Do you guys know how many copies of windows 7 (home premium full version) I can install on computers with the 1 key, I want to put windows 7 on the upstairs PC and heard that you can install on upto 2 machines but dont want to format the drive with a fresh install then find i cant install on more than 1 machine.

Also i have heard that the windows 7 activation "pairs" your windows key and locks it to your machine, I am going to be upgrading the main machine in the next 6 months so am concerned that if they key is locked to my board/bios or hard disk that i will not be able to use my key and then have to buy another copy.

How do microsoft lock the key to your system? And hope microsoft have made proviasions for people who may have hardware failiure and need to re-install.

Cheers.

I think it's just one PC with a normal key.

RE locking- I *think* its a hardware signitature, and you can XXX ammount of the hardware before it locks the key out. IE, changing RAM is fine, changing everything bar the HDD would need a new key as they see it as a new pc.

I could be miles out on that though!

1 licence per computer. Regarding upgrading hardware, you will be absolutely fine with a full retail copy of Windows. With an OEM copy you might need to phone Microsoft to get the machine activated. It will depend on what is changed.

1 licence per computer. Regarding upgrading hardware, With an OEM copy you might need to phone Microsoft to get the machine activated. It will depend on what is changed.

In the next 6 months i am looking at putting a bigger hard drive in and motherboard to take the new AMD Phenom chips.

As far as i see it i have paid for windows and can prove it but feel a bit annoyed that microsoft have locked product keys to various bits of hardware like hard drives and motherboards which can all either fail or be subject to a user/customer decising to upgrade their computer.

In the next 6 months i am looking at putting a bigger hard drive in and motherboard to take the new AMD Phenom chips.

As far as i see it i have paid for windows and can prove it but feel a bit annoyed that microsoft have locked product keys to various bits of hardware like hard drives and motherboards which can all either fail or be subject to a user/customer decising to upgrade their computer.

With my Win XP , I've formated several times ,even got the overuse message ,but srill gotten activated .Recently my PC had probs meaning that I'd had to format HDD , losing XP ,win 7 er all ,yet MS have let me activate OK. Might be worth a call to MS (UK) if you get problems activating (which I doubt you'l get )

With my Win XP , I've formated several times ,even got the overuse message ,but srill gotten activated .Recently my PC had probs meaning that I'd had to format HDD , losing XP ,win 7 er all ,yet MS have let me activate OK. Might be worth a call to MS (UK) if you get problems activating (which I doubt you'l get )

Think thats just cos it has the same hardware fingerprint, so it can tell it's the same pc, espeacilly if it's an OEM product key.

I think, however, if you have the disk it has a number printed around the hole, if you and provide that to M$, they will give you another key, I think.

You can reinstall as many times as you like on the same computer, if the hardware is the same as it will have the same fingerprint and will activate loads of times without any problems.

The license is locked down, but if activation failes and you get stuck call MS and they will sort it. Your PC will generate a very long string of letters/numbers, you read this over the phone to the person in India, and they then read you a long string of letters/numbers back. These long strings will allow you to use the same key again, you dont get a new one.

You cannot use this method to get the OS onto more than one PC, as MS see the digital fingerprint and key everytime you update. If they see more than one PC against the same key continuously then they will block the key from working, flagging both PC's installs as "Non Genuine Software"

if activation failes and you get stuck call MS and they will sort it. Your PC will generate a very long string of letters/numbers, you read this over the phone to the person in India, and they then read you a long string of letters/numbers back. These long strings will allow you to use the same key again, you dont get a new one.

You cannot use this method to get the OS onto more than one PC, as MS see the digital fingerprint and key everytime you update. If they see more than one PC against the same key continuously then they will block the key from working, flagging both PC's installs as "Non Genuine Software"

Was this system used in the vista editions - seems that they are trying to stop non genuine software.

So just to confirm this...if i changed my board and hard drive next year then i would have to call microsoft because the hardware signitures have changed.

I cant get over the fact that microsoft have adopted this tight security on the windows 7 software but yet seen its been cracked within its first week :confused:

I would never trust a crack or patch on an operating system anyway but couldnt get over how many storys came up on google.

Forgot to mention if i bought a product key would it be cheaper than buying the whole package (box discs etc) as i already have these and seems pointless having 4 discs.

Vista was the same with its licensing.

7 may currently be cracked, but just like vista before it the cracks will be blocked and flagged as non genuine as the crack is easy to detect. The current one works as early vista ones which dont work anymore and use bios emulation.

As for buying a key, how can you guarantee its authenticity without getting it in sealed retail or oem package.

Just a thought, older operating systems, including Vista, XP and the like, when it came to activation, it only allows a certain number of activations against a particular License number in a given period, which used to be 30 days, we used to get round multi-installations on computers by staggering the activations.

Example.

Day one we would install the OS onto 2 computers. The first computer activate it that day, the second, wait for say 15 - 30 days, then activate that one.

Even if the computers internals havent changed, different ID's will be generated everytime a system has an OS installed, and has been that way for a while.....