Windows 7 OEM reinstall
- Thread starter takuhii
- Start date
When activating Windows it will say that the key is already in use, activate Windows then via phone and it will give you a free number to ring (0800). Go through the automated phone line and say that you're using the key on a single PC and it will then activate.
I bought the OEM version from "a well known retailer" when I bought my original graphics adapter. I think the premise is, that as long as you are purchasing hardware, you can buy OEM software.
If that's not the case then "a well known retailer" shouldn't have sold me the software, fingers crossed I can get round the activation (LEGALLY!!!!), as I don't really want to have to buy a new copy of Windows 7...
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What changes in hardware constitute a license invalidation? Is it just the motherboard that would trigger it? I'm also looking to buy an OEM Windows 7 license and I've received different info from a guy I emailed about it. I'll paste what he said.
Associate
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Who is this guy, as it's plain wrong!
OEM is tied to the machine it was first installed on, this is identified through the motherboard. If you upgrade your motherboard then it's considered a new PC and you would need a new license. Similarly OEM is not transferrable to another PC.
This is the terms of the MS OEM license. Now it's well known that MS do not strictly enforce that and have happily reactivated it for practically everyone in the past who have either upgraded/transferred. Doesn't mean it's a given they will continue to do so in the future.
http://www.microsoft.com/oem/en/licensing/sblicensing/Pages/licensing_faq.aspx#fbid=4ZXIo8rvcK9
Q. Can a PC with an OEM Windows operating system have its motherboard upgraded and keep the same license? What if it was replaced because it was defective?
A. Generally, an end user can upgrade or replace all of the hardware components on a computer—except the motherboard—and still retain the license for the original Microsoft OEM operating system software. If the motherboard is upgraded or replaced for reasons other than a defect, then a new computer has been created. Microsoft OEM operating system software cannot be transferred to the new computer, and the license of new operating system software is required. If the motherboard is replaced because it is defective, you do not need to acquire a new operating system license for the PC as long as the replacement motherboard is the same make/model or the same manufacturer's replacement/equivalent, as defined by the manufacturer's warranty.
The reason for this licensing rule primarily relates to the End User Software License Terms and the support of the software covered by that End User Software License Terms. The End User Software License Terms is a set of usage rights granted to the end user by the PC manufacturer and relates only to rights for that software as installed on that particular PC. The system builder is required to support the software on the original PC. Understanding that end users, over time, upgrade their PCs with different components, Microsoft needed to have one base component "left standing" that would still define the original PC. Since the motherboard contains the CPU and is the "heart and soul" of the PC, when the motherboard is replaced (for reasons other than defect) a new PC is essentially created. The original system builder did not manufacture this new PC, and therefore cannot be expected to support it.
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Associate
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Are you replacing the mobo with one from the same manufacturer?
Is it going to be the same or equivalent model?
You may get away with it, keep us posted.
Is it going to be the same or equivalent model?
You may get away with it, keep us posted.
simple answer if u change your motherboard you won't be able to use your win 7 OEM license
As per post two, it will still activate fine via the telephone activation.
that isn't the point.
people on forums SHOULDN'T give advise which breaks license agreement. what u do in private thats your own business but forums are public.
i think mods should start giving warnings when people give advise which breaks license agreement ect.
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You should have made your point clearer then, you said wont work not you shouldn't do.
Soldato
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Windows 7 OEM only license to one motherboard
Windows 8 OEM is license to unlimited motherboard
Windows 8 OEM is license to unlimited motherboard
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Except Windows 8 OEM is now Windows 8 System Builder. And a different license agreement will be in force, giving you more flexibility to transfer.
So it's not the same agreement.
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If you're going to nitpick, you might want to have a closer look at the Windows 7 OEM EULA - *nowhere* does it explicitly state that an end user will be breaking the agreement by changing a motherboard.
MS can publish as many FAQs as they like about a motherboard being the "heart and soul" of a computer, but unless that definition is written into the contract (the EULA) it's nothing more than a point of view, and isn't legally binding. IMHO of course.
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Yep, you'll still have OEM for the major manufacturers, and the license agreement won't be changing for them.
The OEM enthusiasts typically buy for self builds will be System Builder, new license agreement and more flexibility when it comes to transferring.
So either bulldog is wrong in his statement OEM is transferrable, or more likely he's thinking of the new System Builder licensing.