Windows 7

I need to install a copy of Windows 7 on a standalone PC. Is it possible to install such a copy legally and if so, how?

Andrew.

You just need a licenced copy of Windows 7 that is not used on another machine. Licence can be transferred to another computer but not legally used on both.

Get windows key from ebay for the one you want

You MUST have a valid key

I had to phone an automated line to get mine enabled but it worked fine

Used to be zillions for about 2.50 but about 20 now

Edited By Ady1 on 04/07/2022 10:32:01

If you are transferring a licence from a computer that was supplied from new it may well be an OEM licence which is not always transferrable.

The same applies if the licence was originally installed under a bulk purchase MOLP licence.

Apologies for the lack of certainty in this post but these areas can be a minefield so Ady1's suggestion of buying a new one is often simpler.

Andrew Tinsley:

I am sending you a PM.

I only have a Win 7 pro disk but the key also works for installing windows 10 (which is on my machine) and also 11 if my PC met the required spec. I've installed win 10 several times over the years when I changed the hard drive.

Thanks,

I did not realise that you could still buy a legal copy of Win 7. I assume this would be from a third party?

Andrew.

You can download your Win 7 copy from bittorrent if you want to... it's the key that matters

There were zillions of single use W7 keys about 5+ years ago as offices upgraded to W10 and their computers were scrapped

Each key gave the owner the right to a single fully functioning copy of windows and was transferable to a different computer, the scrap guys inherited the keys with the scrap computers and sold bits like the memory modules etc off as spares

Edited By Ady1 on 04/07/2022 13:45:18

I guess people are buying win 7 as it's cheaper than win 10 keys and you can upgrade straight away to win 10

If you buy a secondhand key on ebay it should come still attached to part of a PC as evidence that the PC is no longer in use.
Buying a old package still sealled with keylabel might be OK but the Microsoft registration may not work if the key was used without the label.

Robert G8RPI

You don't get this complicated garbage with LInux.

I haven never needed Windies stuff for 18 years but appreciate that some things need it 

Edited By Pete White on 05/07/2022 08:23:15

From the Microsoft Website:-

OEM versions of Windows are identical to Full License Retail versions except for the following:

- OEM versions do not offer any free Microsoft direct support from Microsoft support personnel

- OEM licenses are tied to the very first computer you install and activate it on

- OEM versions allow all hardware upgrades except for an upgrade to a different model motherboard

- OEM versions cannot be used to directly upgrade from an older Windows operating system

You can check your current key situation with this software

I used the zip file and extracted it

It's a quick standalone executable which gives you your current key details so you can store them somewhere safe

Edited By Ady1 on 05/07/2022 10:28:05

Similar to Peter White above, I too use Linux (Mint in my case), have done since the demise of Windows XP, and thus have no problems with licensing etc.

One can, if necessary, use something like Oracle Virtual Box to run a Windows OS, but then there is still the problem of licensing. On the other hand, Wine, a program which runs under Linux, allows a large number of Windows, or more strictly Win32/64 bit, programs to run. It is fact that the early versions of Wine were not very good, but the later versions are much improved. But of course, there are Linux based programs which do the same or similar things as the Win32/64 bit programs.

I admit that there is a learning curve involved in using Linux, but once over it, you will be surprised just how good Linux actually is.

Highly recommended, free, and avoids the Microsoft hegemony.

Cheers,

Peter G. Shaw

I had a dig-about in some of my old stuff...best i could find (unhelpfully) was windows 95, frontapge 98 and office 2000 and a shed load of obsolete motherboard etc config disks. I think it's time to clear some drawers. Also got some stuff on 3.5in floppies...
...also a drawer full of old cables which might be of use to someone..kettle plugs, 3-way phone spurs etc but likely cheaper to buy new on ebay from china than british post

Edited By pgk pgk on 05/07/2022 11:07:44

We don't know why Andrew specifically wants Windows 7, so hard to recommend Linux, even though it solves the licence/product key problem and I'm a Linux fan-boy.

Getting Windows 7 is easy - it can be downloaded free from Microsoft's website and installed. Activating it is the hard part. Straightforward if you already have a Windows 7 licence and product key, as might happen when a computer is rebuilt after a hard-drive failure. The key will be on the documentation and is often on a label stuck to the machine. They can also be bought from websites selling legitimate surplus licences.

Also available from some very dodgy sources indeed! (Or used to be - I've not checked today.) These vary from straightforward hacks where someone who disapproves of Microsoft's business model has opened it up as a public service, to undesirables selling copies of the operating system pre-loaded with a mass of adware or worse, and con tricks were you pay for a product key that doesn't work. Not my cup of tea, but I know a man who has installed a dodgy W7 with no problems at all, and installed a second dodgy W7 so packed full of malware he had to deep clean the hard-drive to get rid of it. He knows what to look for and how to fix it, do you?

Safest course is to install an ISO from Microsoft and get hold of a legitimate product key; scrapped computer, second-hand machine, reseller, etc.

Like pgk pgk I've probably got one that would do but it's not in the obvious place.  Maybe someone else has a surplus key?

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 05/07/2022 12:13:02

I have some expensive, specialist software that only runs on Win 7. At least attempts to run it other Microsoft operating systems don't work. My dedicated Win 7 PC suffered a hard drive failure and when I attempted a re installation, I found that the product key (on the bottom of the laptop) had half of the characters worn away! Attempts to read the bar code with a smartphone, didn't work either. Perhaps some of the bars were worn.

I have a Microsoft disc for win 7 but no key! Hence my query of wanting to obtain said key in a legal way, as I don't want some dodgy malware loaded version!

It is probably easier to buy a second hand PC with Win 7 already installed.

Thanks for every ones help,

Andrew.

Unreadable COA labels turn out to be a common problem that Microsoft and the manufacturers have chosen to do nothing about. It's sh1t.

Worth trying this advice from a customer on the Dell website:

I have an alternative out of the box idea. I ran into this same problem with a totally unreadable Windows 7 COA. I noticed upon extemely close examination that the COA actually leaves very small indentations. If you take a very small amount of acrylic paint on your finger and very very lightly rub the area the numbers will start to reappear. It took about 30 - 45 minutes of tinkering and examining but now I can read all of my numbers. Only one number is within question. For clarity I could only read about 3 or 4 numbers / letters before this process. The numbers you see below were completely unreadable as was the words "Product Key". Hope this helps someone out. By the way my machine is totally dead right now without a hard drive so no software options will help me. I am sure there are others just like this.

Others report success doing this with ground-up pencil carbon and a gently applied pen.

My sticker was so badly worn that it looked like a blank white sticker. I tried this method: Basically I did the pencil thing, but because I didnt want to get too crazy, I just took a junk envelope and scribbled on it with the pencil for a bit until the envelope was saturated with graphite. I then rubbed the envelope portion that was covered in graphite onto the sticker.(Do not scribble directly onto the sticker!!) After a few minutes, I could start to see the bar code appear again, albeit extremely faded. Now, mine was so far gone that I didn't get the product key to appear nicely at all like the guy with the acrylics, but if I looked at it from just the right angle in the dawn light of my window, I could actually read it!!! It took several attempts to finally get it right and about 15 minutes of scribbling and rubbing. K and R, Q and O and 0, 5 and 6 were almost impossible to distinguish from one another, but before there was literally nothing there at all, even if I held it at any angle. So, I can tell you this WORKS, and it works so well I am astonished! I thought for sure my product key was gone for good...this is genius! Thanks so much!

Don't bother with the barcode - apparently it's a part number, not the product key.

Dave

Mr Tinsley, sir. If you have an installation disc, there is something you can download from the internet, which will activate your installation. As you have already paid for the windows 7, I don't see there is a problem doing it this way. I have sent you a PM.

Are these products safe?

I'm nervous about running software that requires Anti-virus to be disabled and also demands the 'Never Notify' security override to be set. The latter allows an application to install and run other programs without notifying the owner or being given permission. I'd want solid reassurances before risking a third-party Activator: if it's a wrong'un, it will do whatever it likes with your computer.

Dave