Upgrading to Windows 7
I just finished “upgrading”. Actually, I had to do a clean install, because I couldn’t clear enough space off of my C: drive. Unless you have about 15GB of free space on C: – don’t bother. I had a 30GB partition for C:, but 6.5GB was in winsxs, another 4GB was in Installers, and another 12GB in Program Files, ProgramData, and Users. Every time I freed up a couple of GBs, the installer said it needed more. I finally gave up.
One other hiccup: if you are running Vista Enterprise, the installer says there is no upgrade path to Windows 7 Ultimate (which is the only version you can download right now) – this does not appear to be true. You can “trick” the installer into thinking you are running Vista Business, and then it will let you upgrade. Via MSFN Forums:
Before inserting the Windows [7] Ultimate CD
Go to, Start, Run: and type: regedit.exe
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
Change the key : ProductName from “Windows Vista ™ Enterprise” to “Windows Vista ™ Business”
Change the key: EditionID from “Enterprise” to “Business”Do not restart
The instructions are for going to Vista Ultimate, but it worked fine for me going to Windows 7 Ultimate.