reinstalling windows 7 student offer :(

[Badas]

Hey all, had to reinstall windows 7 which i purchased as a student offer.

When installeing i had lost my product key

now i have the product key, when i go to register it online it says that the key is not accepted as its for upgrades only

does this mean i should install my old vista then install windows 7 as an upgrade to that?

or is there another way arround it without going through installing multiple OS's again?

thanks

 

[3t3P]

1) Boot from the disc again and click 'install' then 'upgrade', never choose the 'advanced/custom' option, and I chose to upgrade purely from the disc, not the internet which is the green-ticked option it recommends
2) After 30mins-1.5hrs it will have upgraded win7 to win7
3) You can now activate your copy of windows before the 30day cut off point using your key sent to you by microsoft
4)It should then be registered as a fully functioning standalone copy when you look in 'computer-> properties'

 

[Badas]

ok so does this mean i will have to re install my programs again?

thanks

 

[3t3P]

when I did it it left everything intact
If you have any really vital coursework etc then definately back it up onto a flash drive just in case.
Good luck

 

[Badas]

thanks, iel go give it a go now fingers crossed it doesn't mess me about

 

[Badas]

thanks allot its completely back to normal now

cheers

 

[3t3P]

no probs, well done, glad it worked for you