Invalid product key

[gregrocker]

I had this same problem. Try it again without any key - just leave it blank. Worked for me.

I am also a IT guy and have installed 100s of OSs.. Purchased a upgrade version of the Pro flavor Win 7 for myself. The bloody key is invalid...
Enter product key screen" the key that i am entering is INVALID?????

Called Microsoft and they tell me they cant help me tonight... the system is down !!!

Hello !!! I just spent $200 +++ and the key registers INVALID.... wasted my friday night,,,,,,,

If you are trying to clean install to formatted HDD then this is happening to a certain per cent of those trying clean install, and they report that doing the Vista "upgrade over itself" trick is getting it to take the key and activate.

Just install without key the first time and then from the desktop run an Upgrade (repair) install over your installation a second time and hopefully it will take the key and activate.

 

[whitenelly]

Mine was a clean install on a freshly repartitioned and formatted drive. It was not a double install. After having the key rejected several times I just left that space where you type the key blank and clicked "continue" and it worked. I have not tried to activate yet, though.

 

[Saltgrass]

I wonder if anyone has tried replacing their valid key with an invalid one, tried to activate, and then changed it back.

 

[Nosmo]

Many users are having their key rejected for the following reason.

If you have purchased an 'Upgrade' you MUST run setup from within Vista or XP.

You purchased an upgrade so you must have something to upgrade from.

Trying to boot to a virgin drive with no memory of a previous OS will not work.

Yes there are hacks but its only been 3 days and we don't know how MS will handle installs that are not legal.

 

[TheSchaft]

Many users are having their key rejected for the following reason.

If you have purchased an 'Upgrade' you MUST run setup from within Vista or XP.

You purchased an upgrade so you must have something to upgrade from.

Trying to boot to a virgin drive with no memory of a previous OS will not work.

Yes there are hacks but its only been 3 days and we don't know how MS will handle installs that are not legal.

With all due respect, you are wrong.

You can install to a clean drive with the Upgrade version via a dual install or a small change to the system. I did it to a clean HD with a dual install and it activated fine.

See this tutorial, it has the latest (and there are some other threads where Microsoft is quoted as saying it is OK.)

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/31402-clean-install-upgrade-windows-7-version.html

Another tutorial and some more words on Microsoft's approach:

http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp

Put simply, there are millions of people out there who will be performing clean installs with Upgrade media. Many people have experienced issues with Windows 7 upgrades, especially those trying to do clean installs with Upgrade media, but if you follow the advice in this article, you will get up and running. You will get a legally activated, legitimate version of Windows 7 installed on your PC.

 

[Nosmo]

In the last week since my post we have learnt how MS validates the install using upgrade media.
Very clever indeed and a fool proof method of determining validation and the existence of a prior legal OS.

These hacks work great and allow installs onto virgin discs etc but one still needs the correct licenses, and I feel we all need to mention this in any posts referring to the 'hacks'.

 

[TheSchaft]

In the last week since my post we have learnt how MS validates the install using upgrade media.
Very clever indeed and a fool proof method of determining validation and the existence of a prior legal OS.

These hacks work great and allow installs onto virgin discs etc but one still needs the correct licenses, and I feel we all need to mention this in any posts referring to the 'hacks'.

I agree that we need to ensure that we are not promoting anything illegal, and the tutorials cited both do that.

A telling comment I saw was to the effect that if you have a PC, and it isn't running *nix, it probably is running a Windows OS. (If it is running a *nix now, it probably originally came with a valid copy of some Windows OS.)

One final thought: I slicked the HD on my system because it came with a load of crapware that I couldn't get off any other way - the "Recovery" partition had the MBR. Minus all the junk, I can backup my laptop to less than one single layer DVD.

 

[Saltgrass]

In the last week since my post we have learnt how MS validates the install using upgrade media.

I missed how the validation process works, could you explain?

And I now understand you feel a Custom upgrade can be done from an Upgrade DVD without starting in the OS?

 

[gregrocker]

In the last week since my post we have learnt how MS validates the install using upgrade media.

I missed how the validation process works, could you explain?

And I now understand you feel a Custom upgrade can be done from an Upgrade DVD without starting in the OS?

This is well established fact now, the workaround from Paul Thurrot to install Upgrade even to a new HDD is being given out by MS: http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp

Read the sticky at the top of the Installation forum for Clean Installing Upgrades. You don't even need the qualifying OS to be on the drive.

 

[Badge56]

This correct. Doing a clean install with the upgrade version must be done without a key and then activated using a registry hack. Got the instructions from MS. Same as on Paul T's site
No way for them to know if you had a Vista licence or not....

 

[Nosmo]

I missed how the validation process works, could you explain?

Its very clever. When you insert the Win 7 disc, either to boot from or at the desktop of your OS, the installer 'sniffs out ' any and all evidence of the underlying OS. The results.....yes there is evidence, or no there is not...is stored in Ram and this happens at the beginning of the install process, not the end like Vista. It allows you to partition and format the drive and still pass activation. All this works without any 'hack' etc.
Can it be fooled.....yes. If you have a virgin system that has never ever seen Vista or XP and if you partitiion /format before booting the install, activation will fail. And so it should as we are dealing with 'Upgrade Media' and we can't blame MS for wanting to make sure the install is licensed correctly.

 

[gregrocker]

This is how you install Upgrade media to a formatted or new HDD, as given out by MS tech support: http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp

It doesn't relieve you of having a previous qualifying OS in case the issue is ever elevated to MS phone person during reinstall reactivation.

However, reinstalls are never again necessary for either OS if you make an Image backup using Win7's Backup Imaging, stored externally to reimage the HDD or a replacement in 15 minutes. Just boot into the installer's REpair console.

 

[Saltgrass]

Its very clever. When you insert the Win 7 disc, either to boot from or at the desktop of your OS, the installer 'sniffs out ' any and all evidence of the underlying OS. The results.....yes there is evidence, or no there is not...is stored in Ram and this happens at the beginning of the install process, not the end like Vista. It allows you to partition and format the drive and still pass activation.

If that is the way it works, good, but I still have a question that bothers me. If you install to a dual boot system and one of those OSes will be deactivated, how does the install know which one and how does it deactivate that OS?

There are still some folks saying you cannot do a Custom install by booting from the upgrade DVD, which I know is false.

 

[gregrocker]

Its very clever. When you insert the Win 7 disc, either to boot from or at the desktop of your OS, the installer 'sniffs out ' any and all evidence of the underlying OS. The results.....yes there is evidence, or no there is not...is stored in Ram and this happens at the beginning of the install process, not the end like Vista. It allows you to partition and format the drive and still pass activation.

If that is the way it works, good, but I still have a question that bothers me. If you install to a dual boot system and one of those OSes will be deactivated, how does the install know which one and how does it deactivate that OS?

There are still some folks saying you cannot do a Custom install by booting from the upgrade DVD, which I know is false.

The qualifying OS does not become deactivated, it is only in the EULA that it says you cannot continue using it.

But like most, you will probably want out of a dual boot almost as soon as you try Win7, so consider starting fresh with the best possible, clean install booting from the Installer. Just back up all your files first and be prepared to reinstall programs.