would my windows stay activated in this setup or do i need to buy new?

Hey all. My rig came with windows 7 installed, with media and driver disks. Then i upgraded to windows 10, then clean installed windows over the upgrade for a fresh start, obviously my copy activated again because its the same computer and components.I want to use the windows 7 media that came with my computer to install windows 7 on a second SSD solely for my audio production work because everything works better in windows 7 for those specific tasks.My question is, would windows 7 get activated fine on this new second SSD when booting into it since all the computer components are the same obviously?would my windows 10 installation on the first drive get un-activated after booting into windows 7 on the second drive? I know technically windows can only be installed on one computer but technically it is still one computer just on a different hard drive within the same computer.TL/DR: my end goal is to have windows 10 on one SSD for gaming/video editing/everyday stuff and then Windows 7 for audio engineering work on the second SSD.

SoFine409 said:

Hi kofman13 and welcome to the forum. I believe that what you propose to do is a violation of your user agreement. By installing Win10 you gave up your Win7 license. I doubt that Win7 would activate. You could buy a Win7 license and activate it with that. That is what I did.

thanks for the clarification. i started looking into buying windows 7, only to find some on eBay. this seems like a super popular listing Microsoft Windows 7 Professional - 64 or 32 Bit Full Version Upgrade SP1 Pro
But its a bit confusing when you go to full product description it says something about how they have to ship it with the hard drive that it was installed on originally,
"To be in accordance with Microsoft licensing for OEM or Reinstall Software - OEM, bundled, or recovery software may be listed only if it is included along with the original hardware, such as the motherboard, hard drive, or computer sold with the OEM software. You are purchasing this software which is bundled with an untested original hard drive. We do not warranty untested hardware. "
like they are going to send a dvd with a product key with an old hard drive as well? and then they talk about some :
"Automated Phone Activation May Be Required for OEM Software Instructions Follow:"

cereberus said:

I am afraid Sofine409 is completely wrong. Your windows 7 licence always remain valid. You have the right to use Windows 10 OR Windows 7 at the same time, but not both at same time (eg installing windows 7 in a vm with 10 on host upgraded from same 7 licence is not permitted).

You can reinstall windows 7 on same pc at any time on any drive and it will activate. It is strictly violating the EULA having Windows 7 and Windows 10 upgraded from same licence on same pc, but in reality it works and you can only use one of them at any one.

What is clearly illegal is to upgrade to 10 on one pc and install 7 on a second pc and you could then use two installs at the same time but with only one valid licence.

i see... well in case i want to play it safe ( i cant risk my windows 10 install boot drive to get deactivated in case windows detects im going back and forth between drives/versions every other day), and i did want to buy windows 7, could you comment on that part about that ebay listing i mentioned in the post you quoted? appreciate it!

That ebay listing is a previously used OEM version of Windows 7. Someone else has already activated it before.

NavyLCDR said:

That ebay listing is a previously used OEM version of Windows 7. Someone else has already activated it before.

so its a scam? or thats why the listing says you have to call and re activate or something?

is there any place to buy a legit brand new product key for 7?

kofman13 said:

so its a scam? or thats why the listing says you have to call and re activate or something?

is there any place to buy a legit brand new product key for 7?

I find it interesting that you asked the question, @cereberus gave you the correct answer. If you weren't going to accept that answer, then why not just ask the question, "Where can I purchase a legitimate Windows 7?"

And if you really want to get right down to it - it violates the EULA (End Users License Agreement) to use a System Builder's (OEM) edition of Windows 10 or Windows 7 that you purchase separately for your own home use. The EULA only allows you to pre-install it on a computer that you are going to deliver to the end user. So if you aren't going to follow @cereberus' post, and you want to be absolutely 100% legal and in compliance with all Microsoft EULA's then you need to purchase a full retail verson of Windows and to do that you are looking at purchasing Windows 10, not Windows 7. Then you would be running Windows 10 under the purchased license, and running Windows 7 under your existing license.

Device Partner Center

If you are building a system for your personal use or installing an additional operating system in a virtual machine, you will need to purchase a full version of Windows 10, available in FPP. Windows 10, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7 system builder software does not permit personal use, and is intended only for preinstallation on customer systems that will be sold to end users.

NavyLCDR said:

I find it interesting that you asked the question, @cereberus gave you the correct answer. If you weren't going to accept that answer, then why not just ask the question, "Where can I purchase a legitimate Windows 7?"

And if you really want to get right down to it - it violates the EULA (End Users License Agreement) to use a System Builder's (OEM) edition of Windows 10 or Windows 7 that you purchase separately for your own home use. The EULA only allows you to pre-install it on a computer that you are going to deliver to the end user. So if you aren't going to follow @cereberus' post, and you want to be absolutely 100% legal and in compliance with all Microsoft EULA's then you need to purchase a full retail verson of Windows and to do that you are looking at purchasing Windows 10, not Windows 7. Then you would be running Windows 10 under the purchased license, and running Windows 7 under your existing license.

Device Partner Center

gotcha, so if i buy a non OEM windows 10 version, i can install 10 on one drive and 7 on the other like i wanted in OP and it would be fine?

kofman13 said:

gotcha, so if i buy a non OEM windows 10 version, i can install 10 on one drive and 7 on the other like i wanted in OP and it would be fine?

Yes.

But as @cereberus posted, nothing happens to the Windows 7 license (product key) when it is upgraded to Windows 10. And the Windows 10 upgrade from a Windows 7 is no longer tied to the Windows 7 license (product key). After an upgrade the Windows 7 product key is stored in the registry, but it isn't used for validating Windows 10 activation. If you clean install Windows 10 on that same computer, there is no longer any trace of the Windows 7 product key.

As @cereberus posted, you can switch between Windows 7 and Windows 10 on the same computer as much as you want to and the activation of one does not affect the activation of the other. However, you only have 1 license for Windows and the EULA only allows for one instance of the software to be installed and activated at a time on the computer.

An example of "dual booting" OEM Windows that 100% complies with the EULA:
1. SSD #1 has the original install of Windows 7 on it. Upgrade that to Windows 10.

2. Remove SSD #1 from the computer. Install SSD #2. Reinstall the original Windows 7 onto it.

3. You can now physically connect either SSD #1 and run Windows 10 or physically connect SSD #2 and run Windows 7. They both will stay activated and won't interfere with other. It would just violate the EULA to have them both connected (installed) at the same time and dual booting. Although if they were connected at the same time and dual booting, Microsoft cannot detect the difference in doing that and just connecting one SSD at a time.

4. Several members of this forum will argue that having them both connected at the same time does not violate the EULA because you are actually "using" only 1 OS at a time on the same computer - but the EULA uses the word "install", not use. There are members here who have dual booted the original Windows 7 and the Windows 10 resulting in an upgrade from the same Windows 7 ever since Windows 10 was first released. Then add dual or triple booting an insider's build of Windows 10 based on the same single license from the original Windows 7, which members here have also done for years.