I understand that to use the Win 7 upgrade disc I must run setup from within windows ( XP Pro SP3 ). In my case I will be doing a clean install on a virgin SSD drive. So I install XP and activate. Then run setup from Win 7 disc. It sees I have a legit license for XP and allows the custom installation. Once installed, I activate and I gather that my new product key takes over, and the old XP product key and license is now 'converted' to a Win 7 installation. Now what happens if I have a hard drive crash. I can re install XP, but now I will NOT be able to activate XP so I presume win 7 will install but WILL NOT activate. What do I do now ??

I understand that to use the Win 7 upgrade disc I must run setup from within windows ( XP Pro SP3 ).In my case I will be doing a clean install on a virgin SSD drive.So I install XP and activate.Then run setup from Win 7 disc. It sees I have a legit license for XP and allows the custom installation. Once installed, I activate and I gather that my new product key takes over, and the old XP product key and license is now 'converted'to a Win 7 installation. Now what happens if I have a hard drive crash.I can re install XP, but now I will NOT be able to activate XP so I presume win 7 will install but WILL NOT activate.What do I do now ?? HiIn this case, since you already know that disasters can happen, you would use that system image that you proactively created immediately after installing Windows 7 using your favorite imaging/backup software, such as Acronis True Image, Symantec Ghost, or others.Hope this helps.Thank You for testing Windows 7 Ronnie Vernon MVP

Hi to you all, am not sure if the above reply is serious or not. In the event of a total re-install of windows 7 following an upgrade what will you be asked for as in Activation Code etc, Seems the original question was a valid one, and there is always the possibility that any image/backup could fail. JJFJohn J Flynn

John - Ok... Hypothetical situation... You installed and activated Windows 7. Six months later, Windows 7 bombs for whatever reason and you go to restore the image you created only to find that your dog decided to chew it up. In that case, you should be able to restore your XP partition by reinstalling it, or restoring it. Once you've done that, you can reinstall Win 7. When you do, you'll be asked for the same product key as before, and you'll enter it as before. When it comes time to activate, you SHOULDbe able to reactivate Windows without any problems. It really makes no sense to invalidate the XP license when you upgrade. In a worst case scenario, where you have no choice, but to reinstall XP, I find it quite inconceivable that Microsoft would make it impossible to do so. You MAY be in a position where you need to call Microsoft's Activation hotline and activate by phone. But that's not too traumatic. I did it once after a motherboard died and got replaced. The tech on the line probably didn't bat an eyelash and gave me the code needed to reactivate XP. Likewise, you may have to do the same with Windows 7. I doubt it would take more than 10 minutes to deal with it.

Hi to you all,am not sure if the above reply is serious or not.In the event of a total re-install of windows 7 following an upgrade what will you be asked for as in Activation Code etc,Seems the original question was a valid one, and there is always the possibility that any image/backup could fail.JJF John J Flynn HiOf course it's serious, why would you think otherwise? As long as you have a legitimate license, activation is never a problem and a no brainer.I actually create 2 or 3 complete image backups whenduring the process ofinstalling a new OS. 1. After the initial install, I make sure that everything is running properly, I install my compatible backup program and create an image.2. Install all of my current software, make sure it is all working OK, create a second image.If I ever have a disasterMit usually takes less than 15 minutes to completely reinstall the entire OS and be back up and running.If I change any major hardware components or install a few software programs, another image backup. I also perform a once a week image backup.The activation state after reinstalling an image depends on what has been done to the computer since your last image was performed. In most cases, there is no re-activation required. If activation is required, it usually completes automatically, if the automatic activation fails for some reason, it takes around 4 minutes to call the activation center and activate manually.As a result, I never, ever, stress about hardware/software failures or any other unforseen disasters. This makes computing a real pleasure. JHope this helps.Thank You for testing Windows 7 Ronnie Vernon MVP

I have started fresh with my 3rd computer in 3 months. I restored this one from my backup but it wants me to activate my windows 7 professional again. I do not have a new product key. I want to use the one I already paid for. Help I got no where on the phone