Windows 7 license issue questions

[Wangstang]

I have a already built a few computers for myself and family members.

All of the computers will be used to replace computers that are currently in service. Most are running XP and one has Vista. Can I use the license key numbers for computers that are being replaced for "Upgrade" windows media? If you have to use a XP/Vista license key from the same computer you intended to upgrade to Windows 7 vs replacing a computer with a completely new machine, how much of the old computer is required to be reused? Can just a hard drive from the old XP/Vista computer be reused or the case or is there some other specific part Microsoft recognizes as the crucial part?

If I use Windows 7 Home Family pack for those computers, do all of the computers have to be used in the same residence or can I give a computer to my mother who lives in another town or my sister who is several states away without causing a problem?

I may end up with one extra computer. If it doesn't get used enough, it will probably be sold so it doesn't just sit taking up space. Can I sell it with the Windows 7 Home from a family pack still installed?

My sister is in school right now and qualifies for the student pricing from Microsoft. Can she purchase and then I install on her behalf the Windows 7 media at student pricing and then ship the computer to her? If she sells that computer in two years to a third party will she need to remove windows 7 from the computer?

Microsoft seems to have introduced a lot of confusion with the license keys for "upgrade" media and I can't seem to sort out if the license keys are tied to the computer or the end user.

Heck, when I was in college, MS worked out some deal with the university where all of the students and staff qualified for a free set of XP and MS Office 2000. The same product license key was availble to be used by everyone for each respective program from what I understand(ie hundreds of folks could get XP iso discs and were all given the same license key). How the heck does the "upgrade" media interact with that kind of a license key?

Thanks for the clarity in advance!

Wes

 

[FishAk]

1. This depends on whether the SW was OEM or Retail.

2. Family pack is for family members. If they wanted all the computers under the same roof, they would need to call it a Household pack.

3. You can't install the OS on a computer you build to sell, but if you decide to sell it after installing, that is fine. Otherwise, putting Windows on a computer would hurt resale value.

4. As long as the SW is being installed for a student for their use, it doesn't matter whether or not they have help putting it together. If the SW is bought for a student and it is meant for them, it can be sold later without penalty to a non-student. (no need to hurt the resale value just because of Windows)

5. I'm not a layer, but I know a few, and I play one on TV.

 

[WildW]

The upgrade versions do not interact with any existing licence keys at all. The licence key you get with an upgrade version of Windows 7 will only activate if you did an upgrade install of Windows (i.e. launched the Windows installation from within Windows, rather than booting from the DVD.)

The upgrade DVD is bootable, and you can install Windows from it in this way, but it will not accept the upgrade licence key if you boot from the DVD. You can however leave the key blank and it will install in a 30-day evaluation mode.

You could then, in theory, launch the Windows installer from within this unactivated Windows, type in your Upgrade key, and install Windows over the top of itself, and then it would very probably activate without issue. Of course, nobody has ever done this, but it is called the Double Install Trick and has been around since Windows Vista first appeared.

 

[Wangstang]

Of course, nobody has ever done this, but it is called the Double Install Trick and has been around since Windows Vista first appeared.

I'm aware of this but in the event MS ever launches a massive license infringement campaign, I'd rather not end up as the target of such a financial collection. I guess you have to play the odds of MS really wanting to go through all of that effort, cost and potential customer frustration but if the numbers work out...I could see it happening if MS was on it's last ropes. I guess MS is currently happy enough to at least having folks paying for a legit "upgrade" license key vs total bootleging that they don't care about double installs.

Wes

 

[WildW]

I would say that so long as you have legitimate keys for the versions you're upgrading from, you can always prove the legitimacy of your Win7 licences. Whether you double-install or upgrade install from XP is a technical issue, not a legal/EULA one. I believe that the double install maneuver is Microsoft approved for some install issues anyway.

 

[Anteaus]

The upgrade DVD is bootable, and you can install Windows from it in this way, but it will not accept the upgrade licence key if you boot from the DVD. You can however leave the key blank and it will install in a 30-day evaluation mode.

Not true at all. I've personally done it 5 times. All that is required is that you have an activated copy of XP or vista somewhere on the system. You boot from the disc, and it will look for the OS. If it finds one it then lets you enter the key and continue, and yes a complete format is possible at that point. If you don't format, it will simply put the old OS in .OLD. Nothing has to be initiated from the old OS that your upgrading from. I've done this using both retail upgrade media as well as digital river upgrade media (its a retail disc).

For convience for reinstalls, before you do you first install, just make an image of your XP or vista partition. Then if your ever in the need to do a clean install again, you just put copy that image to the hard drive, boot from your Win7 upgrade disc and your off. What I did myself was strip XP down to almost nothing but a activated shell and stashed it's image on a secondary drive. Easy.

 

[WildW]

Not true at all. I've personally done it 5 times. All that is required is that you have an activated copy of XP or vista somewhere on the system. You boot from the disc, and it will look for the OS. If it finds one it then lets you enter the key and continue, and yes a complete format is possible at that point.

That's neat. I guess I've only ever tried doing a clean install. Will have to remember that.