Can you install Windows (7) twice on the same computer?

[xCxStylex]

I'm running Win 7 right now, and because I work from home occasionally, I was wondering if it's possible to install Win 7 again on another partition. If wanted to be even more paranoid, I could do all my online banking stuff too.

Can I use the same cdkey by chance since the hardware is all the same? Or if I have a second cd key (which I do), can I use that?

 

[Dankk]

I don't think so. Assuming it's a single license for Windows, after it's activated once, you're not going to be able to install it again until you deactivate it. Doesn't matter if it's on a different computer or just a different partition. Two activations of the same key at once = no worky.

 

[corkyg]

Yes. I do it all the time. I installed it on my main drive - activated and fully kosher. Then I cloned that drive to a reserve or duplicate drive. Both are in the same machine, but only one runs at a time. They are in switchable racks. What this amounts to is a readily switchable backup system. I rotate the drives about every week. I have checked this with all my software vendors and it is no problem. Basically no different than backing up except it is a simple hardware switch.

I do this on two desktops and two laptops. Each machine has a reserve drive ready to go. But - only one drive is ever used at a time.

But - on a separate partition in the same drive? Don't think so. That doesn't make much sense. A drive glitch would kill both.

Here's my setup:

 

[poohbear]

do u actually have to deactivate windows 7 if u're gonna install it on a new system? (ie upgrading your mobo) how would u go about deactivating it? i thought it was done automatically once it detects the new hardware (system), u just cant have the cd key on 2 systems at once, no?

 

[corkyg]

Changing HDDs with the same OS and software in one machine does not make it two machines. What you can't do is run both at once. That gets very ugly. I actually have three of these racks in one machine, and have a hardware triple boot system - Win 7, Vista, and XP.

Upgrading the mobo is a a different matter. That would normally require de-activation and re-activation.

 

[RebateMonger]

how would u go about deactivating it?

MS has no provision for "deactivating" an installation. You stop using the installation or erase it and, especially, don't hook it to the Internet.

Having two installations on the same PC that are swapped back and forth on multiple hard drives would likely not demand re-Activation because the internal Windows Activation monitor wouldn't see a difference between the two systems (except for the hard disk VolumeID). Once a system is Activated, as far as I know, the MS Internet Activation database wouldn't examine the system any deeper than looking for identical Keys in the same narrow time period on two systems with widely-varying hardwre.

 

[corkyg]

Basically "deactivating" with MS is as RebateMonger says. It is on the honor system. Most commonly, the mobo chipset provides the key system identifier. I've never had a HDD change cause a perturbation since MS started using activation years ago.

Some software vendors do require formal deactivation, especially Adobe and Symantec.

 

[RebateMonger]

I've never had a HDD change cause a perturbation since MS started using activation years ago.

Although MS says it made Activation less likely to cause false alarms with Vista and Win7, one thing I've seen with Vista is that if I clone a Vista installation to a new hard drive I have to re-Activate. I'm pretty sure I saw this when I used Windows Home Server to move my Vista Business installation to a larger hard drive. But Vista popped up an Activation warning almost immediately. I was just moving the system to a new, larger hard drive. No other changes were made to the system.

XP would generally ignore disk VolumeID changes unless other changes were made around the same time.

 

[xCxStylex]

@ corkyg - TY sir, that's very interesting. Never knew those "EZ swap mobile racks" existed, but that's certainly a solution.

Do you mind if I ask what you use those for? Just for backup purposes so you can still work if one drive randomly dies on day?

For my purposes, I might as well just continue to use virtual XP or just dual boot XP/7 again, but I'd rather not dual boot anymore.


@Poohbear - Somehow, I understand that windows activation is tied to the MB. I've never had any issues with a vid card/HD change either.

 

[corkyg]

@ corkyg - TY sir, that's very interesting. Never knew those "EZ swap mobile racks" existed, but that's certainly a solution. Do you mind if I ask what you use those for? Just for backup purposes so you can still work if one drive randomly dies on day?

Good question. I teach Windows as a volunteer instructor and coach for what used to be SeniorNet. We have classes in all three OS's, and I need to be able to run through lessons in each.

In my personal systems, I have a duplicate reserve drive for each machine, and I rotate their use on a weekly basis,including two laptops. I find a hardware cloned drive to be a better and faster backup that needs no restoration - just change the drive. I have done this going back to Windows 3.11.