Whete to buy windows 7 key

batman1

Friend reinstalled Windows 7 but message says not genuine. I would like to get sorted so I'm assuming I need to enter a key. Where is the best place to purchase a genuine key ?

Kimbot

If he reinstalled then did he have windows 7 before hand?

me_irl

jonnycivic wrote: »

If he reinstalled then did he have windows 7 before hand?

Was thinking there should be a sticker on the device you installed it on with the key.

Or on the installation media.

batman1

I dont have the original key as I had the pc built by someone . Windows died and a few months ago a friend reinstalled and all was ok. Only recently the message pops up saying it's not genuine. Friend has since emigrated and has no access to any records. It still works but as its my son's pc I would like to get it sorted if possible. There is a link to Microsoft to purchase but it's expensive

degsie

The only legit way is to buy direct from Microsoft.

BailMeOut

interesting that activation keys are available on Amazon as does not seem like this would be legal.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Windows-7/Windows-Professional-Activation-Key-Bit/B01FDOW0YG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1487247492&sr=8-4&keywords=windows+7

Kimbot

Batman, alot of lads swear by the reddit marketplace. 20 odd euro for a License Key.

me_irl

degsie wrote: »

The only legit way is to buy direct from Microsoft.

+1.

If you want to risk the likes of resellers go ahead, but just know that it could come to bite you in the ar*e. If the new key you buy isn't genuine you have no comeback.

Depending on the system, you could just download a legit free version of Windows 10 and install that.

Be careful to backup your files / folders / bookmarks that you want to keep to an external drive or cloud storage.

https://www.howtogeek.com/186775/how-to-download-windows-7-8-and-8.1-installation-media-legally/

unkel

jonnycivic wrote: »

Batman, alot of lads swear by the reddit marketplace. 20 odd euro for a License Key.

Those might work, jonnycivic, but they are not valid / legal licenses.

@batman1 - can you still contact the person who built the PC? If so, he should be able to supply you with a license. Provided it was a genuine license to start with

When your friend reinstalled, did he wipe the system clean and did the install then? Or did he just install "over" the old installation? If the later, you should have a windows.old directory and there are some free programs available that can retrieve the original license key used. If you get that, just change the key of your new installation, type in this found key, and the installation should activate and all will be well.