Do I have to have Win vista / xp INSTALLED to use the win7 upgrade?

[AWS]

Hi all.

 

I just built a new computer basically from scratch and I need to install an OS.

 

My university is offering the upgrade to win8 (and I think also win7, which is the one I am most interested in), but since it is an upgrade, they clearly state that I need to have a previous version fully installed and activated. This is very logical but

I have a slight problem. 

 

I do have a win xp CD lying around, but the problem is that it doesn't have the SATA divers needed to detect my HDD. I also don't have a floppy to install the driver manually using F6. Yes I know that there are way arounds, but they are pretty complicated

and frankly I would like to avoid that if at all possible. Also since win xp is x32, installing a x64 would be an other problem... if indeed it would be possible at all, and I very much prefer a x64 version of win7 then a x32 version. 

 

I have read at a few trustworthy forums (like www.sevenforums.com) that it is possible to do a clean install, using an upgrade version of win7, by choosing to do the custom installation and that it is not necessary to have any version of windows installed.

Technically I only have to own it... 

 

I find this pretty confusing and hard to believe and I suspect it is some sort of violation of the EULA. 

 

Thats why I have decided to ask in the official forum, hoping to get and official answer. 

 

 

IS is possible to do a full installation of win7 using the upgrade disk, without having an other version of windows installed and activated? And if so, will the upgrade key let me activate win genuinely, even though there never was any OS activated with

that PC at any time?

 

Please don't think of me as rude or unappreciative, I am very thankful for the help I always get in forums, but  

Again, I ask in the official forum, because I want a definitive answer, not only about it being possible or not but also about it being legal or not. As I said, I technically own a version, I just don't want to activate it, because its pretty complicated

to do. 40£ is not throw away money for me, so please only answer if you are sure. 

 

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