If I buy a Windows 7 Ultimate Disk is it limited to uses

[vidya]

So I restore my computer alot, like a full format of the HDD wiping all OS etc off it. And I was going to buy a windows 7 ultimate disc I was just wondering could I keep installing it on my computer after as many formats of my hdd I did? Recently I've used other ways but I want a legit copy now.

Like if I installed windows 7 ultimate off the disc
reformatted my whole HDD inc OS
installed windows 7 ultimate off the disc again
reformatted my whole HDD inc OS
and so on

Would I be allowed to do it or can you only install it once?

Any enlightenment would be helpful x

 

[Britton30]

While that exercise seems pointless, yes you can. MS has some dark unspoken rules about how often you can reinstall with some time limits involved. Usually after 3-4 installs you'll be required to use the robo-phone method of activation.

My suggestion would be to get a good, clean, smooth running, fully updated with all of your programs then make an image of it. Maybe two images with different program, not Windows'. Macrium Reflect and EaseUS work well, both have operational free versions for this. You can re-image a clean drive in about 30 minutes with no reactivation hassles and it's a fully operational OS-to-go for you...on the same PC without any hardware changes that is.

 

[gregrocker]

You can reactivate Win7 as often as you like for the life of the OS. MS cannot steal your purchased property back from you because they don't like how you install it. You own it for life.

 

[BadHairSpray]

Something to think about in addition to what was said above, if you reinstall a-new within the 30days, perhaps think about not activating it.

 

[wanchoo]

The short answer is YES. The longer answer is that even if you get a new computer on scrapping the original one, after ensuring that the Hard Disk has been completely wiped, then you can even install Windows 7 on that one too, but via a phone call to Microsoft.

Microsoft is not such a big demon as many people make it out to be. On the contrary I find that Microsoft is very helpful and customer friendly from my personal experience.

So I restore my computer alot, like a full format of the HDD wiping all OS etc off it. And I was going to buy a windows 7 ultimate disc I was just wondering could I keep installing it on my computer after as many formats of my hdd I did? Recently I've used other ways but I want a legit copy now.

Like if I installed windows 7 ultimate off the disc
reformatted my whole HDD inc OS
installed windows 7 ultimate off the disc again
reformatted my whole HDD inc OS
and so on

Would I be allowed to do it or can you only install it once?

Any enlightenment would be helpful x

 

[Techymike]

Remember to check the little box to not register automatically once online.

 

[gregrocker]

I'm not sure why it's often advised to not tick the box during install to activate when you get online, as it saves you the time of having to go do it yourself.

Once the hardware signature is recorded in MS Servers then reactivation will be automatic. Changing hardware may require the robocall to record a new signature. If asked after major hardware change how many machines it is installed upon, the only acceptable answer is "one" - this gives MS the go-ahead to deactivate any other installs with this key which come online.

If you ever have activation rejected by both web and phone methods, you can call MS Customer Service which will verify the Product Key and ID and open a Support case to get it activated one way or another. They have methods to determine legitimacy of almost all claims.

In hundreds of installs over the years I've had to appeal to Customer Service exactly once and the tech support agent I was connected with forced the verified key to work.

 

[whs]

If you reinstall all the time to the same system, it would be easier to do that with an image. After the initial installation and the updates plus the AV installation, I would take an image and restore that. This is quasi like a new install but a lot quicker to restore.

Then you can decide what programs you always want to have on that system, install those and take another image. Now you have two options.

 

[gregrocker]

I've also come to rely more on images but some cases require reinstall. A strange case just recently happened when I lost internet connection speed on an old HP laptop after moving the router which persisted even when I moved it back.

I spent a lot of time troubleshooting and decided to reimage to before the problem began since there wasn't a restore point. The problem persisted which I then surmised could only be a failing wireless adapter.

But when I clean reinstalled as a last resort I've recovered full speed.

Go figure.
(No, I mean really go figure this out for me! )

 

[DeaconFrost]

You may not need Ultimate. Very few people actually do, so you could save yourself some money. Second, Windows 7 doesn't need to be wiped and reinstalled like XP did. It's a completely different animal, so if you are doing something that's causing it...you are doing something wrong.

I'm not sure why it's often advised to not tick the box during install to activate when you get online, as it saves you the time of having to go do it yourself.

I never check the box for two reasons. First, it gives me a chance to make sure the system is running smooth before activating...and second, I can copy and paste the key from my spreadsheets, instead of manually typing it in and making mistakes!