bigbigpig
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Windows 7 OEM licensing question
I have a HP desktop that came with Vista OEM. I'd like to upgrade that to Windows 7, not 8. There are several online retailers that sell a Windows 7 license but they're all OEM license. They say they're 100% genuine and legal, which I don't doubt, but am I able to use that license to install Windows 7 fresh on a new hard drive in this older PC? Is this a license violation to buy one of these OEM licenses and use it for a fresh install? I'm not a PC builder, just a regular guy.
My understanding is that if it's an OEM license it'll read the product key from the motherboard, which will be a Vista product key.
My understanding is that if it's an OEM license it'll read the product key from the motherboard, which will be a Vista product key.
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^^ That's not just in Europe and applied to OEM CDs from named manufacturers (which are badged "For Distribution only with a New Computer") and started solely because that well-known online auction house insisted - it's pretty much mythology that there is any requirement at all. System Builder disk sets aren't in that group there's no requirement for hardware to be sold with them (it would really mess with the retailers if there was :)).
The Europe issue is purely down to "Can Microsoft force you to tie the OEM licence that came with your computer to that system or can you reuse it if your machine dies?" The European Court ruled that this was an unreasonable restriction and so in EU countries your OEM system can be transferred as if it were a retail version (currently uncontested by Microsoft). It has to be supplied correctly in the first place though (i.e. supplied by the OEM Dell/HP/Toshiba/System Builder etc) for that to apply and so is outside the remit of this thread which is about using a System Builder OEM DVD to upgrade an older system.
The Europe issue is purely down to "Can Microsoft force you to tie the OEM licence that came with your computer to that system or can you reuse it if your machine dies?" The European Court ruled that this was an unreasonable restriction and so in EU countries your OEM system can be transferred as if it were a retail version (currently uncontested by Microsoft). It has to be supplied correctly in the first place though (i.e. supplied by the OEM Dell/HP/Toshiba/System Builder etc) for that to apply and so is outside the remit of this thread which is about using a System Builder OEM DVD to upgrade an older system.
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Thanks all for the good information - sounds like retail packaging is the way to go here.
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