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Windows 7

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  • 13-02-2012 12:44pm
    #1
    Andyb41
    Registered Users Posts: 67 ✭✭


    I recently bought a PC from Donedeal.ie , but it came with an illegal version of windows(Windows 7 Build 7600 The copy of windows is not genuine, is in the bottom right corner). It says the activation period has expired and I need to enter the product key. Can I keep going without activating windows and if so what are the disadvantages?

    Thanks,


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    #2
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 82,256 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    You cant really. It will keep shutting off after a time.

    Your two options are really either to buy an OEM license (usually 99.99) or a Full Retail license (199.99). OEM licenses lock into whatever PC they are first installed on so there are a couple advantages to a retail license.

    Or if you don't feel like parting with cash, there is also Linux, which I hear is pretty groovy if you aren't a gamer. But I am. So I confess I have never played with it.

    what are the system specs and what did you pay? CPU type, memory (ddr/ddr2/ddr3), graphics etc.


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    #3
    Fysh
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Regional Abroad Moderators Posts: 11,033 Mod ✭✭✭✭Fysh


    Andyb41 wrote: »
    I recently bought a PC from Donedeal.ie , but it came with an illegal version of windows(Windows 7 Build 7600 The copy of windows is not genuine, is in the bottom right corner). It says the activation period has expired and I need to enter the product key. Can I keep going without activating windows and if so what are the disadvantages?

    Thanks,

    Were you told that it came with a legitimate Windows licence installed?

    A legitimate Windows installation should come with either a package or folder with product key (for retail licences - unlikely for preinstalled systems due to the higher cost) or a Certificate of Authenticity with a product key stuck on the side of the case (for OEM licences). A first option for fixing this is to check whether you have a product key and try using it to re-activate Windows.

    If this doesn't work or you don't have a product key, contact the retailer and ask them to sort it out. If they acknowledge the problem but refuse to fix it, report them to Microsoft as per this page. Given that MS are suing Comet over the sale of counterfeit licences, it's possible the threat of this might help you get the problem fixed.

    If they didn't tell you it came with a legitimate Windows install, you'll need to buy a copy as per Overheal's post.


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    #4
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 82,256 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    that sounds like a ridiculous case, just a little off topic. We do the same thing at Best Buy for customers that wish to avail of the service, because the laptops and PCs we are given to sell no longer ship in most cases with the recovery media, aside from a HDD partition. Not everyone knows how to or is motivated enough to create the discs when they get home. In addition, we're pretty tight with Microsoft. As in, I see a microsoft rep every 2 weeks. And we are enrolled in their online eLearning program. They ship me free copies of stuff every once in a while for keeping up on those materials. They know whats going on. So perhaps something more is going on in the comet case.


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    #5
    Fysh
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Regional Abroad Moderators Posts: 11,033 Mod ✭✭✭✭Fysh


    Overheal wrote: »
    that sounds like a ridiculous case, just a little off topic. We do the same thing at Best Buy for customers that wish to avail of the service, because the laptops and PCs we are given to sell no longer ship in most cases with the recovery media, aside from a HDD partition. Not everyone knows how to or is motivated enough to create the discs when they get home. In addition, we're pretty tight with Microsoft. As in, I see a microsoft rep every 2 weeks. And we are enrolled in their online eLearning program. They ship me free copies of stuff every once in a while for keeping up on those materials. They know whats going on. So perhaps something more is going on in the comet case.

    As I understand it, the issue with Comet was that they were charging a premium price for the discs and not creating them for the customer at the time of the sale. I can understand why Microsoft would be cheesed off in that case. (I also wish Microsoft would make it a requirement for OEM licencees to provide reliable optical media for reinstallation, rather than allowing the use of recovery partitions, etc).


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    #6
    odonnellcarey
    Registered Users Posts: 176 ✭✭odonnellcarey


    You can get a genuine copy of Windows 7 from Software for Students for €45.45 if there's a student (Primary, Secondary or Third Level) in the family.


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    #7
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 82,256 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    Fysh wrote: »
    As I understand it, the issue with Comet was that they were charging a premium price for the discs and not creating them for the customer at the time of the sale. I can understand why Microsoft would be cheesed off in that case. (I also wish Microsoft would make it a requirement for OEM licencees to provide reliable optical media for reinstallation, rather than allowing the use of recovery partitions, etc).
    ...thats what we do. Customers have the option to buy the laptop "as is". We offer the service for a fee.

    The only differentiator would be if they premade discs for all their laptops and added the labor charge onto all of their laptops, without buyer consent. We preload a certain % of stock to speed sales along but if thats all we have and the customer doesnt want the service, they aren't charged.


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    #8
    Fysh
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Regional Abroad Moderators Posts: 11,033 Mod ✭✭✭✭Fysh


    Overheal wrote: »
    ...thats what we do. Customers have the option to buy the laptop "as is". We offer the service for a fee.

    The only differentiator would be if they premade discs for all their laptops and added the labor charge onto all of their laptops, without buyer consent. We preload a certain % of stock to speed sales along but if thats all we have and the customer doesnt want the service, they aren't charged.

    Well, the first issue is that Comet were charging £15 a go. Had they been charging the cost of a single decent-quality optical disc (ie ~£3-5) I doubt this would be an issue. I've also read allegations on several sites (though none with verifiable sources, so take this with a pinch of salt) that Comet may have been selling the discs by themselves as well as with computers, which is a big no-no in copyright terms.


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    #9
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 82,256 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    That makes more sense: we do not offer post-sale discs. We do charge for the labor ($60 by itself or $30 as part of a normal PC Setup) but we do not allow customers to come in and buy the discs "off the shelf" or anything. What they are getting is in most cases a multi-disc factory image of their specific hard drive: one set of discs for one PC wont necessarily work on the other. We don't issue copies of the Windows installation media, essentially.


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    #10
    col.in.Cr
    Closed Accounts Posts: 511 ✭✭✭col.in.Cr


    odonnellcarey wrote: »
    You can get a genuine copy of Windows 7 from Software for Students for €45.45 if there's a student (Primary, Secondary or Third Level) in the family.

    Does this work for clean install? or is a a previous windows needed?
    cheers


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    #11
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 82,256 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    col.in.Cr wrote: »
    Does this work for clean install? or is a a previous windows needed?
    cheers
    Microsofts authentication servers will try to match a previous license tied to a specific computer to the upgrade. So you can do a clean install, yes, because the previous version will have "phoned-in" and put 2+2 together. But, if you try to use an upgrade license on a PC which never had a previous windows license on it to begin with, that's not going to fly.


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