Solved Duplicate Windows 7 key on two different hard drives.

[Crumbleey]

Hi people,

I have a little problem which is confsing me no end, and I would be most grateful for your help.

I had two Lenovo ThinkPads. One died 4 months aro and the other one died a month ago.

Both went down with hard disk failing messages and one did not know what to do with an exe program.

Both were running windows 7.

Took them both down to PC World and had them remove the 2 hard drives and find the Windows keys.

They said that they could only find one key and gave me the hard drives back straight away.

I had them install an SSD drive and transfer the memory and DVD drive to one of the laptops.

They used the key to install a Windows 7 OEM copy onto the SSD drive.

Laptop collected the following day and it runs exceptionaly fast with no problems.

I put the old hard drives in USB caddies and ran a key checker program on both.

Both hard drives from two separate laptops had the same identical Windows 7 key.

Came in with two keys and left with one.

PC World had no idea how that could have happened, and they couldn't check if they key was genuine and avalable for use.

Does anyone on this forum know how the identical Windows keys could have apeared on both hard drives?

 

[Bongo]

Welcome to the Seven Forums

Lenovo uses a OEM license during manufacturing there are probably thousands of Lenovo laptops with the same key, what you need to look for is the Microsoft key on the bottom or in the battery compartment for an individual key for that laptop.

Jerry

 

[RolandJS]

My desktop and one of two laptops each have a 2nd 1TB HD; Each computer: I once-monthly clone the original HD onto the backup [2nd] HD -- that would result in the same Windows 7 key on two separate HDs.

 

[Crumbleey]

Hi Bongo and RolandJS.

First it's not as a result of cloning, I am still reading the insructions.

First class Bongo, you have got it in one.

Both PC World under the guise of 'Knowhow' and I failed to spot the key label in the battery compartment.

I have an excuse being a customer.

It looks like PC World put an OEM version of windows 7 on the live laptop out of their pot of available keys.

Wonderful example of the expertise available on sevenforums.

 

[Bongo]

You're welcome, and thank you so very much for the kind comments about the Seven Forum.