Windows 7 Installation/Activation Problem

[nbdyson]

I have a laptop, and a desktop PC.

The desktop PC came with a Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit installation disc. The laptop, however, did not. When I first booted the laptop, Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit was ready to setup and didn't need a disc.

Recently, my laptop broke, so I wanted to reinstall Windows 7 on it, so I used the disc I got with my desktop PC to do so. It works, but when I try to activate it using the activation code on the back of my LAPTOP, it doesn't work, and I need to activate Windows so I can install Windows 10 for free. It seems that I'd have to use my desktop PC's code with my desktop PC's installation disc, but obviously that code is being used by my desktop PC.

Am I going to have to purchase Windows 7/10 again or is there a (free) way around this?

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi and welcome to SevenForums
Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First - Windows 10 Forums

 

[wasnotwas]

Doesn't gatherosstate.exe need to be run on an activated machine ?

 

[torchwood]

Hi NBD,
As your destop was a custom build, the licence was either OEM system builder or Retail, this means that there is no SLIC table.
Your laptop was presumably an OEM (dell/advent/asus/acer/etc)
and its activation is dependent on a SLIC table being present.
you can check by running this tool http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=52012, copy and paste it for confirmation.

SLIC tables can be created but i dont how to make one.

You could call MS and explain your situation but im not sure if youll get lucky
MS UK 0800 0188354

Roy