what happens to the Win 7 license after I upgrade to Win 8

broiyan

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I purchased a Windows 7 laptop in 2012 (Windows 7 Home Premium "for distribution only with a new Samsung") and it has since been upgraded to Windows 8 and then later upgraded to Windows 8.1. The Windows is actually hosted on Virtual Box inside Ubuntu.

I have a desktop computer from 2013 which I want to convert from Ubuntu to Windows. Do I need to purchase a new Windows license or can I use the Windows 7 from the laptop?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
That license was only for the machine it was shipped on. You need a new one if installing on a different machine.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
You can probably run the vBox version under Ubuntu on the desktop. But for a native installation you need a new license.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
You can probably run the vBox version under Ubuntu on the desktop. But for a native installation you need a new license.

Guess I'm too goody two-shoes. I have an old retail 7 key I use for my virtual machine, never used an old OEM key although I have several. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
If the OEM key works under vBox or VMware on one system, then it should also work on another system running under vBox or VMware. I also use retail keys, but the OP said that the OEM key system worked under vBox which was news to me too.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
did you buy the full version of win8 .or did you buy into the cheap upgrade offer form Microsoft ,and install win8 as a update to win7 .
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win8.1.1 enterprise
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Hinze57
    CPU
    AMD FX 6100 6core 3.30gHz
    Motherboard
    gigibyte ga-78lmy-s2p
    Memory
    4gig ddr3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radon hd5000 Series
    Sound Card
    onboard realtek hd
    Monitor(s) Displays
    19" viewsonic/ 22"Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    128gig ssd Kingston
    80gig WD 10000 rpm spinner
    Case
    micro
    Keyboard
    microsoft curve 200
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless M215
    Internet Speed
    high speed 20
    Browser
    ie 11
    Antivirus
    windows defender
    Other Info
    updated enterprise apr 2/14
whs, I might have had to call the Windows licensing phone number in order to get the Samsung Windows 7 license key to work inside Virtual Box. Windows 8 came with a different key and no phone call was necessary.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
whs, I might have had to call the Windows licensing phone number in order to get the Samsung license key to work inside Virtual Box.

My understanding is that the OEM license is valid only when running directly on the hardware it is registered to, and VirtualBox doesn't count because the license has no way of telling what the hardware it is running on. There wouldn't be any way of making it work, short of having the license work on ANY hardware.
 
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Tansformer Book Flip TP500LN
    CPU
    Intel i5-4210U
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GT 840M
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" Touchscreen
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    1TB Hybrid
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000
FuturDreamz, yet, it does work and the license center allowed it (if in fact, I had to call them). If I did not have to call them on that particular occasion, then even better.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
whs, I might have had to call the Windows licensing phone number in order to get the Samsung license key to work inside Virtual Box.

My understanding is that the license is valid only when running directly on the hardware it is registered to, and VirtualBox doesn't count because the license has no way of telling what the hardware it is running on. There wouldn't be any way of making it work, short of having the license work on ANY hardware.

That is not so. A retail license can very well be installed in vBox or VMware. I am running 8/8.1 in VMware Player since the day I bought it. And I can run it on any system that has VMware installed.
OEM licenses should also work if they are first installed in virtual. But transferring them from a physical system to a virtual system is another story.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
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