Windows 7 upgrade activation issue

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  Did a 32-bit upgrade from Vista, learned that the activation key had already been used.  Cannot find old Vista media to locate key, or to reinstall and then upgrade again.  Have purchased a new Windows 7 64-bit upgrade media and key.  Since Vista has already been upgraded, will a legitimate upgrade activate when installed over the "bad" copy without the Vista key?  If not, is there a workaround?  Due to the number of things I have installed, I would prefer to just upgrade, but can copy off the critical stuff and do a full install if necessary.  For some reason, I did NOT find a "windows.old" folder to attempt a rollback.  System is a lower-end/early Intel dual-core, but only 1 GB of RAM, 80 GB SATA drive only 1/2 full, should be enough space for any method that will work.

  Saturday, October 2, 2010 2:23 PM