- Aug 6, 2018
- 2
- 0
- 10
The situation: I'm building a new system, since my current one (which I also built) is about six years old now. I'm happy with a relatively simple build, but would like it to be able to pivot into some lightweight gaming, so I'm leaning toward one of the new Ryzen APUs (probably the Ryzen 3 2200G).
The problem I'm hitting is with the OS. I'm currently in Windows 10, since I grabbed an upgrade when it was going around a few years back. I do, however, still have a system builder license for Windows 7 from a few years back with my original build. If I recall correctly, that license permitted the key to be used on up to three different machines (non-concurrently, I believe, but I might be remembering that).
I have no problem going back to 7 for the new build, but my understanding is that the new Ryzen chips (as well as the new Intel chips?) don't support Windows 7, so I won't be able to get the OS to boot up. At the moment, I'm trying to figure out if there's any way to leverage either my existing key (I'm going decommission the current build to set up the new one) into the new machine, either by:
1) reusing my current key. Showkeyplus shows the original installed key as well as the current key (which are different), and the original key is designated as "Windows 7 HomePremium OEM:NONS". If it is OEM, does that mean the key cannot be transferred, or does the system builder license have some flexibility that an OEM license purchased with a machine does not? Also, if it's relevant, ShowKeyPlus also states, under OEM Key, "OEM key not present in firmware."
or
2) performing a clean install of 7 based on that system builder copy on a flash drive or hard disc, upgrading 7 to 10 on that flash drive or hard disc (I understand you can still do free upgrades by jumping through some hoops), and booting from that upgraded copy of 10.
or
3) somehow getting 7 to boot on one of the new mobos and running the upgrade after I get the new system set up.
or
4) I just need to pony up for a new copy of 10. FWIW, I seriously flirted with some species of Linux, but I use some software which is integral to my work and will not function in that environment yet.
The problem I'm hitting is with the OS. I'm currently in Windows 10, since I grabbed an upgrade when it was going around a few years back. I do, however, still have a system builder license for Windows 7 from a few years back with my original build. If I recall correctly, that license permitted the key to be used on up to three different machines (non-concurrently, I believe, but I might be remembering that).
I have no problem going back to 7 for the new build, but my understanding is that the new Ryzen chips (as well as the new Intel chips?) don't support Windows 7, so I won't be able to get the OS to boot up. At the moment, I'm trying to figure out if there's any way to leverage either my existing key (I'm going decommission the current build to set up the new one) into the new machine, either by:
1) reusing my current key. Showkeyplus shows the original installed key as well as the current key (which are different), and the original key is designated as "Windows 7 HomePremium OEM:NONS". If it is OEM, does that mean the key cannot be transferred, or does the system builder license have some flexibility that an OEM license purchased with a machine does not? Also, if it's relevant, ShowKeyPlus also states, under OEM Key, "OEM key not present in firmware."
or
2) performing a clean install of 7 based on that system builder copy on a flash drive or hard disc, upgrading 7 to 10 on that flash drive or hard disc (I understand you can still do free upgrades by jumping through some hoops), and booting from that upgraded copy of 10.
or
3) somehow getting 7 to boot on one of the new mobos and running the upgrade after I get the new system set up.
or
4) I just need to pony up for a new copy of 10. FWIW, I seriously flirted with some species of Linux, but I use some software which is integral to my work and will not function in that environment yet.
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