Windows 7 upgrade version + XP volume license key = ???

[hulkster]

k so i'm the network admin for a company.  i have the vol license key for my business for the xp machines.  i have 2 machines at my house that i want to put win7 on.  i use both for work purposes as well so its been justified by my boss to have the vol license xp key on them both so theres no legal issue there.  heres my question...

if i buy the cheaper upgrade version of Win7 (like the student discount ones or the family pack of 3 for $150), and i do a clean install (which IS possible on the upgrade discs ive read) then could i use my XP volume license key on both machines?  or will that invalidate my xp vol lic key for work?  i obviously dont want to do that.  does anyone know if this will work??

[Malenko]

I'm pretty sure you cant legally mix licenses ie volume key and student upgrade. It might work but your question seems to be about the legality of it, no the functionality of it.

[hulkster]

I'm pretty sure you cant legally mix licenses ie volume key and student upgrade. It might work but your question seems to be about the legality of it, no the functionality of it.

no my question is the functionality.  im paying for everything appropriately (volume licenses and upgrade discs legally)...i just want to know if it will do any kind of license key "conversion" to where it thinks that my xp vol lic key is now a win7 key and thus causing it to not work on new xp workstations i might use it on.  make sense?

[ChadTower]

Of course, one doesn't pay for discs, one pays for licenses.  Licenses often come with discs but the value is the licenses.

I would be surprised if there is a way to convert an XP site license to a single user Win7 license.  That doesn't make sense from a licensing point of view.

[dstone]

At my previous job, every time we received a new OS version, we would get a new volume key for it. So if we were installing XP, we would use the XP volume key. If we wanted to upgrade to say, Windows 7, we would have to use the Windows 7 volume key.

[testicle187]

I always thought you use a KMS Licensing server for volume Vista and Win7.  I know we do, but we have around 10,000 machines.  We don't type any product key in now.

[ryantheleach]

well from a functional point of view, defiantly not a legal one, you can install using only the upgrade disc and key.

all thats needed to do is install it without a key as a custom install not an upgrade.

then once windows has loaded run the installer FROM WITHIN WINDOWS and reinstall it with your upgrade key.

windows will be happy, you will be happy, but steve ballmer will kill a kitten for it.

from a legal standpoint id only recommend doing this if you KNEW you had the legal right to install from say windows 2000 or some other windows os that you can upgrade to, but cant due to the technical nature.

[danny_galaga]

This is as good a topic as any for this pic 

http://picasaweb.google.com/cschlaeger/japanlinuxsymposium#5395400000458161906

[Cakemeister]

I found a link that says you can install a full version with an upgrade copy.

Good thing, because my two upgrade copies are in the mail.

[ark_ader]

Sounds real dodgy to me.  Since you are an admin, then common sense should prevail for you, unfortunately in this case it looks quite uncertain from here.

Just play safe and buy the non-upgrade package for a clean install, than going through the boring old way to bypass upgrade security as that link suggests.

I would laugh if some hidden protection phoned home and caught you thus voiding any future volume licensing for your firm. 

I know a guy at M$ that would take a dim view of your suggestion, but learning from experience can sometimes be expensive.

Be smart and cover your butt.