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Windows Windows 7 OEM Key - question

Discussion in 'Software' started by dadoftriplets, 8 Mar 2012.

  1. dadoftriplets

    dadoftriplets What's a Dremel?

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    Hello all.

    This may sound like a bit of a stupid question, but seeing as I don't know the answer, I thought best to ask.

    I have on one pc an OEM copy of Win7 32bit. This rig has 3gb ram and a 1gb GPU installed. Obviously due to the limitations of the 32 bit OS, some of the Ram isn't being used.

    My question is this. I am going to be buying a retail copy of Win7, for use with a new build, using the 64 bit disc. If I were to do a fresh install on the old pc containing the 32 bit OS, would the existing licence that is on the machine still be valid? The new license would be attached to the new machine.

    Thanks in advance to those who answer.
     
  2. IvanIvanovich

    IvanIvanovich будет глотать вашу душу.

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    Technically no, functionally yes. To expand OEM is tied to that pc always, and is not supposed to be transferable. However, MS will still activate it on another machine 99.99999% of the time, breaking their own licensing baloney. I've 'recycled' oem serials to other machines, many, many, many times and never had an issue. Occasionally you will have to waste additional time to phone activate.
     
  3. tehBoris

    tehBoris What's a Dremel?

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    32Bit should be able to use all that memory. it's when you go above 3GB that you may find it becomes restricted.
     
  4. adam_bagpuss

    adam_bagpuss Have you tried turning it off/on ?

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    the license will still be 100% valid.

    micorsoft does not license you on 32 or 64 bit only what version of windows you're running. So 32-bit home premium is exactly the same as 64-bit home premim. There is no reason why you cant switch.
     
  5. dadoftriplets

    dadoftriplets What's a Dremel?

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    In terms of OS, which version have you all purchased? what with frequent changing of equipment in your rigs.
     
  6. RichCreedy

    RichCreedy Hey What Who

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    if the license on the currently 32bit pc stays on that machine, there is no problem with using a retail 64bit disk to reinstall that machine.

    if its home premium, you need to either buy home premium again, or any edition -needs creation of a modified installation disk.
     
  7. dadoftriplets

    dadoftriplets What's a Dremel?

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    If my opening post did not make that clear, then apologies. yes, the original 32 bit license will be staying with the original machine. All I was wanting to know is would there be any issues with switching the OS between 32 bit and 64 bit? The answers I have received says no it wont be an issue and I'm thankful for that.

    one question though - what does Microsoft use to tie the OEM license to one particular machine? Is it the mainboard or the entire config? The reason I ask is that I may consider upgrading the CPU in the new machine and so I need to know if buying an OEM version of Win7 would cause issues or whether I need to obtain a retail copy which can be transferred from machine to machine (or so I believe.
     
  8. LordLuciendar

    LordLuciendar meh.

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    Probably not a good idea to advertise that you are pirating the software on a technicality...

    As for the OP:
    Microsoft uses the motherboard (technically the motherboard CPU socket) to license an OEM product, everything else can be changed while staying legal, though you may have to reactivate the system. When buying a license as an enthusiast it's simple, if you are going to replace the motherboard in the lifetime of the computer, get a retail license, if not, OEM is fine.

    As adam_bagpuss stated, your OEM license of Windows 7 is valid for both 32 bit and 64 bit architectures of whatever edition you have (Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate). A word of warning though, if you are using a retail disk to reformat the computer to 64 bit architecture you may have issues with activation of your license. I believe (though I haven't tried this myself) that if you skip entering the license key when prompted during installation, then enter your product key once in Windows and activate, that it will work.
     
  9. dadoftriplets

    dadoftriplets What's a Dremel?

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    Thank you to all that have replied. I don't plan on changing the board (skt1155 z68 board) only the CPU/HSF in the lifetime of this pc. In which case, I'll just pick up an oem of win7 64 bit which will then reformat both of my pc's (and I'll be adding ram into both as well to get around the rule of having to buy hardware with an oem OS - silly rule if you ask me!!

    Anybody know where the cheapest place is for an OEM copy of Win7HP 64bit and the Retail edition?
     
    Last edited: 9 Mar 2012
  10. RichCreedy

    RichCreedy Hey What Who

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    just to be clear, if you want to be legal, you cant buy oem for a machine that you will be owning yourself, as one of the requirements of the oem license is to sell the completed machine to an unrelated third party.

    microsoft state quite clearly on their website that enthusiasts should buy Full Retail Products.

    licensing for hobbyists
     
  11. AstralWanderer

    AstralWanderer What's a Dremel?

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    It can't really be considered "piracy", even on a technicality, since the OP isn't making an unauthorised copy, simply reinstalling using different media. As long as he has licenses sufficient to match the number of installs, there's no copyright issue.

    He may be breaching the Windows EULA, but the legality (and enforceability) of that is very much a different matter.
    Windows Product Activation is more comprehensively covered here - while it covers Windows XP, there doesn't seem to be any indication of changes for later versions and Microsoft's FAQ on the subject does indicate that RAM and hard disk details are noted in later Windows versions.
    If you're considering a fresh 64-bit install (it isn't completely clear from your post) on your 32-bit system, that might cause more trouble than it is worth. You need to check that any peripherals present have 64-bit drivers available and that your existing software will work under 64-bit (most will, but older 16-bit software won't and some programs may need the download/purchase of a 64-bit version). A fresh Windows + software installation/configuration can itself be a considerable amount of work.

    A simpler option could be to run software that can make use of unmanaged memory on your 32-bit install - a list is included in my post here.
     
  12. dadoftriplets

    dadoftriplets What's a Dremel?

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    Yes, I am planning on a fresh install of win7 on the old pc -it needs to be done regardless, as I am wanting to take the large drive out of it (it has two partitions, one with the OS, and a much larger one with all my ripped dvds stored for use with the xbox 360 and Media centre) The new pcis the one that is going to be on most of the day, with the other being used whenever we need two on at the same time (me playing games, the wife revising for theory test etc)

    Basically the old pc will only have an 80gb ide drive and a cdrw/dvd rom drive installed - so could probably be left as is (re 32 bit or 64 bit OS)
     
  13. AstralWanderer

    AstralWanderer What's a Dremel?

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    If the Windows partition on the large drive is 80GB or less, you could just copy that across to the smaller drive using imaging software instead.

    Otherwise, a fresh install would be the way to go - that 80GB drive is likely to be slow by today's standards though.
     
  14. dadoftriplets

    dadoftriplets What's a Dremel?

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    OS partition on the larger drive is 146GB so fresh install it is!

    Thanks to everyone who has replied.
     

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