Reply by Neil McLachlan from Co Serve Consulting on Tuesday, 20 September, 2011 - 14:10

You wouldn't normally receive the "Get Genuine" message unless the Windows 7 installation was not genuine, was not installed and/or activated correctly or there is some other installation problem currently causing your PC to fail Windows genuine validation. If you are receiving this message and your Windows 7 license is genuine, then you have a problem that requires a different answer. However, assuming that you already have a genuine OEM version of Windows 7 installed on the PC, that is correctly activated, then there shouldn't be any problem upgrading using the Windows 7 Anytime Upgrade option. This will work for all OEM distributions as long as they are supported editions such as Windows 7 Starter, Home Premium or Professional. Your existing configuration and data should be maintained during the upgrade although there are a number of issues to keep in mind with Service Packs and such things as Windows RSAT tools if you use them. Nevertheless, before attempting the upgrade you should complete a complete system backup. Neil McLachlan | e :: neil@coserve.com.au | t :: 02 4782 6917 | f :: 02 4782 7815

Reply by Neil McLachlan from Co Serve Consulting on Thursday, 22 September, 2011 - 01:33

Hi Gary I'm sorry about that but the "Get Genuine" program details on the Microsoft website are, to say the least, inconsistent with the current product description on the Donortec website. I suggest that it would be prudent to check with Donortec that the listed details are correct before you embark on this upgrade path. Our experience with the previous incarnation of "Get Genuine" program does not instill confidence that it will "retain all [your] installed applications, their configurations, and [your] data". However, you can check the Microsoft program details for yourself and see what you think: http://www.microsoft.com/australia/genuine/buygenuine/legalization.mspx Bearing this in mind, should you elect to proceed with this upgrade option, rather than the Anytime Upgrade previously mentioned, you should first complete the full system backup. The purpose of the backup is to have a viable backout strategy should the upgrade fail. With Windows Backup and Restore "if the drive you are saving your backup on is formatted using the NTFS file system and has enough disk space, a system image of your programs, Windows, and all drivers and registry settings are also included in the backup". It is then possible to use this image to restore the computer to its original state should things go wrong. Neil McLachlan | e :: neil@coserve.com.au | t :: 02 4782 6917 | f :: 02 4782 7815