Windows 7: Product key ..id help!!

Can somebody please explain the Producy Key and ID key and the validation process please because i am having difficulty in validating my copy of windows.

I will explain because I have messed up somewhere trying to be clever:

Firstly ..I purchased a upgrade win 32/64 discs with key but found I would prefer a full Version install so I purchased window 7 Full version Disc with Key. So I put the upgrade discs to one side and used the Full version
I installed the full version with OEM product key on my older machine which was just about 64 bit freindly but found that it was not upto date and slow so I purchased a new i7 core machine cpu and Mobo which is fully 64 bit happy....stay with me please guys.
I installed the Full version Win 7 disc again and tried to install the same OEM product key but microsoft said it had been used before on my old machine and i cannot use that key again!!! OEM use only once!! GOB Smacked!! So I am left with a Full Version Disc with no Product Key and maybe no ID key? (I would like that ID explained later please!)
So I went online (Ebay) and purchased 2 Genuine Licence Keys (so they said) but they looked real and had good feedback. so I used one on my Full version disc new machine and it worked ...but now (after 3 months)and it is saying that it is not a genuine copy..I have been using it for 3 months and it was saying it is a geniune install and key. I contacted Microsoft and they say the Key I was given was a Developers and programmers key valid for a few months???and not genuine???

Then to make matters more tricky I then got another new 64 bit CPU mobo Machine and used the same win 7 Full version disc again to install Win 7 full version and I then used the product Key # from my upgrade disc (if you remember) to validate the installation which it accepted and still working for 3 months and it keeps saying it is genuine thank god! but I cant be sure if it is genuine??

So the question is can I use the same Win Full version Disc to install on mulitple computers but need genuine Product keys? and what about the Product ID's and any other Validation problems. And if my main machine CPU board cannot accept another key what can I do?? because it took days to install apps and utilities as you can appreciate..or i am looking at a totall reinstall. I am really hoping somebody ( Guru) will take the time to read this and advise. Help would really be appreciated for sure.

Thanks to anybody that replies

Wow!

1) The full license you purchased, it this retail or OEM (system builder)? Windows license, (whether retail or system builder OEM) can be used at any given time on only ONE machine. Since you used it up on the old machine, it failed on the i7. My guess is you were doing online activation.

2) The keys on Ebay are frequently MSDN/ Technet keys being sold illegally. They work fine initially but once they are detected by MS (probably because a very large no. of people are using them, having bought from Ebay like yourself), they are blacklisted and the system turns non-genuine. So MS is right.

3) You can use the same physical disk to install on multiple machines but you need different product keys. Thats the 25 digit number on the dvd package. The product id is different- its a system generated value and does not need any user intervention. So dont concern yourself about product id, product key is all you need to know about.

4) As far as I can make out, your full version disk product key is still not being used. Use that on your main machine and activate by phone, if necessary explain what happened.

Activate Windows 7 by Phone

Wow that was quick..Thanks Bill

So my upgrade Product key on my second new machine is fine Right? but my first new machine illegal product key off ebay is moot!!..correct? if so how do I get a new product key without reinstalling all my sofware? can microsoft issue me with a new key without reinstalling again?

Cheers

cistec

Yeah you should use the phone to validate your copy of Windows, i have had to do it before today. I think it is more secure and a way for them to stop you installing the same user licence on more than 1 PC.

Hi BomberAF

so your saying even though Microsoft has told me that the key is non genuine ..they maybe wrong? and there is a chance that it might get accepted by phone? is that right?

Also I clone my drive regularly will that affect the Active x validation whendrives are changed??

Thanks

What I thought you were saying is that the original product key you had for your OS you was saying that you couldn't validate your OS, I am not talking about the dodgy keys you have. I have a genuine copy of Windows 7 and the first time Iinstall it I could confirm my OS over the web, after that i got a message saying that I should either buy another product key or activate over the phone. I activated over the phone, and the reason I believe I was getting the message was because MS may have just been making sure the OS wasn't being installed on another PC at the same time.

Hi again,

1) Please give up the thought that the Ebay keys will become good again. They wont, dont fret over them.

2) What happens during phone activation is that if everything goes smoothly, you get a 48 digits long Confirmation ID with 6 numbers in 8 groups that will be read over the phone. You need to enter the Confirmation ID into the box in the activation wizard.

If the automated activation fails,the user will be transferred to a human activation operator who will give out the confirmation ID number if he or she agrees that the copy of Windows 7 to be activated is genuine and legit. The user will, however, need to explain his or her situation.

3) Changing hardware frequently can deactivate windows, particular mobo change, since MS stores your hardware info when you first activate. Different weightages are assigned to different hardware changes, hdd change is somewhere in the middle of the scale, so you need to be careful. But in that case again, you'll need to call MS and explain the situation.

If you bought the OEM full version retail (not off of eBay) and it would not work on the older machine, MS may make an exception for your to transfer it to the newer hardware.

I would tell them that you accidentally installed it on the old machine when it was intended for the new one.

In order to try this, you can attempt to install the OEM Product Key at Computer>Properties link and then use phone activation, or you can call MS Customer Service to explain and hopefully get an exception made in advance.

http://www.kodyaz.com/articles/how-t...-by-phone.aspx

You should contact eBay to ask for their help recovering your money for the bad keys you bought. PayPal actually warrantees these purchases. MS also has a program to cut a break to those who are screwed with bad keys but act in good faith (meaning they cooperate with MS).

OK Guys will look into all the Tips...I ahve been in touch with the Key supplier and they have supplied me with a another Genuine key ..from MS?

Well it installed and passed the Genuine validation test!!!...but so did the other one ...so we will see in the next few weeks or months...I have told MS about my situation but they say I have to sort it out...so I will suck it and see..

Thanks again guys