How to Upgrade Windows 7 Beta to Windows 7 RC

Now that you've downloaded that sweet, sweet Windows 7 Release Candidate, you may find yourself wondering how best to install it. Specifically, if you're already running the beta, you'd probably prefer an upgrade approach, one that keeps all your settings, apps, and data.

Alas, the Windows 7 RC all but requires a fresh install, meaning it'll overwrite your existing Win 7 installation. Fortunately, over at Life Rocks 2.0 you can learn how to upgrade from Windows 7 beta to Windows 7 RC. (Hint: It's a hack.)

I won't regurgitate the steps here, but I will try to put the process in plainer English. After burning the Windows 7 RC to a DVD (this procedure describes the beta, but it's exactly the same for the RC), you'll need to copy the contents of that DVD to a bootable flash/hard drive or a separate partition (if you have one available) on the system that has the beta.

Next, you'll locate and open an INI file within the copied RC and make a simple change to one of the settings. With that done, you can run the Windows 7 installer from your drive or partition, and it should bypass the "version check" that would normally prevent an upgrade.

I'm in the process of testing this right now and will let you know if I run into any problems. In the meantime, how'd your Windows 7 download go? Any trouble getting the files? We had an admirably easy time of it.