Small business setup. Windows 7 licencing question on 4 pcs. Msdn or retail?.

DJMK4

DJMK4

DJMK4

Soldato
Joined
1 Dec 2004
Posts
23,168
Location
S.Wales
Hi all, I have a friend who has just purchased new premises and wants to start up, they got a deal which they couldn't turn down really, 4 x dell opitplex gx520 pcs although they are p4 3.2 hyperthreading running windows xp along with servers, office furniture etc for a very good price to get them going.. They need to upgrade to windows 7.

I have a copy of windows 7 ultimate I got from msdn a while ago which i installed to test, I havnt activated them. They run ok but need to upgrade the RAM. They are going to need to purchase a licence pack from Microsoft of 5 users.

My question is, can I leave the install I done from my windows 7 ultimate install from my MSDN disk on there and then activate through Microsoft, or will I need to download the 90 day trail direct from microsoft then activate when licenc keys are purchased? As I read MSDN version may not work for them?

Any advice greatly appriciated.

Need to try and get these machines built today.

Ta! :)
 
Ok will do. Any ideas on the cheapest way to obtain 4 licences for windows 7 pro? Also with these machines I don't think they would support full 64-bit capabilities so I will get the 32 bit version

Also, can Windows pro 100% join a domain?

I want to try and keep cost down if possible, shall I go direct to Microsoft or obtain licences through someone else. Any ideas on rough cost per licence or per 4-5 licences?

Microsoft volume licence dept is not open until Monday.
 
Last edited:
jamesfreddie said:
I don't know about the 100%.

But all schools use proffesional and connect to a domain. so i think it should be OK.

When you get a price for Windows 7 Pro 4 users will you please let me know?

From what i have heard it is cheaper to buy oem licences for each machine. But don't quote me on that.
Click to expand...



Hmm, ok, but with OEM licences, would I still be able to use the same Windows 7 Pro iso I have just downloaded from the web?

I will let you know when I get prices.

I dont think they will be joining a domain anytime soon, it may be wise for future if they want it.
 
XP isnt an option because of some of the software he needs to run on the machine, for some reason it doesnt work well in Windows XP.

If he decided on saving the money and going OEM for the time being, is there anyway I can download a Windows 7 Pro OEM ISO so I can atleast get the install done an an image created like I done with the Windows 7 Pro retail install I done? whilst he is waiting to sort out licences?

I cant seem to find an OEM ISO or a Dell OEM iso of Windows 7 Pro x86
 
A copy of autocad they have, think its either 2009/2010 or 2012 version. Generally I think this is the biggest app they will end up running also they have a later version of sage
 
Last edited:
I'm having a chat with the accountant tomorrow as I agree with you tbh, I can stick xp on straight away but need an answer from them on how much they want to spend/how long they are keeping pc's for.
 
I know this, and was intending to upgrade ram anyway. But I have mixed messages from people saying it will be better sticking xp on and running that for a year or so before they upgrade rather than shell out on windows 7 licenses Then have to upgrade pcs, iv already suggested to him now about the xp route
 
Yeah will do ta. There is no plans for domain at the moment but will look to see what his future plans are tomorrow.

Will start again with the building of xp tomorrow after work so I can get them imaged.
 
nightmare99 said:
I thought you said they had servers, if so surely they will be domain joined?
Click to expand...


They have a server yes, however at the moment it will just be used as a file server and backup server. They have no plans to place it on a domain with 4-5 machines at present. That said, there would be no ruling out plans of migrating to a domain at a later stage.
 
OEM licences will be fine surely

What do you think the score is when businesses buy PC's from vendors like Dell, they are shipped with OEM licences

As for the putting the customer on a domain network, I will think about it, however, a lot of our customers in our main job are motor factors, and are running around the same amount of PC's, generally none of these networks are on domains. Our bigger customers with 8-9+ workstations are generally those that are on domains.

Is it really worth it for a business with this amount of workstations?
 
Last edited:
edscdk said:
why do oyu need a dell ISO? W7 dell will still require a serial number... (i know i tried it on some dell 520's...)

just order 4x OEM windows 7,
Click to expand...

I don't, I would just use the standard Windows 7 ISO, if I was still going for Windows 7, however, we have decided to just stick with XP for these machines, as it will be better performing, then they can decide if they want to upgrade the PC's in a year or more.

Windows 7 will run on them, I tested it on weekend, however you could tell they will run in to issues of it being slow.
 
Thanks, although I think they might be more inclined to go with Dell PC's, due to the easy warranty solution, rather than warranty per part manufacturer.

Two PC's are all imaged and going back to him tonight.

Need to show him some print out's of a 6U and a 9U cabinet and pick up his Dell rack server so I can start prepping this and put in in place when I have done most of the network set-up there. Will have to do this at home though, cant wait for the noise, and hopefully its not too power hungry whilst I am working on it for a few days.

They only generally need internet access on the machines and email over the course of the next few weeks which gives me a bit of time to get the server prepped and patch the comms in this weekend hopefully
 
Yeah already checked the depth it's got enough room :), we're not racking the server that's going to be on a platform, checked the dimensions Of switch and it's fine :)


More updates to come hopefully
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom