Windows 7 Professional source

You have tried telephone activation?

I had a similar problem albeit with a single item. In the end I sent all the details and the disk etc. to Microsoft with a grovelling letter. They sent me a genuine item. No guarantee that it will work but the cost of trying is low.

.. no - I'll try that

Andrew

Update: telephone registration results ultimately in message 'you may be the victim of software piracy' - I'm now dead sure I am :(

Andrew

FWIW three years ago I bought a Windows 7 Pro which came with a key but no proper COA. I got all my money back from the (Chinese, as it turned out) supplier with a MasterCard chargeback.

My enquiries at that time indicated that unless you buy from an authorised Microsoft dealer, it's most probably a fake. And even if it works when you install it, it could get blocked later.

Depends on what you call a decent price... I can get them, but they are still silly money. (about 109 inc VAT ex delivery). That is from a MS Gold certified partner supplier.

Did you get as far as a person to try and blag a new license?

No they don't give you the option :(

Andrew

Makes you appreciate the "bargain price" of the downloads just after a new OS launches. I have in the past bought several copies of both W7 and W8 at about £25 per licence just after launch. At that sort of discount its worth buying a couple "just in case". (Esp as I invariably get invited to repair or upgrade the computers of several friends/relatives) I will certainly be on the lookout for a similar offer when W9 launches.

Do you need the Pro version? What extra does it offer?

Indeed, I bought two W7s for £40 each and W8 for £29 (glad I didn't buy two of that madness.

Some technical differences, and a few licensing ones. Only Pro can join a domain. Various utilities are missing from the others like the group policy editor. The number of concurrent service processes licensed is lower etc

Only Pro can run Services for Unix. :o(

Stuff you wouldn't want to do without :-)

Buy a student copy