Resolved Using an "upgrade" disk with bootcamp

[Winter Charm]

Hello, everyone! I just got my shiny new 2011 macbook pro!

Umm, i had bought a windows 7 upgrade disk back when I was a windows user, and now I want to install it in bootcamp (it's a legitimate copy)

However, I know that the disk will check for an already installed copy of windows xp (since it's an upgrade disk).

I would normally just install windows xp, and then install windows 7 over it. However, I'm not sure how xp will play with the new 2011 pro. I know bootcamp only supports windows 7, so my questions are:

1. Does this mean windows xp will not install? Or does it mean that no drivers are provided.
2. If windows xp does install, but it's unbootable, can I use bootcamp to do an installation over that? (all that has to happen is the windows 7 disk needs to detect an existing installation of XP, and since I legally own both operating systems, I want to be able to install it so I can get a little gaming done

Thank you in advance for all your help!

 

[bozz2006]

I'm not sure on this so I'll probably be corrected, but I think I remember on a Windows machine if you try to begin an install with an upgrade disk the system will either ask you to insert your old disk or maybe just ask for your old product key for verification... Perhaps this is the case if you try to install with bootcamp too. Worth a shot maybe.

 

[Pentad]

Go here and it will solve all of your problems.

Great tutorial on installing Windows 7 with an upgrade key. Step-by-Step guide with pictures and everything!

I would copy and paste the instructions to a text file, save a copy of the reg file, and store it some place safe so you have it handy the next time.

Cheers!
-P

 

[ender land]

When I did this (with Win7) I had to install, it failed, then I did another install and it found the partially installed version and was therefore able to be considered an "upgrade."

 

[mediasorcerer]

this is how i did it with a win 7 upgrade,i had vista disc,but didnt need to use it,install win 7 upgrade as usual ,but select clean install,then once its done,re insert disc,and select upgrade second time round,,and viola,you have full version of win 7,i know cos it worked for me on my macbook pro 2011 15.

 

[Winter Charm]

this is how i did it with a win 7 upgrade,i had vista disc,but didnt need to use it,install win 7 upgrade as usual ,but select clean install,then once its done,re insert disc,and select upgrade second time round,,and viola,you have full version of win 7,i know cos it worked for me on my macbook pro 2011 15.

This is what I ended up doing. Funny enough, I found a nice guide on Paul Thurott's website... Oh the irony hahahha.

Thank you, everyone for all your help!

As a side note, you don't have to select "upgrade" the second time. You can do a custom install without reformatting the partition, and your old install is moved into a .old file. and as long as that's there at the time of activation, your computer thinks that it was "upgraded"

Once you activate, you can delete the .old file without any harm to your system