Upgrading the hardware might affect your original OEM Windows 7 installation.
Upgrading the hardware might affect your original OEM Windows 7 installation.
I managed somehow then. It was an OEM license, making it even more limited. Unless OEM licenses are permitted to do that, which I assumed were only for GPU and memory changes. Anything else would need a license change. Still, it’s beneficial since I can keep using my preferred OS. I’m curious about how I’ll be able to upgrade to Windows 10, though—I hope it works.
Frequently I encounter issues when making major changes (swapping SSDs, replacing motherboards). Windows refuses to accept my activation key. However, contacting their automated service resolves the problem and it now activates automatically each time... until I start altering partitions or drives again, at which point I must call the MS activation line once more.
I never claimed it was correct and I didn’t mean for both versions to function together. It just happened that way. I thought another OS license on that machine would be canceled, but it didn’t. It’s similar to discovering money in your coat pocket and realizing who it belonged to—you remember the details, but you don’t care about the person who found it.
I initially used it on my MacBook Pro with Bootcamp, then sold the P and contacted Microsoft to activate it on my new Mac Mini. After selling the Mini, I built a real PC and installed the same Windows 7 OEM version, reaching out to Microsoft via a live representative who directed me to the automated activation center for reactivation. This process usually required at least a tenfold format change, a fresh installation, an SSD swap, and more. I only needed to request the key during a clean install. When contacting Microsoft, it seems a live person is essential, or maybe I'm lucky.