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#21
Barman,
Thanks. You answered the questions that I was just getting ready to ask. I assume that if I buy an OEM version of Windows 7 that it can only be installed on one computer, but it could be installed multiple times on that same computer. Is this correct?
Just by way of getting myself educated, perhaps someone can shed some light on how this problem happened to show up if I explain how I've used this software.
Last year I wanted to put together a new computer, so I bought all of the parts including an ASUS B150M motherboard that had USB 3.0 ports on it. The ASUS documentation stated that in order to use the USB 3.0 interface with Windows 7, it was necessary to create an ISO file using the original Windows installation disk and the ASUS DVD that came with the motherboard, and use the ISO file to do the Windows 7 installation. I had never heard of an ISO file before, but I went ahead and created it and then tried to install from it. Obviously, it didn't work since I later found out that the ISO file is used to burn a real install disk.
Since the ISO file didn't work for the install, I decided to see if I could just install Windows 7 from the original installation disk. It installed okay, but of course, there was no USB 3.0 support. I also did not get a message that the software was not genuine. So this was Activation #1.
Finally, I decided to look up what an ISO file was, and then realized that I needed to use it to make a real installation disk. So I did that and then used it to install the modified Windows 7 OS. This worked, but I got the message that the software was not genuine. So this was Activation #2.
One of the guys on the Bleeping Computer forum said that he had seen a similar problem when Windows 7 was installed on top of an existing copy of Windows 7. He suggested that I wipe the HD clean and start from scratch. I did this and the modified Windows 7 installed and activated properly with no "not genuine" messages. And this is the way that I've been using it for over nine months. But this was Activation #3.
I read yesterday that Windows and MS do a check about once a month to see if the software on the computer is still genuine. If this is true, I can't figure out how it took nine months for MS to detect and notify me that the software is not genuine. If anyone has any insight into that, it might give me some leverage if I go back to Microsoft and try to sweet talk them into giving me another license.
Does anyone know how many times I should be able to activate a Retail license before MS cuts me off?
Last edited by Wartweasel; 19 Aug 2016 at 13:55. Reason: Add additional question