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Windows 7 Dell branded OS...

S

silicon

Senior member
I like windows 7 a lot and probably will use it on my next computer build. In shopping around I see some online stores sell what are new windows 7 cd's that are dell branded. They claim they work just fine for any computer...just wondering who may have experience wit this? thx, silicon
 
People are trying to make money from nothing, selling their Windows 7 discs and claiming that the licences haven't been used before / still being used / etc. IMO, avoid them, unless you like the possibility of having to buy another copy of Windows when your copy is branded as pirated by MS (or put up with the branding and black background).

What really gets my goat about this is that these sellers tend to sell the licences at the same price as a legitimate copy goes for.
 
mikeymikec said:
People are trying to make money from nothing, selling their Windows 7 discs and claiming that the licences haven't been used before / still being used / etc. IMO, avoid them, unless you like the possibility of having to buy another copy of Windows when your copy is branded as pirated by MS (or put up with the branding and black background).

What really gets my goat about this is that these sellers tend to sell the licences at the same price as a legitimate copy goes for.
Click to expand...

they calaim they come with new and unsed licenses....these are computer stores that sell it and not like on ebay. But you think it is a ripoff?
 
Could or could not be a rip off. Might not if it is from a PC retailer.
Windows 7 DVDs are not brand or system specific. Only the Product Key is. And that doesn't mean that a Dell Key wont work on a HP PC either. But a Windows 7 PC should have a Key built into the BIOSs SLIC.
 
But you think it is a ripoff?
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Absolutely.

I could understand some* trade in say Win7 licences around say 2009, when many businesses might have been buying new workstations but wanted to run XP on them (for the sake of having all the workstations on the same OS, less complication wrt support), but these days?

I've bought such licences on two occasions that I can think of. The first was an XP licence a good few years ago for a customer, shortly after XP stopped being sold by MS and disappeared from shops in general. I was sent through the XP little booklet that comes with a licence, then an e-mail arrived saying "here, try this code", then when that one didn't work, "try this one then". Blatant rip-off.

The second occasion was buying through Amazon (I can't remember if it was third party Amazon seller, I've since stopped buying from them because I've had more iffy experiences than good ones), the Win7 licence arrived and the sticker had obviously been removed then amateurishly stuck back on to the DVD case. Pull the other one, seriously.

* - "some" - big enough businesses would have just requested XP licences in the first place in all likelihood.

I can still buy legitimate Win7 licences for the full, normal price that are still in the OEM envelopes that MS distributes them in (at least they do in the UK), why on earth would I buy one for full price that isn't distributed in the normal way? On the flipside, if they're cheaper (say £20) than the normal OEM copy, then why are they so much cheaper when MS evidently sells them for a specific price? Obvious answer, they're not unused copies.
 
In a Windows 7 PC BIOS there is a SLIC: Software LICensing description table.
If you are building a PC from scratch, with a third party (not manufacturer) mobo, the mobo may or may not have it. Therefore any key will do.

*The SLIC is basiclly a built in key for a specific version of Windows.

**If your mobo doesn't have a built in SLIC, it may get branded in Windows as a Dell. Just logos and such.

***It is not necessarily a ripoff. I used to build custom computers and could get those same discs from a walk-in PC & parts retailer. I never had a problem. Just make sure that you can trust them.
 
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@ Skaendo

Are you sure you're not mixing Win7 and Win8x up here? If what you're saying is the case for Win7, then surely I wouldn't have had to ring MS umpteen times to activate big-name OEM product keys on the big-name OEM kit that they were stuck to after doing a clean install?
 
I have built computers since Win ME that way.
You just must have happened to buy it from a scammer and not a retailer.
 
Skaendo said:
I have built computers since Win ME that way.
You just must have happened to buy it from a scammer and not a retailer.
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I'm confused; what are you replying to here? I think you're mixing up two of the points I'm making that aren't related to each other.
 
mikeymikec said:
I'm confused; what are you replying to here? I think you're mixing up two of the points I'm making that aren't related to each other.
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I must not know what you are referring to.

*I have 2 Dell laptops, 1 Dell Desktop and 1 HP desktop that came preloaded with Vista and they have SLIC in the BIOS.
I can use any Vista install DVD and never have to put in a key.
 
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The product key printed on the Certificate of Authenticity affixed to an OEM assembled is sometimes said to suffice, but this is not necessarily the case. On February 28,2005 (and again for later Windows releases) Microsoft attempted to reduce software piracy by invalidating those keys for normal activation, but this does not apply to SLP.
 
I have an Alienware and a DELL branded Windows 7 DVD. These DVDs will not even ask you for a product key during installation as they will simply be activated out of the box provided your laptop is a DELL or Alienware since it will have the correct SLIC certificate in the BIOS. Thus, they are useless on another brand of computer.
 
berryracer said:
I have an Alienware and a DELL branded Windows 7 DVD. These DVDs will not even ask you for a product key during installation as they will simply be activated out of the box provided your laptop is a DELL or Alienware since it will have the correct SLIC certificate in the BIOS. Thus, they are useless on another brand of computer.
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I have used my HP Vista DVD to install Windows on my Dell desktop recently (because Dell wouldn't let me upgrade the BIOS without having Vista on it for whatever reason) and I never had to put in a key. I checked to see if Windows was registered, because I thought there would be a issue since it was a HP disc, but it was completely registered.
 
berryracer said:
I have an Alienware and a DELL branded Windows 7 DVD. These DVDs will not even ask you for a product key during installation as they will simply be activated out of the box provided your laptop is a DELL or Alienware since it will have the correct SLIC certificate in the BIOS. Thus, they are useless on another brand of computer.
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You can definitely use them on any other computer, as long as you have a valid new OEM license key that you can use to activate the installation.
 
Fardringle said:
You can definitely use them on any other computer, as long as you have a valid new OEM license key that you can use to activate the installation.
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Exactly. Carry a Dell branded Win7 Pro disc myself. For re-installs on Dell's, HP's, or any other major manufacturer, just install Windows with no worry of activation. Anything else, after the install go to activate online, choose enter a new product key, enter the key on the sticker and all is fine and dandy.
 
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