Windows 7 - registration/activation question.

slipd

slipd

slipd

Soldato
Joined
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Hampshire, England.
Hey guys,

I bought a 'new' version of windows on an auction site recently which I was assured by the seller was new and un-registered - it was a bargain for my 2nd pc.

It arrived today (not sealed) and I've installed it/activated it and everything appears to have gone okay. What I want to know is, is there anything else I can do to ensure ownership?

Thanks.
 
You've got the COA sticker, it's activated online so obviously it's genuine, that's all you can/need to do.
 
Khaaan! said:
You've got the COA sticker, it's activated online so obviously it's genuine, that's all you can/need to do.
Click to expand...
Yup - all that :)

Just wondered if there was anything else I needed to do? What if the seller has already used the key :confused:
 
If he or she has already used the key then online activation would have failed and you'd have gotten an error telling you as such.

Still, this doesn't stop the seller from activating another copy using your key because he or she just has to use the phone activation and choose the option that states it's only installed on one machine. Any activated copies would still run flawlessly but obviously this isn't the way to go about doing legit business!
 
stoofa said:
Was it an OEM copy?
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Nope, its the real deal - no doubt about that. It's a full version, made in Ireland last december :)

I'm just worried that it (the key) might have been used before since the box was already opened before I got it... should be okay shouldn't I?
 
Well it's a difficult one.
Retail versions can be sold on, so long as the license is not in use.
So, if the guy has installed it and then sold it to you - then in theory he is breaking the license agreement.
However, as soon as you install it then you would be breaking the license agreement.

Personally the only OS's I will buy from EBay are unopened/still sealed retail versions.
OEM's and versions that have been opened are just so open to abuse I'm afraid.
 
stoofa said:
Well it's a difficult one.
Retail versions can be sold on, so long as the license is not in use.
So, if the guy has installed it and then sold it to you - then in theory he is breaking the license agreement.
However, as soon as you install it then you would be breaking the license agreement.

Personally the only OS's I will buy from EBay are unopened/still sealed retail versions.
OEM's and versions that have been opened are just so open to abuse I'm afraid.
Click to expand...

coa stickers normaly come with a stick of ram to not break the licence agreement.
 
Breaking licensing agreements aside, is there every going to come a time when I turn my machine on and I'm informed that I don't own this copy of windows etc?
 
You've already been given the answer, if it activated without an error then there is no problem as the license key hasn't already been activated previously...
 
axer said:
You've already been given the answer, if it activated without an error then there is no problem as the license key hasn't already been activated previously...
Click to expand...

It is a Retail version so this wont hold true. You can activate Retail several times before you have to make a phone call.
 
Hmm either way though you've paid for a retail product, got the coa and have activated, if at any time it bombs out just use phone activation and get a new activation key. MS are never going to deny you a genuine activation because you've got the retail package to prove ownership anyway.

It's not something that would bother me really.
 
SiriusB said:
It is a Retail version so this wont hold true. You can activate Retail several times before you have to make a phone call.
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That's what I was worried about... still though, when their installation (if they've already installed it) gets detected they'll have no comeback will they? Where as I will :)

@Knaaan! Fair point mate, I'm not going to lose too much sleep over it! I was just wondering if there was anything else that needed to be done to ensure outright ownership?

Cheers!
 
I guess you could ring up Microsoft support and ensure it is genuinely yours. If you let them know of the situation now; it would help if you do encounter problems down the line
 
SiriusB said:
It is a Retail version so this wont hold true. You can activate Retail several times before you have to make a phone call.
Click to expand...

Ive installed win7 twice from my retail copy and 1st time the key activated 2nd time it refused it over and over until i had to phone the hotline and do it that way. I was so irked i thought it would work at least 3 times..

No hardware changed either.... annoyed:p
 
kain666 said:
coa stickers normaly come with a stick of ram to not break the licence agreement.
Click to expand...

Errr, no.
That hasn't been the case since Windows 2000.
You cannot resell used OEM copies of the OS as once they are used they are tied to the machine it was isntalled on.
The requirement to buy hardware with an OEM copy of the OS finished after Windows 2000.

You cannot sell just COA stickers, with RAM or whatever you like, this is not allowed.
 
You should be ok, so long its activated, it works and you have the certificate or sticker with the license key on it.

The ones to watch out for are copies of the DVD with a CD key on a random piece of paper or something. These can be VLK copies with a leaked key which will work for a while until Microsoft cancel it and all those copies are then invalid and unlicensed. This happened in the UK not that long ago, some website was selling Windows 7 Enterprise for some cheapish price like 99 quid, there was a download link and a key would be mailed to you... turns out it was a VLK copy with some company's Windows 7 key, so Microsoft cancelled it and around 5000 people had problems :P
 
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