W7 download

[Squawk7777]

Against all odds I have decided to upgrade my old VAIO. Part of the upgrade includes dumping Vista (no worries I hadn't used the VAIO that much) and use W7 as the OS. While "googleing" for the cheapest 64 bit version, I noticed really good deals on ebay W7 for $45 or so. Download only with activation key. First I thought it was fraud (still not really convinced) but there are quite a few offers from established sellers with good feedback. Has anybody got a clue if this is legal and whether your OS is a legal copy?

Thanks!

7 7 7 7

[Saab Dastard]

If you are buying an OEM licence then it's not legal, as they are only supposed to be sold with a new PC from a system builder.

Some sellers try to sell some hardware - MOBO, RAM or HDD - with the software, but this still doesn't make it legit.

If it is branded - e.g. Dell or HP - then it is OEM and therefore not legal.

You need to purchase a full retail copy, unless you (or a family member) qualify for an educational or other discount version.

Alternatively, you can buy an Upgrade version if you have a legitimate qualifying OS currently installed.

Any PC that was purchased with Windows XP or Vista pre-installed (look for the sticker on the side) is qualified. This is true whether the PC came from a large royalty OEM or a system builder. You can install a retail upgrade of Windows 7 on that PC. You cannot, however, use the OEM license from an old PC to upgrade a new PC without Windows installed.

Any retail full copy of Windows XP or Windows Vista can serve as the qualifying license as well. If have a full retail copy (not an OEM edition) on an old PC, you can un-install that copy from the old PC and use it as the baseline full license for the new PC.

SD

[mixture]

Pretty much what Saab said.....

Plus....

Download only with activation key

Hmm.... due to COA requirements, its unlikely OEM would be available download only due to the affix requirement (except perhaps to the large manufacturers who, I believe have the option of a BIOS level COA embed). If they're claiming to flog a retail copy at those prices I'd be even more suspect....

As for the rest.....

There is a difference between being able to buy it and being able to do so legitimately.

In the vast majority of cases, the average end-user will not qualify, as per :

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 Windows 8 software or a Microsoft retail version of Windows 8.1 software. Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 system builder software does not permit personal use, and is intended only for preinstallation on customer systems that will be sold to end users.

There is a reason OEM is so cheap, that is because of its restrictive licensing terms.

In the long term, retail copies are a better bet as the licensing terms are more generous in various areas.

As for buying software off the bay' .... well...

[Booglebox]

Build a system with an OEM license and sell it to yourself?