Product key error

[87morpheus]

Hey guys. I'm having trouble with my newly built computer. I got my dad's windows 7 disc that he got from work, but it doesn't appear to have a product key with it. I saw it say that the product key will activate in 30 days, so I waited those 30 days to see what happened. After those 30 days it said that it is not 'genuine'. I don't have to purchase a new product key do i? If that's the case I might as well just get windows 10. Can anyone help me?

 

[Someone Somewhere]

A disc isn't a copy of Windows; it's just a disc. You can use it on as many PCs as you like. The key is what makes it an actual copy of Windows.

It's possible his work will give/sell cheap keys, but generally you're supposed to only use them for work.

Windows 10 (or a free OS is probably your best option.

 

[MarkW]

What it is telling you is that you have 30 days to try it out... After that, it becomes unregistered. You need a Windows key that is for the same version of Windows you just installed on that system to activate it.

 

[87morpheus]

Okay, that makes sense. I found a windows xp product key, but it is a home key and I doubt it would work for Windows 7. My computer is a gaming pc and
SteamOS is free so I could consider that, but a friend of mine was having trouble with games using it. So you guys think I should purchase windows 10?

 

[hang-the-9]

Okay, that makes sense. I found a windows xp product key, but it is a home key and I doubt it would work for Windows 7. My computer is a gaming pc and
SteamOS is free so I could consider that, but a friend of mine was having trouble with games using it. So you guys think I should purchase windows 10?

You can't use an XP key to activate Windows 7, and even if you have one, it's likely from an OEM system and you can't re-use that license. I'd just get 10 if your system had the right drivers for it.

 

[MarkW]

I recommend buying Windows 7 or 8.1 now. You will be eligible for the free Windows 10 upgrade until July 28, 2016. Once you have Windows 7 or 8.1 installed, you can stick with that, or upgrade to Windows 10 anytime before that date, for free. And once you do try Windows 10, you get 30 days to try it out, and can go back to what you bought if you decide to.

So doing that gives you choices. If you buy Windows 10 right off the bat, you are stuck with Windows 10, and in my opinion right now, Windows 10 is not quite ready for prime time. There are still lots of bugs, and lots of missing drivers yet. Maybe after the first of the year things will look better. Or even after the first quarter of 2016 ends. We have time. Lots of time. So there is no rush to get there sooner than we need to.