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Doing Win 7 upgrade clean install and how many licenses?

I

Informant X

Senior member
Okay so I've been digging around online trying to gather information. I have to get a Windows 7, will get home premium as it has all I need and Windows Media Center. I have 2 64bit PC's that I need to install this on. So I was originally going to get the Retail copy. After reading though I'm seeing that there are legal ways to phreak the upgrade to make it do a clean install. See below.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9139837/Windows_7_install_trick_saves_up_to_100

So I now am leaning toward just getting the upgrade version of windows 7. However here is my question. How many pc's can simeltaneously use the cd key? Is it one? Or 3? The reason I ask this is because retail versions of OS's allow installs on up to 3 pc's. OEM allows for only one PC. So which line of thought does an upgrade fall under. Can you upgrade/clean install only 1 PC? Or does the license allow you to do 3?
 
1 PC. I'd check the EULA on the retail copies of Windows (any version); I don't ever remember XP, Vista, or now 7 granting one license to cover three machines. MS does that for Office, but not windows. 1 license, 1 seat.
 
No freaking way. I thought that was the difference between OEM and Retail. Was that OEM could only be installed on 1 PC and had no support where as Retail could be installed on up to 3 PC's and had support?
 
OEM installs only on the OEM machine. Retail installs on any machine. In either case, 1 machine = 1 license.
 
Retail is also supported By Microsoft, OEM is Not.

It might be that for Enthusiasts (member of these forums) the support is Not a big feature but fir the thousands that call Microsoft every day it is.

In case One does know. Support is a very expensive component in a good vendor's budget.

.
 
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@Blazer Yes, OEM can be installed onto any supported hardware, but the license is locked to that machine once it's installed. Technically, if you change the motherboard, it's not the same machine and the license doesn't carry over to the new one.

Of course, a simple call to MS will get it reactivated, but technically, this is how OEM is treated in the EULA.
 
Except for special subscription programs (not OEM and not Retail), Microsoft operating system licenses have always been for a single computer. The only exception I can think of is the Windows 7 Home Premium Family Pack, which allows Activation on three PCs. That Pack is no longer made.
 
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