Multiple new Windows 7 licences - cheapest way

PistolPete

PistolPete

PistolPete

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Hi All,

I got a retail copy of W7 Pro on pre-order.

I'm happy with it, so I'm looking to upgrade my studio PC, my 2 HTPCs and 2 laptops.

Is there a cheaper way to get licences than £150 each by buying multiple retail copies? Do microsoft offer any incentive to buy multiple licences?


Thanks


Pete
 
They do a family pack (although I've never seen it for sale to be honest) but I'm guessing this is limited to Home editions, so if you want Pro I'm afraid you're just going to have to pay.
 
Pah. I've heard about the Family Pack but I've only seen it in the US.

Home would be sufficient I guess, I don't need domain stuff, backup and restore I could run and move to the server and I'm unlikely to need XP mode for what I use the others for.
 
I have seen the Home Premium family pack on sale at 'a well known stationery and office supplies superstore' that I can't name wihout breaking the rules. Is not on their web site, only in-store.
 
PistolPete said:
Hi All,

I got a retail copy of W7 Pro on pre-order.

I'm happy with it, so I'm looking to upgrade my studio PC, my 2 HTPCs and 2 laptops.

Is there a cheaper way to get licences than £150 each by buying multiple retail copies? Do microsoft offer any incentive to buy multiple licences?


Thanks


Pete
Click to expand...

Try Technet. I subscribed to Technet £200 for a year. I get 10 licences to every OS and 10 licences for all Office versions and 2010 when its out this year. Technicially its for evaulation only, but they are the proper full versions.
 
Range said:
Pistol, whats your email? I can email you a site. But it's a competitor so I can't post here.
Click to expand...

That would be against the rules.

You also haven't answered my question from your other post. I'm curious as to what FAQ you have that helps someone with regards to installing Windows on multiple machines :).
 
You can get 1 copy of 7 Pro upgrade for £43 if you qualify for academic licensing.

Who can buy software at Software4Students?

This site is for students and their parents and is intended to supply low-cost software for home use. The licensee of the products is required to be a University, College or School student in the UK.
Click to expand...

Since ocuk don't offer academic licenses, I presume this is ok.
 
djkav said:
Try Technet. I subscribed to Technet £200 for a year. I get 10 licences to every OS and 10 licences for all Office versions and 2010 when its out this year. Technicially its for evaulation only, but they are the proper full versions.
Click to expand...

It's not just "technically evaluation" it is evaluation.
Also you cannot use the OS's or Office on production machines.
So that means unless you do NOTHING but testing on the machines with your Technet OS's on you are running them against the license agreement.

Basically you've spent £200 on licenses and are no more legal than somebody who downloaded a pirate copy of the OS from the net.

Don't advise posters to also break licensing rules as it amounts to piracy.
If that's what you want to do then go for it - however advocating piracy is against the forum rules.
 
Incorrect:

http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/totw/technet.asp


stoofa said:
It's not just "technically evaluation" it is evaluation.
Also you cannot use the OS's or Office on production machines.
So that means unless you do NOTHING but testing on the machines with your Technet OS's on you are running them against the license agreement.

Basically you've spent £200 on licenses and are no more legal than somebody who downloaded a pirate copy of the OS from the net.

Don't advise posters to also break licensing rules as it amounts to piracy.
If that's what you want to do then go for it - however advocating piracy is against the forum rules.
Click to expand...
 
The technet thing is really bending the rules, but providing he is the sole user of all those PCs then he could be ok. It's just how much you're willing to stretch the definition of "evaluation".
 
stoofa said:
It's not just "technically evaluation" it is evaluation.
Also you cannot use the OS's or Office on production machines.
So that means unless you do NOTHING but testing on the machines with your Technet OS's on you are running them against the license agreement.

Basically you've spent £200 on licenses and are no more legal than somebody who downloaded a pirate copy of the OS from the net.

Don't advise posters to also break licensing rules as it amounts to piracy.
If that's what you want to do then go for it - however advocating piracy is against the forum rules.
Click to expand...

The agreement only says it cannot be used in a commercial environment, as long as you don't use it for work, you aren't breaking the agreement.

theheyes said:
The technet thing is really bending the rules, but providing he is the sole user of all those PCs then he could be ok. It's just how much you're willing to stretch the definition of "evaluation".
Click to expand...

Indeed, it's bending them very far, but as far as I can discern, it doesn't break them.
 
Yeah, I agree it is bending them to the point of breaking. I actually thought the EULA was more detailed about what constitutes as evaluation and what hardware you could run it on, but reading it again it seems it doesn't.

That Paul Thurrott article is really recent it would be interesting to see whether that gets taken down at any point because he's really plugging it for something it was not intended for.
 
I'm forced to wonder how accurate his "claims" are regards this subscription as I can't find anything definitive to back up his assertion that you can continue to use the products after the subscription has lapsed. Every other MS sub I've seen has required you to be an active subscriber in order to continue to use the products.
 
Technet Product Key FAQ said:
Expired Subscriber Access
Q: After my Subscription expires can I still download products and claim product keys?
A: Only Subscribers with active subscriptions can download products and claim product keys, so you will not be able to download products after your Subscription has expired.
You will be able to view Product Keys you had claimed while your Subscription was active, but you will not be able to claim new keys. In order to access your prior claimed keys, you will have to Sign in to Live ID using the account and Subscription information that you had used to access your subscription benefits and claim those keys.
Click to expand...


Sauce

While it doesn't explicitly state you can use the keys forever, it does imply it - why else would it let you access previously claimed keys?
 
stoofa said:
It's not just "technically evaluation" it is evaluation.
Also you cannot use the OS's or Office on production machines.
So that means unless you do NOTHING but testing on the machines with your Technet OS's on you are running them against the license agreement.

Basically you've spent £200 on licenses and are no more legal than somebody who downloaded a pirate copy of the OS from the net.

Don't advise posters to also break licensing rules as it amounts to piracy.
If that's what you want to do then go for it - however advocating piracy is against the forum rules.
Click to expand...

I take offence at been branded a pirate. I have not pirated or using illegitiment keys. I'm evaluating Win 7 for recomendation to other people.
 
Vertigo1 said:
I'm forced to wonder how accurate his "claims" are regards this subscription as I can't find anything definitive to back up his assertion that you can continue to use the products after the subscription has lapsed. Every other MS sub I've seen has required you to be an active subscriber in order to continue to use the products.
Click to expand...

In this instance he's right, but Paul Thurrott has made many blunders in the past and so I take everything he says with a pinch of salt.
 
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