How many times can you activate windows 7?

Dickyb0b · 24 Jun 2013 at 01:21

I am still on windows xp but have decided to purchase windows 7 ,how many times can you use the serial key to activate it,if its only once then how can reinstall windows 7 if say the hdd brakes or something messes up the os?

Glaucus · 24 Jun 2013 at 01:39

Infinity, after a few you'll likely have to do phone activation.

V F · 24 Jun 2013 at 01:49

Glaucus said:
Infinity, after a few you'll likely have to do phone activation.

I'm so glad there's no human operator. During the XP days I always had to talk to no speaky no freakin engrish!

linktoinsanity · 24 Jun 2013 at 10:25

Glaucus said:
Infinity, after a few you'll likely have to do phone activation.

This. On OEM it can be reactivated on the same hardware as many times as you need to (though it will probably not work automatically over the internet if you do it too often, though a call to MS will allow phone activation).

Retail however can be activated as many times as you need on multiple hardware, just not at the same time. You must uninstall Windows 7 from one PC before loading it onto another (using the same license).

Just to clarify though Windows 8 OEM is the same license as Windows 7 Retail.

tribz · 24 Jun 2013 at 10:48

linktoinsanity said:
You must uninstall Windows 7 from one PC before loading it onto another (using the same license).

How do you uninstall Windows 7?

linktoinsanity · 24 Jun 2013 at 12:04

tribz said:
How do you uninstall Windows 7?

"C:\> Format C: /q" is usually the best way. Basically, wipe the drive it is on already.

Duke · 24 Jun 2013 at 14:36

The automated activation works again if you've not done it for a few months (if you've done it a lot in a short time to cause it to ask for phone activation).

V F · 24 Jun 2013 at 16:30

linktoinsanity said:
"C:\> Format C: /q" is usually the best way. Basically, wipe the drive it is on already.

The windows activation servers don't know this. All it knows is it's been activated and a new response to activate again.

Duke said:
The automated activation works again if you've not done it for a few months (if you've done it a lot in a short time to cause it to ask for phone activation).

Thats exactly it. Makes no difference what version you have thats stated in linktoinsanity's post. As I have retail and still had to phone up due to a bust hard drive but before that it was a hard drive transfer to a new build. Though, that was beyond a few months.

linktoinsanity · 25 Jun 2013 at 09:43

V F said:
Thats exactly it. Makes no difference what version you have thats stated in linktoinsanity's post. As I have retail and still had to phone up due to a bust hard drive but before that it was a hard drive transfer to a new build. Though, that was beyond a few months.

The difference is in the license. If MS found out you had used your OEM copy on multiple machines they have the right to prosecute, even if not on those machines at the same time. On the Retail version then you have that right to install on multiple machines (though not at the same time).

Whether it works or not is not the issue, it's a license. There is nothing stopping you physically copying music to your friend's PC for free, but it's still illegal. That is my point.

d_brennen · 25 Jun 2013 at 09:51

I believe the "cooldown timer" is 120 days