Question regarding Windows 7 Installations

[1Wolf]

Probably a simple question here...just about windows licensing and installations...

If I buy an OEM copy of Windows 7 for a new build, I understand that the installation is just for that build and that Windows will check for hardware changes to determine if it is installed in the proper computer.

What if I need to install multiple instances of Windows 7 in VM's and/or multiple installs of Windows 7 for a multi-boot/multi-drive scenario?

For example...what if my "main" operating system is Windows 7...but then I need to install a separate install of windows 7 on another drive dual-boot....and then...lets say I need to configure one or more VM's with Windows 7?

Do I have to purchase a separate copy for each time it is installed on the same machine? Or...because all of the VM's or multi-boot/multi-drive installs are on the same machine...will just one copy be fine?

If there is a limitation....does a retail copy have the same limitation versus an OEM builder's install?

Thanks!

 

[bigdogchris]

They are all separate licenses. The main difference between Retail and OEM is that Retail can legally be transferred. In your scenario, the VM is considered a separate machine.

If you need a Microsoft VM and do not want to buy additional licenses, you can look into getting 7 Professional which comes with a free XP Pro SP3 VM license. Info

 

[1Wolf]

Thanks bigdogchris.

Hopefully I can trouble you for a bit of clarification and maybe an example.

So...Lets say for example....

I'm going to have one complete installation of Windows 7 on one drive for home/entertainment/etc stuff...and a second complete installation of Windows 7 on one drive for work stuff. So thats two complete installations of windows 7 on the same computer so far.

Then...let say I also plan on running 3 Windows 7 VM's.

Thats a total of 5 windows 7 installations. Does that mean I'll need 5 copies of Windows 7 (one for each installation)?

 

[bigdogchris]

Thanks bigdogchris.

Hopefully I can trouble you for a bit of clarification and maybe an example.

So...Lets say for example....

I'm going to have one complete installation of Windows 7 on one drive for home/entertainment/etc stuff...and a second complete installation of Windows 7 on one drive for work stuff. So thats two complete installations of windows 7 on the same computer so far.

Then...let say I also plan on running 3 Windows 7 VM's.

Thats a total of 5 windows 7 installations. Does that mean I'll need 5 copies of Windows 7 (one for each installation)?

For the VM's, yes, they are unique machines which require their own license. For the separate hard drives, I wish I could give you a clear answer but I don't know the answer to that. I would think that they would be considered separate licenses, but I can't say for certainty. In the Windows 7 EULA

2. INSTALLATION AND USE RIGHTS.
a. One Copy per Computer. You may install one copy of the software on one computer. That computer is the "licensed computer."

That tells me you can install 1 copy on 1 computer. Having two hard drives with the same license would be installing 2 copies on 1 computer.