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General discussion

Remove Win 7 RC by installing Windows 7 Retail

Dec 17, 2009 4:34AM PST

What problems can I expect with this method?

I have a dual boot system, Alienware PC with 3 hard drives.

Disk 0 - Vista Ultimate on an SSD 220 GB in Raid 0.
Disk 1 - Windows 7 RC on a 1TB SATA hard drive
Disk 2 - Also 1TB SATA hard drive, currently blank.

Disks 1 and 2 have been partitioned into 500GB separate partitions.

My new Windows 7 Ultimate arrives soon. I intend to use the DVD to reformat the partition where my Win 7 RC is installed, and install the retail version on that.

Will the new Windows 7 install create the new Boot Manager and Boot Menu for the dual boot?

Mark

Discussion is locked

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Yes...
Dec 18, 2009 2:50AM PST

Assuming your installation of Windows Vista was installed prior to Windows 7 RC, boot information resides on Disk 0 and will not be affected by removing Windows 7 RC. Installing Windows 7 RTM will automatically append itself to the boot menu. However, the BCD entry for Windows 7 RC will remain unless you either use an application like VistaBootPRO to remove it or run Startup Repair from your Vista/7 DVD.

Hope this helps,
John


P.S. Nice hardware configuration; here in the states, that SSD is an $800+ investment by itself!

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Let us know how it goes
Dec 18, 2009 4:18AM PST

Looks like a solid set up! Let us know how it works and any troubleshooting you do.

Cheers,
Tara

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Good to hear.
Dec 18, 2009 4:34AM PST

Thanks both Tara and John for your posts.

Yep, Vista was pre-installed. I don't expect any problems when the Win 7 DVD arrives, based on how easy Win 7 RC installed itself and set up the dual boot configuration.

I have everything backed up though, in case of problems.

John, full specs below. The SSD's were not as much as in the US, around 200GBP, (300 USD?). I can't tell you how much the whole package cost. I would have to kill you afterwards, Devil

Area-51 X-58

Processor: Intel

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Impressive!
Dec 19, 2009 3:34AM PST

Sounds like I may have chosen a different career path...that's an amazing system for a retired civil servant. Mine's a self-built based on a balance of power and price; now about a year old, I built what was then a roughly $1,300 system for about $500:

* AMD Phenom 9950 quad-core black edition
* 750W Antec TruePower modular PSU
* 8GB DDR2-1066 SDRAM
* 1TB Hitachi SATA-II hard drive
* MSI GeForce 9500 (512MB / 128-bit) graphics card
* 2 DVD+/-RW drives and 2 CD-RWs
* 22" NEC LCD display

Fine for my needs, but an upgrade (primarily graphics and storage) is lurking in the shadows. Care to trade? Grin

John