Need help upgrading from Xubuntu to Windows 7

[Agustíne]

Hello people, i have xubuntu installed on my system. I have purchased a Windows 7 product key and also received a Windows 7 as an executable file which i can burn as an .iso file. I also have a Windows 7 upgrade disc with it. I have a valid license for Windows Vista but i have not used it to install yet. I have found tutorials telling me how to upgrade to Windows 7 from vista and from Windows XP. But nowhere do i have read anything telling me how to upgrade to Windows 7 from Xubuntu. Please provide me assistance in doing the necessary to achieve my objective. Thanks in advance.

[Devasis]

You will most probably need to format your hard drive since both the operating systems use 2 different file systems. Linux based operating systems such as Kubuntu will use ext3 or ext4 file system nowadays. Windows uses fat32 or NTFS which is why it doesn't recognize ext4 or ext3 file system. An application called xxclone might seem useful in what you have set out to do. You need to have a full version of Windows 7 in my opinion to actually be successful in this installation. You need to have at least one installation of Windows first before you can use the upgrade disc in my opinion.

[Solomon]

I don't think there is just a direct way to upgrade from Xubuntu to Windows 7. You will definitely have to format the hard drive. Then you can run the Windows 7 installation disc. You will also need to use a full version of windows 7 and not the upgrade version. You will need a legally licensed copy of Windows Vista or Windows XP in that situation. The way i see it you will have to install Vista first or XP at least. You could easily make a dual boot with Xubuntu and Windows 7 instead of uninstalling Xubuntu.

[Lillebror]

I agree with these guys about one point. I think you need to install Vista first at least for that upgrade license to work. If you have no issues with hard drive space then why not just make a dual boot instead of having to go through the headache of formatting the hard drive. You can basically run Xubuntu and Windows 7 both by making it a dual boot so you can choose whichever operating system you wish to run on that particular day. That i think would be a better option then formatting the drive and just fresh installation of Windows 7.

[Humberto]

Yes you can do this. I will try and spell out the couple of options you have. You will need to boot from a Windows 7 cd. Install Windows 7 along with the linux based operating system which in this case is Xubuntu. This will make your system a dual boot one. You will have the option to either use Xubuntu or use Windows 7 each time you restart the machine. The second option is format your drive and do a clean installation which will only enable you to run Windows 7. You can let me know if you have any further trouble while installing it. Considering it is such a simple procedure and you get prompts telling you everything, this should be easy enough for you. Why you have to use an iso image and make a cd/dvd because of Microsoft is beyond me considering you can easily get a Live CD from them.

[Dr. V]

Thanks a lot everyone for their valuable replies. I was having a bit confusion when i set out to do the same thing what the thread starter here has mentioned. I had an original equipment manufacturer disc and i had no idea how to go about installing Windows 7 without disturbing my Ubuntu installation. Fortunately after reading your replies, i had the assurance that it would disturb my original linux installation only if i had done a clean install. I am running both the operating systems now without any problems, thanks again.