***SOLVED***Problem with Windows 7 activation

[Eudoxus]

I bought a retail Windows 7 copy as a soon at it was released and installed it on my T61. Some days ago I bought an X61s and installed Win 7 using the same disc (the only difference was that it was 32-bit version this time) and reinstalled stock Vista on my T61. Now the problem is that I can't activate Windows 7 on my X61s as it says that I can't use that key for activation. Is there a way to solve this problem or I should call Microsoft?

[diaz1023]

you are most likely going to need to call MS, you can only activate one version either 64 or 32bit on a machine and you already used the key when you activated the t61

[GomJabbar]

You need to either buy another copy of Windows 7 or else remove Windows 7 from the T61 before you can install your present copy of Windows 7 on the X61s.

[Eudoxus]

I know that I cannot run one Windows copy on two machines. I just wanted to use Windows 7 on my new X61s and go back to Vista on T61. I have already removed Windows 7 from t61. Do you think that I should reinstall Windows 7 on X61s and try to activate it again? I wonder, how MS could possibly get to know that there is no Win 7 on my T61 anymore?

[GomJabbar]

You'll probably have to call Microsoft to get it activated. I don't know, but Windows Update may determine that you are running two copies of Windows from one product key.

[tinue]

I wonder, how MS could possibly get to know that there is no Win 7 on my T61 anymore?

They know by you telling them. As far as I know, all they do electronically is count the number of activations you did on a particular product key. After a certain amount of activations have been done, you can no longer activate via the internet, you have to activate via the phone. There, a human person may come online (otherwise it is all recorded messages and you pressing phone buttons) and ask you about why you need to reactivate.

If you are not offered the choice of phone activation, then something else is wrong with your system: For example the key might not match the version you are installing (e.g. a key for Home Premium, but you installing Ultimate).

What is the exact error message?

Regards, Martin

[Eudoxus]

It offers either to buy a new product key or to activate it through phone. So it seems that I have to call MS after all. Never have done this before.

[diaz1023]

Give them a call, they will be able to help you with that, just tell them that you problems with the first install, the harddrive crashed or something, and that you are reinstalling the os on a different machine. You said you already have vista back on the Txx machine so you are not actually breaking the EULA.

[Eudoxus]

Thanks for replies!
There were some says when actually I run both systems running the same win 7 copy. I just wanted to make the transition from one machine to another smooth and was a bit lazy to reinstall Vista.

[Eudoxus]

Seems that everything is OK now. I called MS and activated through automated product activation.

[visionviper]

Seems that everything is OK now. I called MS and activated through automated product activation.

This is how I got my Windows 7 copy activated on both my desktop and laptop. Now my license may be different (I got mine through MSDNAA), all I had to do was call the automated activation service. It asked me how many computers that copy had been installed on (1, my desktop) and then it gave me the activation info.