Windows 7 Definitive Answer -- Upgrading RC to RTM

The information provided from the source you mentioned outlines a process to potentially upgrade from the Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) to the final Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version. Here's a breakdown of the steps described: 1. Download and Burn ISO: - Download the ISO for the final RTM version (similar to how you downloaded the RC version) and burn it to a DVD. 2. Copy Image to Storage Location: - Save the entire image to a location from which you want to run the upgrade. This can be a bootable flash drive or a directory on any partition of the machine running the pre-release build. 3. Access the Sources Directory: - Navigate to the sources directory on the storage location where the image is saved. 4. Edit cversion.ini: - Locate and open the file named cversion.ini using a text editor like Notepad. 5. Modify MinClient Build Number: - In the cversion.ini file, find the MinClient build number and change it to a value that is lower than the build number of the RTM version. For example, change from 7200 to 7100 or lower. 6. Save Changes: - Save the edited cversion.ini file with the same name. 7. Run Setup: - Proceed to run the setup process as you normally would from this modified copy of the image. This modification should bypass the version check during installation. It is suggested that the RTM build of Windows 7 would have a build number of 7200. Therefore, for an upgrade from the RC to the RTM version, the MinClient build number would need to be adjusted from 7200 to 7100 or a lower value. This method theoretically implies that it might also be possible to upgrade from the Windows 7 Beta to the Windows 7 RTM using a similar approach.