Dell OEM License reinstall help - same key on each

I have around 5 different models of Dell Machines (Vostro 430's & Optiplex 7010's) which have no OS on as they have had Linux on for past few years. I now need to reinstall Windows 7 but have a concern with the Dell recovery disc I am using.

Each machine has a Windows 7 Professional OA sticker on with a license key - how can I get an OEM CD which can be used on each machine then I input the license key for each one?

Dell gave me a recovery disc which I installed on 2 machines but when I checked to see what the license key was using 3rd part software I found it had put the same key on both machines and neither key matched the stickers on the machine. I am confused as Dell told me this is ok if its activated but I thought you must have separate keys on each machine?

I have been going backwards and forwards for few days with Dell & Microsoft - can anyone advise me as I have to get it right as its for business use.

Thanks in advance

jumanji said:

Product Key: 32KD2-K9CTF-M3DJT-4J3WC-733WD
Product ID: XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00524
Vendor: Dell
Haha ! You had installed Windows 7 Professional on two machines and those have the above Product Key and Product ID - Right? That is no secret and I am no magician :) . All Dell machines installed with Windows 7 Professional will have the same OEM SLP key.

If your other two DELL machines too have the Windows 7 Professional stickers, go ahead and install Windows 7 with the same recovery CD. ( I think it is more correctly called/named Reinstallation DVD and not Recovery CD. ) The machines will get activated automatically.

These machines have an identifier SLIC table embedded in the bios and when the installed OEM Files and key match with the SLIC, they get activated.

In cases where the SLIC table gets corrupted, such OEM activation will not go through. You can then use the Product Key on the sticker to activate your Windows. Each machine will have a different Product Key on the sticker and Microsoft knows which Product Keys have been given to DELL when it reaches their activation servers.(If the Key is legible, please take a snapshot and keep it safely for such a rainy day)

Ahh thank you - yes that is right I have exactly that key you mentioned haha.

So to clarify Dell installs Windows via the Re-Installation DVD and then activates my Key in the motherboard using the SLIC table you mentioned (which is the key on my sticker) but just shows 32KD2-K9CTF-M3DJT-4J3WC-733WD. Can you confirm the PC will be using the Windows 7 License from the sticker so I know what to put in my records.?

Thanks for your help it makes much more sense already though, Dell & Microsoft couldn't explain this in 5-6 hrs worth of phone calls grrrrrr

No. The Product Key on the sticker is not used when you install with the DELL OEM Reinstallation DVD. If
the OEM certificate and the OEM SLP key in the installed Windows matches the SLIC in the BIOS the system gets activated. The system will show only the OEM SLP key.

The Product Key on the sticker is a standby provision made by Microsoft (for traditional Microsoft Activation Process)

In case the SLIC in the Bios gets corrupted - which can happen - then your Windows will not get activated and you will be left in the lurch. In such a case when Windows does not get auto activated, you can use the Key on the sticker to activate the Windows just like you activate from a Retail Windows DVD. An internet connection will be required and activation will be through Microsoft activation servers. The windows will then show the product Key with which you activated - the product Key on the sticker. The OEM installation DVD is not required. You can use any Retail DVD of the same Windows Edition or the downloaded ISO as AddRam stated in his post. Most of the time the sticker gets worn out and unreadable. That is why I said take a snapshot and keep it before it becomes unreadable.

The DELL OEM Installation DVD does not contain any junk programs. The only junk I have seen is the McAfee muck. You can remove it with McAfee Consumer Products Removal tool https://service.mcafee.com/webcenter...%3Dbnmus8ndr_4



"In windows Vista, 7, server 2008, 2008r2, and server 2012 OEM activation is accomplished by the combination of 3 elements.

1. The bios of the system must contain what is called a “SLIC” string, all systems made by a major OEM such as Dell, HP will include this. Home built systems will not (unless you modify the bios yourself)
2. A certificate file that matches up against the “SLIC” string that is stored in the BIOS. These certificate files are unique to each OEM so Dell has their own, HP has their own, etc. and are not interchangeable.
3. A Windows product key that tells the system to use OEM activation instead of the traditional Microsoft activation process."

Thanks Jumanji, that makes much more sense to me now. So having 10 Dell computers all with the Product Key: 32KD2-K9CTF-M3DJT-4J3WC-733WD is all legal as they are actually using the Key in the BIOS?

My only other concern is these machines have been upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10 - so lets say we come to reinstall them with windows 10 in a few years time will the Windows 7 key in the bios work or not as the 32KD2 is the one thats upgraded?