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Thinkpad T510: Win7 licenses, which one is correct?

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BigCatAndy
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Thinkpad T510: Win7 licenses, which one is correct?

#1 Post by BigCatAndy » Sun Jul 28, 2019 3:00 pm

Hello,

I recently bought used T510, which has 2 Win7 license stickers: one is in the battery section and it says "Windows 7 Pro OA" (Lenovo Singapore), another one is on the bottom part, it says "Win7 Pro for Refurb PCs". I tried to download Win7 ISO from Microsoft's page. I had to enter both license keys for control - first one caused error on the page, the second one was detected as a license from the refurbishing company (so I have to contact them for the recovery media). Now I have one question: can I use any of those licenses if I decide to reinstall Windows 7 using German DVD?

Thanks in advance,
Andrey
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(2) Lenovo 3000 N200 - 2 GB / C2D T7300 / 160 GB
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theterminator93
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Re: Thinkpad T510: Win7 licenses, which one is correct?

#2 Post by theterminator93 » Sun Jul 28, 2019 9:35 pm

If you get a Windows 7 recovery disk, either should work from an activation standpoint. The key on the original COA is the proof of license which is required by MS when the machine ships with an OEM flavor of the OS (Windows 8 and newer have the unique key in BIOS as the proof of license). The key itself isn't tied to any particular machine unless it's used to manually activate a new instance of Windows.

If you were to reinstall Windows using the Lenovo recovery set (I have English for this model, but no German), the SLIC code in BIOS would be used in conjunction with the OEM installed certificate to automatically and seamlessly activate Windows. All the major OEMs used a similar method to allow "their" recovery method to activate instantly on their hardware without the need to enter a unique product key.
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BigCatAndy
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Re: Thinkpad T510: Win7 licenses, which one is correct?

#3 Post by BigCatAndy » Mon Jul 29, 2019 1:43 am

Hello,
thanks for the detailed Explanation. And what About standalone Win7-DVD, not a recovery set? Can I use any of the licenses for it? Unfortunatelly, I do not have recovery set for this Laptop.
regards,
Andrey
- in use -
(1) TP R61i Frankepad - 4 GB / C2D T9500 / 180 GB SSD / UXGA display
(2) Lenovo 3000 N200 - 2 GB / C2D T7300 / 160 GB
(3) TP T450s
- in museum -
IBM 600x, IBM TP T43p, Lenovo TP Z61t, Lenovo TP X60 Tablet

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Re: Thinkpad T510: Win7 licenses, which one is correct?

#4 Post by MikalE » Mon Jul 29, 2019 5:00 am

You will likely have to activate by phone as I do using .iso's.
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BigCatAndy
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Re: Thinkpad T510: Win7 licenses, which one is correct?

#5 Post by BigCatAndy » Tue Jul 30, 2019 4:34 pm

Thanks, but not sure that I will use your hint - somehow I have massive problems to start installation of Windows 7. It simply doesn't start. But it's another topic, I suppose...
MikalE wrote:
Mon Jul 29, 2019 5:00 am
You will likely have to activate by phone as I do using .iso's.
Thanks a lot for your assistance. :-)
- in use -
(1) TP R61i Frankepad - 4 GB / C2D T9500 / 180 GB SSD / UXGA display
(2) Lenovo 3000 N200 - 2 GB / C2D T7300 / 160 GB
(3) TP T450s
- in museum -
IBM 600x, IBM TP T43p, Lenovo TP Z61t, Lenovo TP X60 Tablet

onespeedbiker
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Re: Thinkpad T510: Win7 licenses, which one is correct?

#6 Post by onespeedbiker » Sat Aug 31, 2019 11:32 am

Does your computer have the IBM oem version of windows 7? If so, there is IBM software on your computer that will make some recovery disks.

BigCatAndy
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Re: Thinkpad T510: Win7 licenses, which one is correct?

#7 Post by BigCatAndy » Sat Aug 31, 2019 5:01 pm

Hello,

original HDD was physically destroyed by the previous owner, so I cannot / could not use anything.
onespeedbiker wrote:
Sat Aug 31, 2019 11:32 am
Does your computer have the IBM oem version of windows 7? If so, there is IBM software on your computer that will make some recovery disks.
- in use -
(1) TP R61i Frankepad - 4 GB / C2D T9500 / 180 GB SSD / UXGA display
(2) Lenovo 3000 N200 - 2 GB / C2D T7300 / 160 GB
(3) TP T450s
- in museum -
IBM 600x, IBM TP T43p, Lenovo TP Z61t, Lenovo TP X60 Tablet

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