Windows 7 re-activation

I bought W7 and installed it on my laptop after saving the W7 beta mig files to a USB. I installed the new W7 and did not get back ANY of my original files, programs, photos etc. ! I am really upset. Now I had HDD problems with my Dell Inspiron 530s so I installed the same W7 on it and had to reactivate PS3 and all of my other programs as they did not transfer from Vista. WHAT A CROCK!!! I talked to support and they said I have 30 days to buy a new key. I went to the MS store and ordered the Family pak for 3 activations for $175, waiting for it to arrive. Today I get a message that I MUST activate today! I called support and she tells me I will lose the current W7 along with all of my newly installed programs. I said I have 3 new keys coming, she said I have to re-install W7 when they arrive to install the new key and then re-install ALL of my programs again! Is this right?????

Let me get this straight...you bought Windows 7 and installed it, it didn't go as expected (Meaning you didn't upgrade as opposed to full install, at least from what I gather), you called support and they told you you had to go and BUY Windows 7 again?

Something doesn't match up with this story....care to elaborate?

Absolutely! I pre ordered W7 from Newegg and got it the other day. The rest of the story is the same. They wanted me to buy ANOTHER key online at that time for $149.00 so I hung up, then I went to the MS store and ordered the Family pak which has 3 keys.

Yes, I thought as long as I owned the original disk I could load it on all of my machines.

That little tidbit is what's missing from your original story.

I now understand why you were told to buy another one

I wasn't trying to be a jerk, just wasn't seeing the whole picture. As for installing it on multiple machines, it's never been "allowed" per se since the introduction of activation. I'm sorry you got suckered into wasting more money. They should have at least provided you with a one-time pass so you could install it on a different machine, even if it was just to keep a paying customer happy for once.

Well. That's old news not I'm out over $225 total now but am only worried about reactivating. When the "Family Pak" arrives, can I simply choose one of the 3 keys I bought with this software and go to the MY computer ,properties window and enter my "New" key to formally activate without having to re-install W7 from the "New" family Pak disk?

Once the activation expires, you must reinstall. There are of course ways to reset the activation timer....provided you haven't already done so a few times.

Never heard about that. How di I do that?