W7 Versions Versus Keys

I'm shopping for another copy of W7 to install on my second rig, and I have decided to get the full version, rather than the upgrade, as on this machine. By far, most of the offers that I have found are for both x32 and x64, but a few of them is for either one version or the other. They claim to be factory sealed, but I suspect that the seller has opened the box and selling it twice.

This raised the question in my mind whether there is a specific disk for the full version, regardless of whether it is x32 or x64? In other words, if I had a key for the full version, could I use the upgrade disk to install it, and if I did, would the upgrade disk doing a clean install equal using a full retail disk doing the same?

richc46 said:

I bought my copy of Win7 during the preorder. I received 2 upgrade discs for Home premium; one for 32 bit the other for 64 bit and of course one key. It is my choice of the bit that I want. Once the DVD is in the machine, if you do not supply your key it will upgrade to the OS ver that it finds. For example I had Vista Home Prem, the DVD will give me Win7 HP. The Ver that you are entitled to is identified by the key number. It is best to wait until you have your OS installed and tested before you give your number. To make a long story short, as Zidane said "yes"

That's not exactly what I had in mind. I know that it will install an upgrade according to set parameters, but if an OEM key was used with an upgrade disk, or a student key was used with an upgrade disk, or as I previously asked, a full retail key was used with an upgrade disk, would all of these work properly.

The thing that caused me to think about this is that every vender that I have found online is selling every other version of W7, except the full retail. That gave me the impression that the install disks themselves were different. In the past, upgrades weren't equal to full retail, and the latter was the preferred means of installing. Of course, the most important aspect of full retail is not having to be concerned about having to install on a rig other than the one that it was previously installed on.

richc46 said:

In my usual confusing way I was trying to say,yes, the DVD are the same. The key determines what you are entitled to.

It wasn't that your response was confusing, it is just that I tend to want to do is to dot the i and cross the t, when reading most anything. I spend a lot of time asking questions when buying on eBay, and sometimes I think that I annoy them.

This also makes it somewhat more difficult to understand just how cheap keys are being sold on eBay. They are at a fraction of the cost of a full set. I know that this has been discussed in previous posts, but I don't think that all of those offers are scams. If the keys are the real deciding factor, then people are paying a lot for fancy paper and plastic.

seekermeister said:

....That's not exactly what I had in mind. I know that it will install an upgrade according to set parameters, but if an OEM key was used with an upgrade disk, or a student key was used with an upgrade disk, or as I previously asked, a full retail key was used with an upgrade disk, would all of these work properly.

The thing that caused me to think about this is that every vender that I have found online is selling every other version of W7, except the full retail. That gave me the impression that the install disks themselves were different. In the past, upgrades weren't equal to full retail, and the latter was the preferred means of installing. Of course, the most important aspect of full retail is not having to be concerned about having to install on a rig other than the one that it was previously installed on.

The "student" keys are no different from "Retail."

I don't believe you want to try mixing OEM and Retail keys and software.

I've read mixed comments on people attempting to mix Retail and Upgrade keys and software. Some say no problem, some say the software pops up to say the key doesn't match the version installed, etc.

Yes, the install discs themselves are different. The vast majority of people have the prior Windows OS and so are fine with the upgrade version. And those going onto a new computer with a blank hard drive tend to be building something themselves and so grab an OEM / System Builder's thing.

seekermeister said:

This also makes it somewhat more difficult to understand just how cheap keys are being sold on eBay. They are at a fraction of the cost of a full set. I know that this has been discussed in previous posts, but I don't think that all of those offers are scams. If the keys are the real deciding factor, then people are paying a lot for fancy paper and plastic.

Frankly, I'd bet just about every single thing on eBay where they're selling the key and the key alone is indeed "dishonest" in one form or another. If they're not MSDN / MSDNAA / Technet accounts getting misused, they're students reselling their $30 versions or something comparable. The way most are phrased, I'd tend to bet it's a handful of subscription accounts getting misused.

I'd also note that there aren't that many people selling them, and those who are tend to have little or no prior feedback.

And for what it's worth, I sent an inquiry through eBay to one seller to confirm the keys were "retail," and simply got a reply back from eBay themselves a couple days later that the eBay account had been one that was hacked, all their auctions thus terminated, end of story.

Anyway, I'd stay clear of that stuff.

And I wouldn't go buying something on eBay relying on it to work with software I have from elsewhere that doesn't "match."