Windows 7 - 4 questions

Last night I installed Windows 7 Home Premium on my Acer Aspire 1 (ZG5, 120gb hd, 1 gb RAM). I was pleased that most drivers were installed by 7, and to be honest it runs better than XP, even with all the Aero features on - smoother drawing of the screen contents, smoother video.

Q1) I would like to have been able to add the 'Launch Manager', which seems to not work except with XP. [I've cut a bit here about a faulty Touchpad driver because Ive now found a working Windows 7 one on the Acer site but under AOD150 instead of AOA150.]

I'm a bit anxious about the fact that I used the same copy of Windows 7 I bought as an upgrade for my Vista laptop. They were installed differently: on the Vista laptop with no use - at least by me directly - of the Product Key. With my Acer I seem to have effectively used the Upgrade DVD as a Full version. I see people unselfconsciously talk about TinyXP and whatnot here so maybe I'm being overly meek...

Q2) As far as I can see, there is no real difference between the Full and Upgrade versions, just a different license, is that right? If you install from your Vista/XP desktop it acts like an Upgrade, but if you boot from switching on it's effectively the Full version?

I used the newest simple USB way of installing, Novicorp WinToFlash - a lot less hassle than all the guides here that I used for XP before. I activated the OS by automated phone method, partly in the hope that Microsoft talk of periodically assessing validation through the Updates processes is just b.s. to inspire multiple purchases.

Q3) So am I likely to end up getting some automated gripes from Microsoft that might be accompanied by disabling one or both of these machines?

Q4) What would happen if someone activated a legitimate Windows 7 on their Acer and then the machine died the next day. Would Microsoft prevent the £60-£200 OS being re-used on something else? It's the apparent outrageousness of their licenses that have had me doing what I want so far. The thought of somebody buying two or three identical OS discs or even a three license purchase to be used in the same home is madness.

Thanks for all thoughts, facts and assistance.

 

Re: Windows 7 installation - some questions

I imagine that as I've had 38 views of my post it seems too tedious and labyrinth-like - or just mad - to reply to. Okay, but maybe answer one question each and I'll build up a 'photofit' answer from them.

Thanks very much to all.

 

Sorry, I hope I don't get in trouble just for looking!

 

Hi

1) Have you tried running launch manager in xp compatibility mode and as an administrator?

2) The upgrade dvd has the 'full' version on it, by full I mean Win 7 ultimate. The version you get is dependant on the licence key you hold. Which is dependant on how much you want to pay.

3) You Will have a problem as, from what you have posted, you hold one licence but have installed it on two machines. Therefore one is considered pirated/illegal. You will not be able to activate the OS on both machines nor use downloads on both as MS will detect the 'illegal' copy not sure as the measures they take but the minimum is generally reduced function, on the second 'illegal' machine.

4) If you have a retail copy of Win7 there would be no problem in transferring the licence from the 'dead' machine to the 'live' one. With OEM licences you have a problem as it is 'tied' to the original machine.

I purchased full retail Win7 for my AOA150 Genuine Home Premium Cheaply £62 instead of £100+ and, after installation i modified some of the visuals to enhance performance. In addition, I disabled some services (those not needed on my netbook) for these I trawled the tweaking sites and chose only those services safe to stop or put onto manual.

Hope this helps and answers some of your questions.

 

1) you can use the Vista version of the Aspire One launch manager. Available to download from the driver section of the Acer support website. There are also Windows 7 launch managers in there now, for the models that ship with it - so those might work too. It makes sense that they would, I've just not tried.

2) Difference between upgrade and full is that upgrade will only let you register the product if the installation procedure found an existing version of Windows on your system.

3) If you register the same copy of Windows 7 on multiple computers the second registration will fail. The computer it was first registered on will continue to work normally.

4) Windows 7 registration is tied to a computer's ID. If you want to install it on a different computer you need to get in touch with Microsoft to invalidate the computer ID tied to the prior registration. It's no problem. All they care about is that you're only using your copy of the OS on one computer at a time.

 

The 'upgrade' option WILL allow a clean install.

Choose custom install - choose not to update during installation - do not enter product code.

Second install over 'first' should be upgrade, continue as normal.

This has been posted on many sites. NOT illegal just a different interpretation of the EULA. MIcrosoft haven't outlawed it and its close to the way XP users have to 'upgrade'.

 

H'm. Thanks for joining me!

But the Aspire install is the second install, and it hasn't failed, either to work or to be activated. Maybe the software for the USB installation alters something - this isn't Microsoft's version of that program. I used the key on the box and phone activation.

Because I started to think naively or otherwise that the clean install might work better - be clutter-free - than the upgrade type I'd previously used on my Toshiba, I wiped that normal size laptop and tried to reinstall. This may have been a boob, as neither the Product Key on the box nor the one found by Magic Jelly Bean Product Key Finder will work. (Why there is a 'generic' product key found by that software - as Microsoft called it during Activation - I don't know.)

I will try the last suggestion above first, otherwise I'll putting Vista back on and upgrading from that, though I may have scuppered the chances of that going anywhere. D'oh... I foresee a not so eager return to Ubuntu...

Honestly, that company - I'm just a bum in a council bedsit in England, I'm not going to make any money out of their operation system. Damn it all.

I've got basic components for a new self-built desktop PC, likely to replace the laptop, arriving next week too - there goes my attempt to use the DVD a third time...

(p.s. Thanks for the Launch Manager tips.)

 

I never said you couldn't. The second install treats initial upgrade installation as a existing OS, "tricking" it into allowing you authenticate the product.

Original poster asked the difference between full and upgrade version. That's the difference. Upgrade requires the drive to have a windows OS on it already (unregistered or otherwise).

 

I'm a bit confused by some of what you said. But I think I know what you mean. I installed Win 7 on my AOA110 using a bootable USB drive and by copying the Win 7 DVD contents onto it. Installing without using the DVD doesn't change the software in any way.

If you installed the upgrade on your laptop before your Acer, without using the product key, then my guess is that it wasn't actually activated. I also guess that you were running on the 30-day trial period that you get before activation becomes mandatory.

By then installing it on your Acer and registering it over the phone, I believe THAT will have used up your registration allowance. So that you now cannot install it on anything else - unless you contact Microsoft and tell them you want to put it on a different system.

If you wiped your laptop to go for a 'clean' install then activation won't work, even if the product key is still valid. You need to use the double-install method to see if the product key still works.

If the product key does still work for your laptop, then hoorah. You have beaten the system! But it might not.

Lastly, my understanding is that the 'generic' product key is what allows the OS to run for the 30 day 'trial', once the software has been confirmed as being a genuine MS product. You cannot use this generic product key for activation.

With Windows 7 Microsoft have really cracked down on people making multiple installations from the same copy.

 

I would agree with ElMatarife, it looks like you have used your single genuine validation on your netbook, your laptop might well be on the 30 day 'grace' period before activation is mandatory.

I agree that the double install method fools the system into believing the resident OS is the genuine upgrade opportunity. Thats a given, although not outlawed.

I would give it a few more weeks at the outside for the non activated OS to continue operation then MS will more than likely do what it does best and marl it as non-genuine and begin to mess with the functionality big style.

Of course I could be wrong and you may be the one to beat the system!

Somehow though I doubt it.

 

Thanks. I did get the Toshiba laptop going again, and have at least gone through the activation process, but a you say, in thirty days it my be 'back to the drawing board'. I suppose it's not worthwhile for Microsoft to retroactively mess with people running Tiny XP in the same way.

I used the little registry tweak, where you set that value from 1 to 0 and reboot to activate.

I hope they actually send some kind of message if they're going to mess with functionality, so that I'm to enveloped by paranoia about whether it's not working so good. If you should know whether they do send a warning or whatver, let me know.

Otherwise, thanks for all help.

If I have a choice I'll keep 7 on the Aspire anyway, it really suits it and has put paid to my fortnightly Linux fiddling with new OS and to-ing and fro-ing - my recovery disk will have to go back on the Toshiba then. Odd that there was no gripe during installation on the AA1 about using an Upgrade key when the drive was blank prior, or had a dodgy XP before that. By the way, with WinToFlash I did notice that the new boot-up animation with the lights - mmm, sparrrrkle - is replaced with the Vista look, so maybe WinToFlash does meddle somewhere?

 

I have read on some of the forums that even the start screen detects video capability and loads a 'vista' type screen.
If your aspire has the first validated copy then it will be fine. The toshiba may well not be after the 30 period although there is something about extending it to 90 days or more

This tip is s'posed to work on vista not sure about Win7 :
http://www.winvistaclub.com/t5.html

This has been posted for Win7:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/For ... 868f0dd2b/

I hope one of these helps if only temporarily!

My copy 'full retail unopened home premium' cost me £62 from ebay +p&p of £3, yes it's genuine! But if you go down that route take care.