Change Win7 Serial Key?

kbaer89

Weaksauce
Joined
Dec 28, 2009
Messages
78
Has anyone tried changing the serial key after Win7 is installed?

I was dumb and purchased a key off of eBay. Of course it was fake and now I need to change the key.

I have a valid key but when I type it in, it comes up as invalid.


Thanks for your help.
 
You should be able to click the link to change the key, and if it is valid, it should be accepted. If it isn't, I'd be calling Microsoft and/or the vendor I bought it from.
 
Are you sure that you have a key that matches the install type and version of Win7 you are running?
 
Ah, I forgot about that. If you are running Home Premium, and are typing in a Professional key, it won't accept it. You'd have to do the Anytime Upgrade for that process. If you purchased a lower version than what you have installed, you might be looking at reinstalling. I'm not sure if you can downgrade on the fly.
 
I'm not sure if you can downgrade on the fly.

you can't

OP if you can't change the key via windows activation, then either your key is invalid (or already activated) or does not match the windows version. BTW it doesn't matter if its 32/64bits version.
 
There is a way to downgrade on the fly. I downgraded an illegal copy of Ultimate to a legal copy of Pro just the other day. There is one registry key that is the OS Identifier. Change that key to exactly what you are wanting to install and put the disk in and do upgrade. I forget what key it was, but if you google it, you will find it. It took me an hour or so to find the right link, but it is out there.

Fish:cool:

Found the link if anyone needs it.

http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/...ate-or-professional-to-less-premium-editions/
 
Both keys are for home prem. I know the key that I'm trying to switch to is valid.

Do I have to edit something in the registry to make it work?

Kb
 
The only way that it won't work is if the key doesn't match the the edition you are installing. If you do have a legit key, and you know it's legit, give Microsoft a call. They will help you... unless you're using someone elses technet key?
 
Check to make sure the key matches the type: OEM, retail, volume license, MSDN.
 
Check to make sure the key matches the type: OEM, retail, volume license, MSDN.
That isn't much of a concern anymore, especially once the OS is installed. The only issue is if it was Enterprise, and needed access to the KMS server.
 
Both keys are for home prem. I know the key that I'm trying to switch to is valid.

Do I have to edit something in the registry to make it work?

Kb

type in the new key and activate by phone, also where did you get the new key? some keys are valid keys but can't be activated, I have a few friends with hp machines that have windows keys on the side of the pc but if you try to activate the pc with the key on the side of the pc it won't let you activate it even over the phone, basically hp doesn't want you ever to format the pc you got to use their recovery software, I don't know if it is different with other oem pc's but all the hp's i have used with windows 7/vista are like this, maybe its just the cheap ones?

but anyways where did you get this key?
 
If they are both Home Premium but it still won't accept the code I'm with Standpoint. One is probably OEM and the other is Retail. Press the windows key & the pause/break key and have a look at the Product ID: on that page. See if it's xxxxx-OEM-xxxxxxx-xxxxx or not. Once you know what is installed compare it to what you bought and go from there.
 
I don't think OEM vs Retail matters anymore. I think the concern is going to be VLM vs OEM/RETAIL vs Technet vs MSDN.
 
TechNet license are retail, and I believe MSDN are as well. The terms of usage are based on your agreements with the subscription, but the licenses themselves act as retail. You can also use a VLM, aka MAK, key with regular media as well as OEM keys. I have a 50 MAK key for work, many TechNet keys for myself, and family with OEM keys from various laptops, and I've used my TechNet media to install and activate all of them.
 
Open cmd prompt in windows 7 and type in this : slmgr -ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX (where XXX is your product key) and press enter.If done correctly,you'll get confirmation that your key has been sucessfully installed. If it does'nt work-as other have mentioned,you need to make sure keys match the version of windows you're trying to install. There are programs that will tell you based on your product key ,what version of windows they are compatiable with. :)
 
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