Upgrade to Windows 7 Pro

martinlest · 26 Mar 2020

Hi. I have a dual boot machine Win7x64 Home Premium/Windows 10 Pro. I would like to upgrade the Windws 7 installation to Win7 x64 Pro (for reasons I can explain if anyone is interested).

Now that Windows 7 is not supported, what's the easiest way to go about that? AFAIK, there is no actual installation as such, just a change in key (??). Just buy Win7 Pro key somewhere.. and then? Will OEM work? Bit wary of stuff on Amazon etc.).

Thanks for any help. (Googling so far only came up with 'anytime upgrade' solutions .. no longer valid of course, but I'll keep searching meanwhile!).

SIW2 · 26 Mar 2020

1. Coaxing the upgrade

If you have a pro key of any kind, you can enter it into anytime upgrade. It will run for a minute and then pretend it has failed. Restart and it will complete the upgrade to pro edition.

I tested by entering the widely known dell oem slp pro key 32KD2-K9CTF-M3DJT-4J3WC-733WD into anytime upgrade. Worked perfectly to coax the os to upgrade.

2. Activation

After it has completed the upgrade you need to enter a valid win 7 pro key to activate.You would need to get a key from somewhere for that. System builder COA ( confusingly sometimes called oem) or the usual retail.

OEM preinstall ( slp keys and certificate) will not activate unless the machine has the correct slic table in the bios.

martinlest · 26 Mar 2020

Thank you! Helpful as ever.. I first have to upgrade my PC though, so it'll be a while till I get this done, but I am bookmarking this page to my desktop for now.

Not much on Amazon, but a lot of offers on eBay. Have to have a closer look.

Martin

townsbg · 26 Mar 2020

Be wary of pirated/overused codes. It might be hard or expensive to find a legitimate key for 7 that is unused. I wouldn't trust amazon or ebay honestly. I hate to say it but if you really need pro and you are unable to find a legitimate key you best recourse would probably be a retail or oem key from newegg for 10. They used to sell 7 and 8.1 keys but not for over a year now.

martinlest · 27 Mar 2020

Probably just have to risk Amazon or eBay - they cover you of course if there is a problem. I'll try to choose one that has +ve feedback. Probably all I can do. Thanks.

SIW2 · 27 Mar 2020

There are plenty around in European countries, also older dell etc business machines will often have pro coa key on a sticker on them. Lots of those kicking around.