Windows 7 Upgrade Program on another PC?

daramullally

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Hi

I recently bought a new laptop that is covered under the windows 7 upgrade program. Does anyone know if this can be installed on another PC instead? The other PC is Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit.

Cheers
Dara
 

My Computer

OS
Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit
Hi

I recently bought a new laptop that is covered under the windows 7 upgrade program. Does anyone know if this can be installed on another PC instead? The other PC is Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit.

Cheers
Dara
No, I dont think so. ;)
 
You're gonna get an OEM upgrade so it won't. It's tide to the laptop you just bought.
 

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MasterB/Custom
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Windows 7 Professional x64
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Asus M4A785TD-V Evo
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8 GB Crucial DDR3
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COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000
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My first build!
Well technically...

I don't believe that there is a Windows 7 Upgrade OEM. The upgrade disk that your OEM sends you will probably be a retail upgrade disk. And really, Microsoft's only requirement for an upgrade is that the prior OS is Genuine and has a COA (certificate of Authenticity) from a licensing standpoint.


So... I assume your OEM is giving you a retail upgrade disk, and unless they make a custom build OEM upgrade disk that checks your machine to see if it is in fact an OEM machine (Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc...) I don't see how they can regulate it. I am not even sure that it would fall outside of their end user agreement. Yes they are sending you an upgrade free for purchasing their hardware now, but not sure that upgrade is force to be on that hardware over any other Genuine Windows System.

All purely speculation though, you would have to read the OEM's upgrade policy when applying for the upgrade.

BTW, what OEM?
 
Last edited:

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Built Myself
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Windows 7 7600.16384 x64
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Intel Core i7 OC'd to 3.20 GHz
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Gigabyte
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6GB GSkillz Triple Channel DDR3 OC'd to 1600 MHz
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OEM can mean two different things

I'm thinking the upgrade is an OEM version ...
In that once installed in a computer .. It can never be moved to another.

I upgraded my Vista Computer to an OEM XP MCE.
All this means is that it was cheaper and now cannot be moved because it's only licensed on the computer it was originally installed in.

If the upgrade is sent by M$ .. It may not install the OEM supplied applications already in Your computer.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP d4996t (upgraded)
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XP MCE .... XP Pro 64 .... W7 U x64
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E6750, 2.67GHz C2D
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4GB, PC2 6400
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GeForce 9400GT
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Twin Samsung 2443BWT
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1920x1200
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Many .. 3 Installed
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460W
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Cable
BTW, what OEM?

An original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, manufactures products or components which are purchased by a second company and retailed under the second company's brand name. It is a form of outsourcing.

Confusingly, OEM may also refer to a company that purchases a component made by a second company for use in its own product, or sells the product of the second company under its own brand name. Companies who follow these practices are better termed value added resellers or resellers, respectively.

via Wikipedia
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 7600.16385 x86

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP d4996t (upgraded)
OS
XP MCE .... XP Pro 64 .... W7 U x64
CPU
E6750, 2.67GHz C2D
Memory
4GB, PC2 6400
Graphics Card(s)
GeForce 9400GT
Monitor(s) Displays
Twin Samsung 2443BWT
Screen Resolution
1920x1200
Hard Drives
Many .. 3 Installed
PSU
460W
Internet Speed
Cable
An original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, manufactures products or components which are purchased by a second company and retailed under the second company's brand name. It is a form of outsourcing.

Confusingly, OEM may also refer to a company that purchases a component made by a second company for use in its own product, or sells the product of the second company under its own brand name. Companies who follow these practices are better termed value added resellers or resellers, respectively.

via Wikipedia

oops sorry it wasn't clear..., I was asking him what OEM he is using, not what is OEM. Sorry ...
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Built Myself
OS
Windows 7 7600.16384 x64
CPU
Intel Core i7 OC'd to 3.20 GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte
Memory
6GB GSkillz Triple Channel DDR3 OC'd to 1600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GTX 280
Sound Card
X-Fi Platinum
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual 2001FWP
Screen Resolution
1680x1050 x 2
Hard Drives
System - Dual 150GB Raptors Raid0
Doc Storage - 1TB SATA 32MB cache Samsung
TV Recordings - 1TB SATA 32MB cache Samsung
PSU
Gigawatt Antec
Case
Antec 900
Keyboard
Saitek
Mouse
logitech MX 10000
Internet Speed
30 mb/s
Maybe.

There are two types of OEM activation. The first works like a full retail key, but only once; this is the key that comes on the COA sticker, and is a single computer activation which activates online with microsoft, and ties that key to the hardware fingerprint of that computer.

The second is a PAK (pre activated key); the OEM makes a custom disc with their PAK appropriate to that version, and a digital certificate specific to that OEM, and it checks it has a flag in the bios that matches the digital certificate. If any of the three are missing, it won't automatically activate.

So if you get an OEM disc as part of the upgrade offer, you won't be able to use it on the 2nd computer with the PAK built in, as your BIOS won't match. However, you should still be able to use the OEM key that comes with it on the COA sticker on your 2nd computer. As long as you only use it one of the two computers, you'll be fine.

There is a gotcha though. Some OEMs don't provide a windows disc at all, but rather a customised restore disc; this uses ghost or the like to clone a disc image onto the hard-drive, rather than doing an actual windows 7 install, and also has all the drivers, and additional software like the trial version of norton. These usually have additional checks as part of the clone, so will only install on the original hardware.

So have a look at what you got with your vista home pc; did you get a windows vista install disc and oem sticker, or did you get some custom restore disc that you may have had to burn yourself from files on the hard-drive?

If it's the latter, that's what they may supply for the windows 7 upgrade, and it probably won't work on anything other than the computer it's meant for.

That said, you should still get an OEM COA sticker with a key, so you might be able to use that key with a vanilla 7 home premium you acquire by other means.
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 7100 x64
oops sorry it wasn't clear..., I was asking him what OEM he is using, not what is OEM. Sorry ...
It was quite clear to me:
Your entire post was a discussion about OEMs, so it was apparent (to me)
that you knew what it meant.
Maybe:
"BTW, which OEM" could have prevented -his- misread of your post...
 

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Gateway GT5056
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XP_Pro, W7_7201, W7RC.vhd, SciLinux5.3, Fedora12, Fedora9_2x, OpenSolaris_09-06
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Yes
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1 gig
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Dunno
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Realtek something
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Cable modem
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1 + 1 = 10b,
7 + 7 = 16o,
a + b = 15h.
Just some info:

I bought a OEM version of "Vista 32 Ultimate sp1" and installed and activated it on my laptop. (saved me 100 euros)

My laptop broke down, so I called MS, got a nice lady on the phone and in 10 minutes she helped me re-activate it on my desktop computer.

No problem what so ever.

And I will be able to upgrade to Win 7 Ultimate.

Mind you, this is about a OEM I bought in the shop.

I don't know if the same applies to OEM preinstalled by the retailer.


So what you can do is call MS, re-activate your Vista to your 2nd computer and then later upgrade to Win 7.

You could always call MS activate service to ask them about it, then you'll know for sure.

Hope this was helpful.
 

My Computer

OS
Win7 Build 7600 x86
CPU
Pentium II 300MHz
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Asus
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32mb EDO RAM
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Diamond Viper
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Soundblaster 16
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14" AOC CRT 16K color
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800x600
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300mb Quantum fireball
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110 Watts
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Passive
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Trust Ergonomic
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Generic
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256K u 128K d
Maybe.

There are two types of OEM activation. The first works like a full retail key, but only once; this is the key that comes on the COA sticker, and is a single computer activation which activates online with microsoft, and ties that key to the hardware fingerprint of that computer.

The second is a PAK (pre activated key); the OEM makes a custom disc with their PAK appropriate to that version, and a digital certificate specific to that OEM, and it checks it has a flag in the bios that matches the digital certificate. If any of the three are missing, it won't automatically activate.

So if you get an OEM disc as part of the upgrade offer, you won't be able to use it on the 2nd computer with the PAK built in, as your BIOS won't match. However, you should still be able to use the OEM key that comes with it on the COA sticker on your 2nd computer. As long as you only use it one of the two computers, you'll be fine.

There is a gotcha though. Some OEMs don't provide a windows disc at all, but rather a customised restore disc; this uses ghost or the like to clone a disc image onto the hard-drive, rather than doing an actual windows 7 install, and also has all the drivers, and additional software like the trial version of norton. These usually have additional checks as part of the clone, so will only install on the original hardware.

So have a look at what you got with your vista home pc; did you get a windows vista install disc and oem sticker, or did you get some custom restore disc that you may have had to burn yourself from files on the hard-drive?

If it's the latter, that's what they may supply for the windows 7 upgrade, and it probably won't work on anything other than the computer it's meant for.

That said, you should still get an OEM COA sticker with a key, so you might be able to use that key with a vanilla 7 home premium you acquire by other means.
I agree with you. Good explanation.
+1 rep :)
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
MasterB/Custom
OS
Windows 7 Professional x64
CPU
QuadCore AMD Phenom II X4 Black Edition 955 3.2 GHz
Motherboard
Asus M4A785TD-V Evo
Memory
8 GB Crucial DDR3
Graphics Card(s)
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4890 1GB HDMI New Edition
Sound Card
VIA VT1708S HD Audio 7.1 onboard/ ATI HDMI video card
Monitor(s) Displays
Acer H233H 23'' LCD HDMI
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
1x 500GB and 1x 1TB 7200RPM 32MB Cache WD Caviar Black
PSU
CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX 620W
Case
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000
Cooling
2x 140mm and 1x 120mm case fans, Stock CPU fan
Keyboard
Logitech MX 3200
Mouse
Logitech MX 3200
Internet Speed
15 Mbps
Other Info
My first build!
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