Microsoft confirms Windows 7 install trick is legal

[DaBees-Knees]

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9140125/Microsoft_confirms_Windows_7_install_trick_is_legal?taxonomyId=125&pageNumber=1

Microsoft today confirmed that users can apply a workaround trick to do a clean install of Windows 7 on a blank hard drive as long as they toe the licensing line.

In a blog post earlier this week, Eric Ligman, who works in Microsoft's worldwide partner group, took exception to stories that showed people how to use the less-expensive Windows 7 upgrade editions to install the new operating system on blank drives. Computerworld covered the upgrade install trick - first reported by noted Windows blogger Paul Thurrott - last Friday.

"Over the past several days there have been various posts, etc. across a variety of social media engines stating that some 'hack' (be it a person or a procedure) shows that a Windows 7 Upgrade disc can perform a 'clean' installation of Windows 7 on a blank drive from a technical perspective," said Ligman.

"They often forgot to mention a very basic, yet very important piece of information," said Ligman about Thurrott's blog post and the resulting reports by others. "'Technically possible' does not always mean legal," Ligman said.

Addendum -
Well you could always do a clean install of a borrowed copy of vista, then don't put in the code and then do an upgrade from vista to 7... and it does work and its quazi legal too methinks.

  ....... That all sounds a bit naughty to me.    

[Bluey_412]

its been goin on for years....
did a clean install of win95 on a blank drive by showin it a copy of win3.1 disk 1, and ME over 98...

all it was doin was testing to see if you had a qualifying product

note i didnt say 'owned'

[Trestor]

Interesting to me to note that MS is obviously reading lots of sites and can respond quickly when they want to. I wish they had shown the same interest and speed over issues people have been complaining about over the years.