Buying a Windows 7 COA sticker

[Dusty Dan]

Hi,
I currently have a laptop which has Windows XP installed, and I want to upgrade it to Windows 7. There is not much on the laptop, so I will probably just backup the files and do a fresh install of Windows 7.

I am basically looking around for a cheap way to buy Windows 7 and have come across somebody who is claiming to sell the COA stickers from a batch of old desktops. They are being sold for about 50-60% of the price for a copy of Windows 7 home edition on Amazon.

They have good feedback, but only have a track record of a few months.

Is this a good way for me to buy Windows 7?

Assuming that I get a real sticker, is that all I need to guarantee that I own the Windows 7 licence?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

The COA sticker is just that, a sticker. The licence comes with the Windows disc if it's genuine and not a pirate copy.

Much more important is a valid Product Key for installation and activation, a Product Key that's never been used before and was genuinely issued by Microsoft. You can only be sure of that by buying from authorised software distributors.

Bear in mind you can't upgrade to Windows 7 unless your PC manufacturer (if factory built) or motherboard manufacturer (if custom built) has Windows 7 drivers for your specific PC or motherboard model, so check their website first as appropriate.

 

[Dusty Dan]

Much more important is a valid Product Key for installation and activation, a Product Key that's never been used before and was genuinely issued by Microsoft. You can only be sure of that by buying from authorised software distributors.
.

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll steer clear and just buy a full copy if I go the Windows 7 route.

It has occurred to me that the laptop I am using has a Vista licence, so I am wondering whether I could just use that to upgrade to Vista instead.

I have added a thread here - http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2154473/install-vista-hdds-time.html

Any further advice on that would be very appreciated.

Thanks again.

 

[J_Jordan96]

Dusty Dan

hi i would not use Vista as it takes to much processing, Graphics and RAM power to run that can be saved when using 7

hope this helps

James