Windows 7 Retail

[AddRAM]

Well I'm not the one who's going to install it. I tried doing that but my mom won't trust me. She's not as technologically intelligent as I am and got nervous thinking I would mess up my PC. She's trusting a local PC shop to do it and they're trusting us to find a copy of Windows for them.

You need to get another hard drive so you can start playing, ( learning how to install systems, do experiments, learn partitioning, mess up on purpose) once you learn how incredibly easy it is, you`ll never want to stopicnic: :banghead:

 

[whs]

Greg, this laptop is a very good deal with the i5 and the 4000 graphics chip. But didn't you buy another laptop just recently?

The wife wants this one for travel. It weighs only 2.3 pounds, has bluetooth (for the mouse), touchscreen and you can use the tablet part seperately. Unfortunately it is out of stock everywhere right now.

 

[gregrocker]

I've still not found one that doesn't' have a fatal flaw Wolfgang. I thought I had after a month trying HP Pavilion 17.3" Laptop 4GB Memory 750GB Hard Drive 17-e019dx - Best Buy but HP compromise on their usual good hardware with the flimsiest power port and plug I've ever seen, so the plug falls out whenever I move it.

I've ordered the Lenovo to try out also on BB's 15 day return period and if doesn't work right then I'll try another of the 17" ones to see if the power plug will stay in. The local BB manager is going to do some jujitsu to see that whatever I decide I can keep my 3000 AA bonus miles earned on the HP, even if it goes to gift card to use for a later purchase. I've been trying out laptops for several years now on their 15 day trial policy to replace my rock-solid 10 year old HP laptop.

 

[whs]

Looks like you make a sport out of it. In laptops I still have

a HP which is defunct right now. Have to get it checked. It does not even load the BIOS. I am afraid the mobo is dead

two Gateways. Those are rock solid. One of them is still my oldest laptop and going strong with Vista. But the wife who uses it likes that

one Toshiba also with an i5 and 6GB of RAM. That one is the fastest and I use it sometimes.

The very best one I ever owned was a Sony Vaio with an i7, 8GB of RAM, eSata and USB3 ports, backlit keyboard and the whole 9 yards. Unfortunately it could not run live Linux CDs and you could not change the bootorder. A really retarded BIOS. So I returned it.

But I am really a desktop person. I have 2 Dells - one in Germany and one in Florida. I like the 22" screens which are a lot easier on my bad eyes.

 

[gregrocker]

Yeah I like desktops for the bigger screens too, so I can increase the Font size and sit back to read.

I realized how important to me this was when they nearly gave us free the Surface Pro tablet at MVP Summit. I got it back to the hotel room and set it up hunched over this tiny screen. Couldn't wait to take it back, so I gave it to Rayda for her son.

That was the first time I realized they are pressing on with the true goal: no desktop. I later found it hidden in the background of the Control Panel. This has been the whole goal of MS, methinks, and explains why they want to smother WIn7 in its crib.

 

[whs]

I don't really care what they do. I am well supplied with Windows 7 licenses and Office 2010. And then there is still Linux. Mint mate and Zorin are my favorites. Have a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cy-RESNhOI

 

[kathy025]

Tiger Direct has WIn7 Home Premium OEM for $89 and Professional for $135. Very good deals.

Can anyone confirm if this is RETAIL?

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional FQC-04649 Operating System Software - 64bit, DVD at TigerDirect.com

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Tiger Direct has WIn7 Home Premium OEM for $89 and Professional for $135. Very good deals.

Can anyone confirm if this is RETAIL?

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional FQC-04649 Operating System Software - 64bit, DVD at TigerDirect.com

Nope, not Retail. The first clue is the price is too low. The second is, when you click on the Specifications tab, it says it is OEM.

 

[kathy025]

Sorry for missing that.

Oh man, I need to get my hands on a genuine Retail copy quick. In my area, Win8 sells for 4000PHP and Win7 OEM sells for 8000PHP.

I guess Win8 may have become another Vista horror story and M$ wants to do away with it soonest. I also see many threads regarding downgrading here in the forums.

Scenario:
Let's say Consumer A, who legally purchased Windows 7 Retail, is reselling it and has already deactivated the license on the machine it was originally on.

1) Technically, can this Retail license be now bought by Consumer B?
2) Legally, is this allowed?

(Let's assume Consumer A will no longer use his Retail license after deactivating.)

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Technically, Consumer B can buy a deactivated retail license from Consumer A. Legally, I don't know. However, I wouldn't trust Consumer A to have actually deactivated the retail license.

You won't like this but, at this point, your only safe hope for a Win 7 license is to get an OEM while you can; the retails have been pretty much sold out. There may be a few outfits that still have some but they will be selling them for grossly inflated prices. And there are some dodgy sources that are selling licenses that are probably counterfeit.

You can buy two OEM licenses for only a little more than what one of the equivalent retail licenses would have cost; less if you can catch them on sale. The only difference between an OEM license and a retail license is an OEM license can't be transferred from the first computer it is installed on. Retail licenses can be transferred from computer to computer.

I'm sorry I don't have better news for you.

 

[kathy025]

Technically, Consumer B can buy a deactivated retail license from Consumer A. Legally, I don't know. However, I wouldn't trust Consumer A to have actually deactivated the retail license.

I understand. Buying a "used" Retail from an unauthorized reseller involves a lot of risk and honesty code. Thank you for confirming it was at least technically possible.

Whether it is legal or not, is still another one to be answered.

You can buy two OEM licenses for only a little more than what one of the equivalent retail licenses would have cost; less if you can catch them on sale. The only difference between an OEM license and a retail license is an OEM license can't be transferred from the first computer it is installed on. Retail licenses can be transferred from computer to computer.

That difference is pretty much my strongest driving point in pursuing Retail. I may buy two OEMs, but unfortunately, it means I can only change the mobo twice.

If my current mobo fails (which has happened before), I understand I will have to go through certain checks at M$ to transfer my OEM license from the failed mobo. There have been talks M$ has not been too generous lately. I just got *lucky* that my Win7 Pro OEM was not activated yet at the time my old mobo failed, now it is activated on my current mobo.

Also, we all have to upgrade to a new laptop sometime, but unfortunately, the OEM license is now married to the old laptop.

These are the times when Retail licenses become extremely convenient. I tend to use OS for quite a long time (10 years WinXP), so it is highly probable I would still be using Win7 until 2020 or so.

Thank you, Lady Fitzgerald for your response. I guess I really just have to try my luck if I can find a stray Retail from the stores around here. It is quite common in the Philippines to have old stock of products lying around, but I must do so quick.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Good luck! I really hope you get lucky and find one lurking in some dusty corner.

 

[kathy025]

I was even considering on buying a "used" Retail from a trusted member here (or any spare Retail). Hence why I was wondering if it was legal. Lots of honesty code, I know.

Haha, thanks for the well wishes. I hope so too.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Ok, both of those links AddRAM provided are not being sold by BestBuy but by a couple of their Marketplace vendors. One has to be careful dealing with Marketplace vendors, be they BestBuy's, Amazon's, Newegg's, etc.

The first one is being sold buy a cookware supply company :shock: . Besides being grossly overpriced, the whole thing smells a bit fishy. I couldn't find much on them. They aren't listed with the BBB.

The second looks better. The price is more inline with MSRP. What reviews I found are a bit better and they do have an A+ rating with the BBB. Whether they will ship internationally is another story. Another problem is M$ software sold in one region often cannot be activated in another one.

 

[AddRAM]

Yep, after I realized that, I removed the links.

 

[kathy025]

Another problem is M$ software sold in one region often cannot be activated in another one.

This is a very valuable piece of info. Thank you.

Checking my OEM COA, it is indeed marked SEA (South East Asia).

 

[bigmck]

Sorry for missing that.

Oh man, I need to get my hands on a genuine Retail copy quick. In my area, Win8 sells for 4000PHP and Win7 OEM sells for 8000PHP.

As has been said, the OEM is the same files as Retail, the difference being OEM is tied to the motherboard. == Let me tell you a story about a "friend". This "friend" built a new computer. He had a Win 7 OEM on the old computer. In as much as he did not want to pay a $100 or so for another Win 7, he installed the OEM from the old PC on the new PC. When it was attempted to be activated, the "friend" was prompted to call Microsoft. It was a Robot on the phone. A few questions were asked that were easily answered and a new number was given by the Robot to put in the authenication spaces so that the OEM has a legal license. None of the questions forced my "friend" to lie. It was above board. As a last resort, I would go this route.

 

[kathy025]

Interesting to know, bigmck. I'll take note of that.

 

[gregrocker]

There really isn't a deactivated Win7. The activation servers don't know you deleted it off the disk or even that you changed the Product Key which writes a new hardware signature for the new key to the servers.

Only when an attempt is made to reactivate with that same key do the servers do their comparison with the existing hardware signature. My understanding is that if there's already a hardware signature tied to that key, the next question is "How many PC's is this copy of Win7 installed upon?" to which you can only answer one to proceed. It then overwrites the old hardware signature with the new one and activates. Until this happens that key sits in the servers with the old hardware signature.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

There really isn't a deactivated Win7. The activation servers don't know you deleted it off the disk or even that you changed the Product Key which writes a new hardware signature for the new key to the servers.

Only when an attempt is made to reactivate with that same key do the servers do their comparison with the existing hardware signature. My understanding is that if there's already a hardware signature tied to that key, the next question is "How many PC's is this copy of Win7 installed upon?" to which you can only answer one to proceed. It then overwrites the old hardware signature with the new one and activates. Until this happens that key sits in the servers with the old hardware signature.

Thanks for clarifying that.