Tuesday, February 28, 2017

How does Windows 7's activation works?






I know there have been issues with it and some of its predecessors and I've run into some of those, but I still don't understand all that is going on. Some specific questions.



  • Can a given key be transferred to another machine? If so, will it require a phone call?

  • Will an activation revert with hardware changes? If so, what hardware?

  • Are there any counts/limits on activations?

  • How do activations work if I am using virtualization? Will a single activation work for a Bootcamp image (dual boot) on a Mac as well as a Parallels/VMWare Fusion instance (virtualization)?

  • What is the countdown listed when a system has not been activated?

  • Are there differences between developer, consumer and business copies?

  • Can I activate without an internet connection?

  • Can different activation keys enable different functionality?


Answer




  • Can a given key be transferred to another machine? If so, will it require a phone call?


depends on how many times it was used



  • Will an activation revert with hardware changes? If so, what hardware?


yes, i seem to remember it being based on the quantity of hardware changes



  • Are there any counts/limits on activations?


yes



  • How do activations work if I am using virtualization? Will a single activation work for a Bootcamp image (dual boot) on a Mac as well as a Parallels/VMWare Fusion instance (virtualization)?


if the virtual hardware looks like different devices to the OS no



  • What is the countdown listed when a system has not been activated?


time before it limits functionality to only activation



  • Are there differences between developer, consumer and business copies?


yes - for detailed licensing answers check the MS website



  • Can I activate without an internet connection?


yes - requires phone-call



  • Can different activation keys enable different functionality?


yes - all versions of 7 for a single architecture are on the DVD to facilitate the "anytime upgrade" functionality


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