Old Windows 7, new P.C

andy85wsm

andy85wsm

andy85wsm

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21 Apr 2012
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Hi guys,

I'm about to buy a second hand P.C from a friend which has Windows 7, but its lets just say, not legit. Now the real reason I need to reinstall it is because its on his HDD and I want to put it on the SSD.

I have a copy of windows already loaded onto my P.C but this is for my girlfriends house. Can they detect it if I use my one key windows CD on 2 different computers?

I will get a legit copy in a week or 2 but I just want to get it up and running now.

Cheers for any info
 
Yes, you can't run one CD key on two independent systems at once, you can however just install Windows without validating the key and you will be set up on a trial :)
 
If you don't validate the key, it will automatically attempt to activate after a short period (around three days) and after the key has been found to be in-use on another system or non-genuine, the system will still be usable, however you will be bombarded with messages telling you that "you need to activate your Windows licence" and "you may be a victim of software counterfeiting" upon login, and the message "Windows is not genuine" will be displayed in the corner of the desktop. You will also have occasional popups in the notification area of the start bar telling you that Windows requires activation.

There are of course ways to get rid of said messages, however I don't think such methods should be discussed openly. :p

And as I said, the PC would still be perfectly usable, it is just mildly annoying. I used a PC like that for around 6 months in the past.
 
Last edited:
acme15 said:
If you don't validate the key, it will automatically attempt to activate after a short period (around three days) and after the key has been found to be in-use on another system or non-genuine, the system will still be usable, however you will be bombarded with messages telling you that "you need to activate your Windows licence" and "you may be a victim of software counterfeiting" upon login, and the message "Windows is not genuine" will be displayed in the corner of the desktop. You will also have occasional popups in the notification area of the start bar telling you that Windows requires activation.

There are of course ways to get rid of said messages, however I don't think such methods should be discussed openly. :p
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information. I'll just install it without validating then and worry about the messages later.

I will look on getting my hands on a legit but cheap key :)
 
On the same topic.

The P.C I'm buying has a HDD and an SSD with Windows on the HDD. I don't really need to keep any of the stuff on either so re-formatting isn't an issue.

To get Windows on the SSD do I just need to change the boot options to boot from the SSD and then put the windows disc in? I guess I can then re-format the HDD so it works as another drive and not with windows on?
 
andy85wsm said:
On the same topic.

The P.C I'm buying has a HDD and an SSD with Windows on the HDD. I don't really need to keep any of the stuff on either so re-formatting isn't an issue.

To get Windows on the SSD do I just need to change the boot options to boot from the SSD and then put the windows disc in? I guess I can then re-format the HDD so it works as another drive and not with windows on?
Click to expand...

Correct. It is as easy as backing up the data you want to keep, changing the boot options, formatting the HDD during the windows instalation process, installing windows onto the SSD with the same key, and then restoring your data to the HDD.

You could even make it easier by simply changing the boot device, installing windows on the SSD, and then going into your users folder on the HDD to find your files, copy them to the top-level of the HDD and delete everything else on there. :)
 
acme15 said:
Correct. It is as easy as backing up the data you want to keep, changing the boot options, formatting the HDD during the windows instalation process, installing windows onto the SSD with the same key, and then restoring your data to the HDD.

You could even make it easier by simply changing the boot device, installing windows on the SSD, and then going into your users folder on the HDD to find your files, copy them to the top-level of the HDD and delete everything else on there. :)
Click to expand...

I don't need any of the stuff thats on there so I guess I'll just re-format both and install windows on the SSD.

Then I'll look at getting a real key from somewhere!
 
Ok, I actually have the Windows key that is already on the computer, under properties in my computer.

Now I just need the ISO file to put onto a external HDD and then I should be able to boot from there and install it on the SSD and then I can format the HDD?

Is the ISO file located anywhere within Windows already? Taking an age to download!
 
andy85wsm said:
Ok, I actually have the Windows key that is already on the computer, under properties in my computer.

Now I just need the ISO file to put onto a external HDD and then I should be able to boot from there and install it on the SSD and then I can format the HDD?

Is the ISO file located anywhere within Windows already? Taking an age to download!
Click to expand...

The product I.D you find in computer properties is not the same as a Windows key, you would need to obtain the windows key from the OEM windows label on the machine, from the box the Windows disk came in, or by ringing/emailing Microsoft.

Unless I am mistaken, you would need to burn the ISO file to a DVD and boot from the DVD drive.
 
Hi guys,

Soooooo, I put the iso on a USB and installed windows an used the key,

When it boots its set to boot from the ssd, but always asks me to choose the operating system. Guess that's because I have windows on HDD and ssd? I will format the hddd soon.

Issue I'm having now.,....power line adapters work when I boot into HDD windows, with nothing special having been one.

When I boot into the ssd it says no connection with the red cross.

Ideas?
 
andy85wsm said:
Hi guys,

Soooooo, I put the iso on a USB and installed windows an used the key,

When it boots its set to boot from the ssd, but always asks me to choose the operating system. Guess that's because I have windows on HDD and ssd? I will format the hddd soon.

Issue I'm having now.,....power line adapters work when I boot into HDD windows, with nothing special having been one.

When I boot into the ssd it says no connection with the red cross.

Ideas?
Click to expand...

You probably need to install the drivers on the new OS.
 
Restart your PC and select the OS on your hdd. Then download the Lan driver for your mobo. Restart PC, select ssd and install the driver from the hdd. Once you have done that, then you can download the rest of your mobo chipset and drivers. Simples.
 
Ok so I finally got the LAN drivers going and now I'm updating and installing everything from scratch on the SSD....151 windows updates...

Anyway - I reformatted the HDD yet it still asks me which operating system I want to boot when the computer loads up. Just gives me 2 options of Windows 7 like before. How do I get rid of that?
 
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