Windows Upgrade Situation

Hello,

I have a Windows 7 Professional 64 bit upgrade CD and I am trying to upgrade a Windows XP media center 32 bit installation. I figured that the upgrade would work because XP media center pretty much is XP pro with some extra features. However, when I try to run the disk, it tells me that the installation disk isn't compatible with my version of Windows. I think it might be a problem with going 32 bit to 64 bit. I know that the processor supports x64 because I installed it just fine as a clean install onto a formatted hard drive, but then the product key wouldn't register because it didn't detect an underlying Windows XP installlation. Is there a way to get around this issue, or am I SOL as far as the upgrade goes?

Thanks.

 

It's not gonna let you upgrade from a Honda to a Ferrari, you only option now is to backup important files to a external source then, just do a clean install. The setup will say something about comparability or something which forces you to upgrade. If the XP was X64 then upgrade would work.

 

I don't think they ever came out with an XP media center X64, and as far as I'm aware the product key from media center won't work with XP pro. As I mentioned in my OP, doing a clean install results in the product key being invalidated. Any other options?

I don't think Honda to Ferrari is an apt comparison in this case; it's not like there's much difference between x86 and x64 in practical applications... especially in a laptop with 2 GB RAM.

 

No I was comparing the OS's not X86 and X64. Unless you want to dual-boot both by making a new partition and shrinking the current one. I was trying to say if there was a 64 bit XP then you could upgrade.

 

Wait, so would dual booting satisfy the requirement for XP being installed? I'd gladly shrink the partition and install 7 on the new one if that will work.

 

XP media center edition should qualify as a valid installation of XP for the Windows 7 upgrade. Make sure the XP media center is properly validated. If all fails, try backing up your system, installing XP media center, then upgrading to windows 7.

The Upgrade license requires that you no longer use XP Media Center after upgrading to Win7. So dual booting would not work. Just stick in the disk and allow it to validate, then it will require that you wipe the partition.

 

Yes you can shrink it and still keep the XP partition too. I know there's a built in tool that allows the HDD to be shrunken in XP via Admin tools. Paragon will shrink it too if you already have it.

 

This is exactly what I was looking for! Thanks so much!

Do you by chance know would happen if I were to delete the XP partition now that I have installed and activated 7? Would it deactivate? Either way, thank you very much and + rep.

 

If you dont want to dual boot look into whether there is an Anyware Upgrade Disc for W7. In the past there have been posts regarding people using it to go from Vista 32 to 64. Used to be $10 if you could find it princiapally at CompUSA.

Also, try Partition Magic. Free and works great seems.

But why go through all the hassle of any of this? Try this:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/

or this http://www.vmware.com/products/server/ if you insist on Media Center rather than just XP vanilla.

 

It wouldn't deactivate. You are suppose to delete it anyways. That's one of the stipulations of the upgrade license. That you no longer use the old OS.

 

You don't have to partition if you don't want to... you can just install Win 7. It's just trying to tell you that it can't do an in-place upgrade from x86 to x64... but you can still use the upgrade disc anyway to install Windows 7 x64. It'll just be a clean install, so make sure you have everything you need backed up.

Of course, if you prefer to keep your XP installation around, then go ahead with the partitioning stuff. Although you should make a backup of your data anyway before you mess with repartitioning.

 

Thanks for the tips everyone. The data was all backed up; the reason for the upgrade was that my gf's computer crashed and stopped booting past the BIOS screen and I was tasked with salvaging her data and making her computer usable. I had the spare copy of 7 lying around so I wanted to make use of it.

I ended up keeping the XP partition because I wasn't sure if it would let me clean install over XP (when I tried to clean install over a wiped partition it told me it couldn't activate because XP was not detected). I shrank the XP partition as low as it would go so it's not a big issue as she has a TB external anyway.

Thanks again for all the help.

 

Setup detects the XP installation during setup. After that, it is like a normal installation.

 

Hello Danja ,

You can visit the official Microsoft Upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7 site here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/help/upgrading-from-windows-xp-to-windows-7

There are some nice videos tutorials and steps to take when migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7. And yes it it is true you cannot directly upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 you can take some steps to ensure a smooth process.

Thanks again and good luck!

John M.
Microsoft Windows Client Support