What happens if I miss the rearm?

M

mtp

Jack of no trades
Hi:

I am running 7260x64 (I mean 7264 not 7260 - sorry for the typo) on one of my machines, which I have not activated. In a week, I will be going away on holiday-vacation for those in the US (at day 22 of my 30 days) and will not be coming back until day 35. I was wondering what would happen if i forgot to rearm before I left. I assume that when I came back, I would be in reduced functionality mode. Would I be able to rearm once I am in reduced functionality mode, or would I be "up a creek without a paddle?"

Thanks,

Mark
 
Last edited:

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
3 Home Built Computers
OS
Server 2012 R2, Windows 8.1 , W7 ultimate x64
CPU
Q6600,
Motherboard
Gigabyte ga-p35-ds4, ga-ep45-ud3p, ga-p35-dq6
Memory
8G, 4G, 2G
Graphics Card(s)
7300GS, 9600GT, 8600GT
Sound Card
onboard ALC889
Monitor(s) Displays
dell, TV
Screen Resolution
1280x1024, PAL SD TV
Hard Drives
WD 1.0T GP x2,wd 320G x2,WD 1.0T GP x2
PSU
corsair HX520,corsair HX520,corsair HX520
Case
Antec Solo, Antec Solo,Thermaltake DH101
Cooling
Thermalright TRUE, Thermalright TRUE, Ninja mini
Internet Speed
not too fast
Hi Mark,

I believe you will still be able to rearm. If you do get placed in reduced mode, then it should be the same as in Vista below to rearm it from there.

Reduced Functionality Mode - Vista Forums

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self built custom
OS
64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
PSU
Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4
Internet Speed
2 Gb/s Download and 100 Mb/s Upload
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Browser
Google Chrome
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Why not just activate it? 7260 takes RC/beta keys, no? I haven't encountered the reduced functionality mode in W7, but if it's anything like Vista's, it's not that bad.

* Vista RTM: you can only open a web browser to order a new copy of Windows (and from manually typing in the browser's address bar, you can open Explorer, a command prompt, etc.)

* Vista SP1: 15 second nag screen at logon, but otherwise still usable, but with balloon popups in the clock area every now and then

* Vista SP2: same as Vista SP1, except the 15 second countdown timer is gone

So if W7's is anything like Vista SP1/SP2, you can definitely rearm again. Or just activate it w/ your RC/beta key! :P
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 Pro (MSDN)
You can't activate 7260 with a RC key.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Toshiba Satellite M205-S4806
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium x64
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T5450 @ 1.66GHz
Memory
4 GB Texas Instruments PCIxx12 Integrated FlashMedia Control
Graphics Card(s)
Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Laptop Monitor
Screen Resolution
1280x800
Hard Drives
200 GB Hitachi HTS542520K9SA00 ATA Device
Keyboard
Laptop Keyboard
Mouse
Synaptics Touchpad
Internet Speed
Broadband, up to 1.2 MB/s
Hello DataMan,

Sorry, but you cannot activate the 7260 with the RC or Beta keys as that would be illegal and is not to be discussed here at all. The only legal way to keep it going until Windows 7 is for sale with legal keys is to use the rearm method.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self built custom
OS
64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
PSU
Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4
Internet Speed
2 Gb/s Download and 100 Mb/s Upload
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Browser
Google Chrome
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
7260 can be activated I thought, it was 7264 that can't.

I'll have to double check my netbook when I get home, I could have sworn I activated it with rc keys.
 

My Computer

OS
7264x64/7260x86
7260 can be using RC keys, 7264 cannot.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Built Myself
OS
Windows 7 7600.16384 x64
CPU
Intel Core i7 OC'd to 3.20 GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte
Memory
6GB GSkillz Triple Channel DDR3 OC'd to 1600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GTX 280
Sound Card
X-Fi Platinum
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual 2001FWP
Screen Resolution
1680x1050 x 2
Hard Drives
System - Dual 150GB Raptors Raid0
Doc Storage - 1TB SATA 32MB cache Samsung
TV Recordings - 1TB SATA 32MB cache Samsung
PSU
Gigawatt Antec
Case
Antec 900
Keyboard
Saitek
Mouse
logitech MX 10000
Internet Speed
30 mb/s
You can definitely rearm it from reduced functionality mode without any worries. I have done this several times.

Have a good holiday and don't worry about it :)
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 7100 x86 & x64
Thanks to all who helped

I think you have all answered my questions - sorry for the typo in the original post. I hope Technet has RTM when I get back.

:)

Mark

Edit: How do I mark this as resolved?
 
Last edited:

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
3 Home Built Computers
OS
Server 2012 R2, Windows 8.1 , W7 ultimate x64
CPU
Q6600,
Motherboard
Gigabyte ga-p35-ds4, ga-ep45-ud3p, ga-p35-dq6
Memory
8G, 4G, 2G
Graphics Card(s)
7300GS, 9600GT, 8600GT
Sound Card
onboard ALC889
Monitor(s) Displays
dell, TV
Screen Resolution
1280x1024, PAL SD TV
Hard Drives
WD 1.0T GP x2,wd 320G x2,WD 1.0T GP x2
PSU
corsair HX520,corsair HX520,corsair HX520
Case
Antec Solo, Antec Solo,Thermaltake DH101
Cooling
Thermalright TRUE, Thermalright TRUE, Ninja mini
Internet Speed
not too fast
"Reduced functionality" is ... nothing to worry about. You lose your background and screen saver. You can still rearm. No worries.
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7
Brink said:
Hello DataMan,

Sorry, but you cannot activate the 7260 with the RC or Beta keys as that would be illegal and is not to be discussed here at all.
Click to expand...
As some of the posters above have pointed out, 7260 was the last leaked build to still support RC/beta keys--7264 is the one where that's not possible.

The only legal way to keep it going until Windows 7 is for sale with legal keys is to use the rearm method.
Click to expand...
Nitpick: If you want to get technical about legality, then the rearm method is just as illegal. The 30-day activation grace period is not meant to be used as a "trial period". Nor is the rearm meant to be used for anything other than returning the system to a clean activation slate by OEMs for preinstalls or install imaging. Use the rearm to extend the grace period is technically a violation of the license agreement and thus technically illegal.
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 Pro (MSDN)
Correct, I was thinking of the 7264 build instead as the OP did as it turned out as well. ;)

The rearm method is an approved provided method by Microsoft for the very purpose of extending the grace period up to 120 days. Doing a clean reinstall and doing this rearm trick over and over to avoid paying for Windows is a violation of the license agreement and is most definitely illegal. It really depends on the purpose that you use it for.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self built custom
OS
64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
PSU
Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4
Internet Speed
2 Gb/s Download and 100 Mb/s Upload
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Browser
Google Chrome
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top