Microsoft won't tell me anything about that.
 
Solution

I found the solution on another board. Basically, you have to do a clean install when going from XP to Win7. To do that in a Parallels VM, you get the Win7 Upgrade and install it, but do NOT put in the registration key (you are given the option of "not now" or something like that).

After Win 7 is installed, you then install it AGAIN, but this time put in the registration key. Because it's an upgrade, it needs something to upgrade from; the second installation is essentially an upgrade of the first installation.

It's sounds silly, but it works, and its perfectly legitimate and legal, assuming you actually do have a licensed version of XP that you're upgrading from.
 
I have also used the "install twice" method on 3 computers and it works slick (except for the extra time to install). The first time I called MS and a tech talked me through this procedure.

I had used the same procedure with Vista about 2 years ago, but forgot about it until the MS tech was explaining the same procedure for Windows 7 Upgrade edition. While legally, I was entitled to the Upgrade version because of Vista, the beauty of this procedure is that it puts a totally clean install on a clean disk (if desired).
 
how to upgrade a VM, not create new one

i tried the install twice thing, but I end up with an additional VM, not an upgraded one, like windows 7, then windows 7 1 etc. I have an legal XP VM that I am trying to upgrade to 7, via the ISO.
 
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