Windows 7 licensing on new computers

[meastaugh1]

Just wondering the best way to go about licensing Windows 7, particularly in respect of the activation process/requirement.

 

I intend to use Windows 7 Professional, so I guess my options are to a) buy Windows 7 Pro OEM, or b) buy Windows 7 Home Premium OEM and then upgrade to Windows 7 Pro with volume licensing.

 

We have a Select Plus agreement, no School Agreement. I obviously want to avoid individually activating OEM copies, am I right to assume that I could only use KMS if I went with option B?

[linkazoid]

We were able to purchase 5 Licenses for Win 7 Pro and requested that we were sent a MAK, so that if/when we do decide to deploy it out we dont have multiple keys.

 

We got ours from Ramesys - £30.24 each.

 

Michael

[teejay]

Just wondering the best way to go about licensing Windows 7, particularly in respect of the activation process/requirement.

 

I intend to use Windows 7 Professional, so I guess my options are to a) buy Windows 7 Pro OEM, or b) buy Windows 7 Home Premium OEM and then upgrade to Windows 7 Pro with volume licensing.

 

We have a Select Plus agreement, no School Agreement. I obviously want to avoid individually activating OEM copies, am I right to assume that I could only use KMS if I went with option B?

 

KMS needs a volume licence.

OEM licences are valid with new hardware only.

[meastaugh1]

Thanks for your prompt replies.

We were able to purchase 5 Licenses for Win 7 Pro and requested that we were sent a MAK, so that if/when we do decide to deploy it out we dont have multiple keys.

 

We got ours from Ramesys - £30.24 each.

 

Michael

 

I usually purchase from Ramesys too. I wanted to avoid having to enter keys at all, would KMS let me activate clients silently/transparently? I'd intend to use WDS to deploy a sysprep'd image.

 

Could a MAK key be entered into the image then deployed, or would it need to be entered post-deployment?

 

KMS needs a volume licence.

Select Plus is a volume licence.

OEM licences are valid with new hardware only.

Yes, this is a query about new hardware, as per the title.

[DMcCoy]

Thanks for your prompt replies.

 

 

I usually purchase from Ramesys too. I wanted to avoid having to enter keys at all, would KMS let me activate clients silently/transparently? I'd intend to use WDS to deploy a sysprep'd image.

 

Could a MAK key be entered into the image then deployed, or would it need to be entered post-deployment?

 

Yes, it just won't work after sysprep. KMS would be the best solution, you will need 25 machines installed before the key is able to activate anything, and after sysprep you can have as little as 3 days to activate. MAK keys get used up every time you use them so are not really suitable for clients that get imaged often.

 

You may be able to enter the MAK key as part of sysprep but I haven't tried it.

[linkazoid]

AFAIK KMS works how you describe it. But with a MAK you should be able to deploy an image with it and it should be registered and activated.

 

Michael

[teejay]

 

Yes, this is a query about new hardware, as per the title.

 

Sorry, not enough coffee this morning!

[apeo]

You may find this document useful.

Volume_Activation_2.0_MAK_KMS_Key.doc

[meastaugh1]

Ok, so 7 Home OEM upgrade to 7 Pro upgrade to obtain KMS it is then.

Thanks all for your input.

 

You may find this document useful.

Thanks, I'll have a read.