Hello all. I have recently purchased a copy of Windows 7 Upgrade for my PC. Like an idiot, I upgraded my laptop and PC without realizing that you could only use one serial key per machine. My question is, what exactly happens if you never use an activation key on one machine? I was told that a message just shows up every day? Is it as simple as that or will something much worse end up happening?
Thank you!
Reduced functionality, I cannot remember exactly what but I believe it gets to the point of where its un-usable.
The solution if you like Windows 7 on both machines is to buy another Upgrade key of that version and insert it in the unactivated machine at Computers>Properties.
If you need some time to save up the money, you can rearm activation every 30 days up to 3 times: How to Rearm and Extend Free Usage (Activation Grace Period) of Windows 7 to 120 Days My Digital Life
As already mentioned, it drops into something known as Reduced Functionality Mode, which means you will eventually get to the point where the only thing it will allow you to do is connect to MS using IE to purchase a license, and even then, it limits the usage time to 1 hour per day.
However, MS has relented somewhat on this, so RFM may not be so limiting today, but it still renders your machine all but useless.
What happens is not as important of how to remedy the situation. I had another poster, I advised him to contact MS and ask for a family pack (3 installs). He was given the credit for his purchase and he purchased the family pack 3 installs), at an average cost much less than the cost of one. Try this. If you only need 2, ask around, I am sure that you have a family member who will pay you a lot less (but your cost) than retail for the new OS 7. Give it a try the call is even free.
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