Activation

[arges86]

my PC initially had Vista. I 'upgraded' to Win7 on another a separate HD.
That drive died. So... i fresh installed Win7 on a new drive.
Now, i can't activate Win7 cause it says that my Product ID number is for upgrades only.
I'm not trying to do anything shift, or illegal, but is there a way i can get Win7 running and activated again?

Thanx a ton for any help or ideas.

 

[Zenzija]

I suggest calling Microsoft support. I had similar issues, but my key is a corporate key that can be installed multiple times without any issues.

 

[Twoboxer]

^ Call and explain. Sometimes Microsoft is quite reasonable about that situation.

 

[Zenzija]

Yes they are. I've been given new serial keys because Microsoft fudged something up on their end.



Also, agres, I do suggest a fresh install. I've found when upgrading from Vista SP1/SP2 to Windows7, there are some funny issues that happen. Files being in the wrong places, not being allowed to use the run command because my "rights" were revoked by Windows. Not being able to install products because they're not compatible for "32bit/64bit" Operating Systems.


A lot of my friends suggest a fresh install, and thats what Sevenforums.com told me as well.

 

[Jonmor68]

my PC initially had Vista. I 'upgraded' to Win7 on another a separate HD.
That drive died. So... i fresh installed Win7 on a new drive.
Now, i can't activate Win7 cause it says that my Product ID number is for upgrades only.
I'm not trying to do anything shift, or illegal, but is there a way i can get Win7 running and activated again?

Thanx a ton for any help or ideas.

Try this Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media >> http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp

 

[verbalizer]

pre-built (Dell, HP or who.?) unit or custom built.?

 

[arges86]

it was a custom build pc
I always do a clean install. I had issues w/ upgrading other OSes in the past.

although i haven't tried, i just assumed Microsoft would be unhelpful in my situation

 

[MechaNintendoMaster]

Install twice.
The first installation will make your "upgrade" legal. The first OS your upgrading from doesn't have to be activated, so just pop the disc in again and do an upgrade. Since the original install is fresh, you don't have to worry about clutter from the old os.

 

[cassandraf_winteam]

Hello arges86,

I agree with the others here. A call to Microsoft should get the job done. They'll likely just need to make sure you're not trying to install a single copy of Windows 7 on multiple machines. Here's how to activate by phone - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/activate-windows-7-on-this-computer

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Cassandra
Microsoft Windows Outreach

 

[arges86]

Best answer selected by arges86.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey