Or, go buy 1 copy of win7 home premium retail, go into change product key in previously installed cloned drive. Use new key from purchased retail copy? If I change product key, it will change the version, correct. This might also work. Aaaaaaaggggghhh!
I do want this to be legal & legit. I'm willing pay if I can make this work. Does upgrading give me any syspreps back? After this experiment, I only have 2 left.
So, I only just now recalled, Windows 7 Family Pack is for upgrade installs only. Which explains why you kept referring to upgrading. Do/did you have a qualifying OS (Vista or XP) on the computer your trying to move your install to? Do you have a retail copy of Vista/XP that is no longer in use? If not, you actually need a full retail copy of Windows 7 Home Premium to do what you want. Sorry for not stating this sooner.
If you SysPrepped to generalize your install to start on new hardware, then it should activate with the $100+value OEM license tied to that mobo as long as its the same version. The activation can only fail if the mobo has been changed.
You are entitled to use that OEM key on the same hardware so once this becomes apparent to the phone agent, or if necessary MS Customer Service, it will be activated. How To Activate Windows 7 by Phone Step-by-Step Guide.
Incidentally an easier way to change any Win7 installation to new hardware is to boot Paragon Adaptive Restore CD, point it at the moved install to P2P Adjust the OS to new hardware.
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