Thursday, June 14, 2018

Can I use my Windows 7 license in a dual-boot configuration?






I've purchased a retail license of Windows 7 Ultimate for my machine at home.


I'm thinking of creating a dual-boot install:



  • 64-bit install for work apps (need the RAM for virtual machines and RAMDisk)

  • 32-bit install for entertainment apps (Media Centre, games, etc)


How does retail licensing work in such situations?
Can I activate the same license on both installations?


Edit:


I would like to add that I want to have separate partitions for work and play.


Answer



Who knows. The EULA which will determine this has not yet officially been published by Microsoft.



Can I activate the same license on
both installations?



Looking at the EULA for Vista, yes and no.


Technically, yes. Because the activation wizard will see that you are installing onto the same machine it should activate without question.


Legally, no. You are only permitted to have one single copy installed at any given time.


Really interesting article here for bedtime reading although it does only apply to Vista. Again, no official word on the 7 EULA yet.



How does retail licensing work in such
situations?



Retail boxes will come with a single key that activates both the 32-bit and the 64-bit flavours. You simply select the 32-bit or 64-bit version during the installation process.


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