win 7 installation and product keys.

Lum

goneracing wrote: »

The few that still appear to be selling Win 7 offer full retail or "OEM install for builders" with a fair price difference so what exactly is the difference?

The difference is the licence terms. Full retail you get the right to use one copy of the product and can put it on any PC you like.

OEM you get the right to install it on one PC and it's tied to that PC for life, you can't transfer it to another PC later.

However that clause is widely believed to be illegal and unenforcible in Europe. You can run into problems with activation later down the line but they (probably) can't legally stop you doing it.

waddler_8

goneracing wrote: »

Can I buy just the Key without having to get the disks?

A well known auction site have plenty but I don’t want to risk another dodgy install and ending up in the same situation in time to come.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/howtotell/Shop.aspx#ProductKeySold

With the exception of Product Key Cards (PKC’s) distributed with COA’s, product keys are never sold separately by Microsoft. If you see a listing on an auction site, online classified ad, or other online page advertising product keys for sale, it’s a good indication that the keys are likely stolen or counterfeit.