Install Windows 7 on another machine

I'll apologise in advance as I'm sure this must have been asked a thousand times before but I can't seem to locate a definite answer.
How do I inform Microsoft that I've stopped using a computer with Windows 7 installed on it?
I have Windows 7 Professional installed on my PC at the moment but it is not yet activated as I'm having concerns about associating my copy of Windows 7 with this PC. In the next 1-12 months I will be getting a laptop. When I get the laptop I will format my old PC and install Windows 7 on the laptop. How do I do this if my copy of Windows 7 has been associated with my old PC?

Thanks in advance for any input.

To amplify:

There is no deactivation process.

You are supposed to uninstall it from one PC before installing it on another, but there are no explicit checks for that.

TONGSyaBASS said:

I'll apologise in advance as I'm sure this must have been asked a thousand times before but I can't seem to locate a definite answer.
How do I inform Microsoft that I've stopped using a computer with Windows 7 installed on it?
I have Windows 7 Professional installed on my PC at the moment but it is not yet activated as I'm having concerns about associating my copy of Windows 7 with this PC. In the next 1-12 months I will be getting a laptop. When I get the laptop I will format my old PC and install Windows 7 on the laptop. How do I do this if my copy of Windows 7 has been associated with my old PC?

Thanks in advance for any input.

If you have'nt activated the product yet then that would not be a problem at all. It's only when the the product is activated on your old PC would you have an Invalid License Key error when you re-install on the new computer. Then you would have to call to justify that you had changed the computer.

I've had to do the phone call MANY times. It's very easy and takes about 6 minutes to complete.

MacGyvr said:

I've had to do the phone call MANY times. It's very easy and takes about 6 minutes to complete.

I agree and they won't ask you too many questions about your ol computer going bad or anything

10 mins. max and your acivation is complete

If there is evidence the OS has been on another machine recently, then they do the robo call to trade numbers to deactivate it on the prior machine, so that there is no false positive saying it is on two machines when you connect the new activation to the internet.

But as Rich says, retail is yours for life to use on the machine of your choice - even the Upgrade. Only if you buy an OEM is it permanently tied to the hardware.