Where to get a legal copy of Windows 7

I keep hearing people saying to upgrade to Windows7 rather than keep
using XP. Supposedly W7 was the last decent version of Windows.

I thought about giving it a try. I have never used anything newer than
XP, and there is no way in hell that I'd want Win10 or even 8.x. But I
am finding that original CDs for Win7 cost more than a new installer for
Win10. I looked on Ebay and was shocked at the prices. I think it costs
more than it did when it was sold in trhe stores.

I can buy a used working computer on ebay (that will run W7) for as
little as $25 or in the $40 to $60 range is more common, but a Win7 CD
costs $125 and up. (And then they wonder why people pirate software).

I refuse to pay that much for "obsolete" software.

And yea, I know I could buy a computer with W7 pre installed on ebay,
and that is just not something I am willing to risk. I have never gotten
a virus online, but years ago, I bought a computer from ebay with XP pre
installed and found it to contain one of the most destructive viruses
ever made. Yea, I took action against the seller, got a refund and did
not have to return the computer, but that was AFTER that virus had
gotten into my own computer and done considerable damage.

So, any computers I buy on ebay get their drives wiped clean now, as
soon as they are in my hands.

Anyhow, is there any place to buy a LEGAL copy of W7 that is reasonably
priced? (Which to me means around $35 or less). And that of course would
include the registration number.

wrote

| Anyhow, is there any place to buy a LEGAL copy of W7 that is reasonably
| priced? (Which to me means around $35 or less). And that of course would
| include the registration number.
|
Not likely. $100+ is typical for OEM. Win7 is
also a hot commodity because, as you said, it's widely
regarded as the last salveageable version. There
are two basic options:

* Build a computer and pay for the OEM disk. Drawback:
Your license will be rejected on different hardware. you
might want to buy an extra motherboard and CPU if they're
not too expensive because otherwise, if you lose either,
you lose Windows.

* Buy the used computer and consider getting backup
motherboard of the same model, becausde that will also
be OEM.

Microsoft mainly does their licensing limitation
based on motherboard. So whatever computer
you have should activate as long as you keep
the same motherboard. Drawback: In most cases
with OEM the activation key is embedded in
the motherboard. so if the computer hardware
goes then you chance of keeping Windows would
depend on being able to get replacement parts from
the OEM.

Either way, it's a risk to use OEM. But the other
option is to spend about $100 more for a full license,
and with that there's no guarantee you'll be able to
get compatible hardware down the road when your
current computer goes.

On Saturday, September 8, 2018 at 4:19:59 PM UTC-5, wrote:
I keep hearing people saying to upgrade to Windows7 rather than keep
using XP. Supposedly W7 was the last decent version of Windows.

I thought about giving it a try. I have never used anything newer than
XP, and there is no way in hell that I'd want Win10 or even 8.x. But I
am finding that original CDs for Win7 cost more than a new installer for
Win10. I looked on Ebay and was shocked at the prices. I think it costs
more than it did when it was sold in trhe stores.

I can buy a used working computer on ebay (that will run W7) for as
little as $25 or in the $40 to $60 range is more common, but a Win7 CD
costs $125 and up. (And then they wonder why people pirate software).

I refuse to pay that much for "obsolete" software.

And yea, I know I could buy a computer with W7 pre installed on ebay,
and that is just not something I am willing to risk. I have never gotten
a virus online, but years ago, I bought a computer from ebay with XP pre
installed and found it to contain one of the most destructive viruses
ever made. Yea, I took action against the seller, got a refund and did
not have to return the computer, but that was AFTER that virus had
gotten into my own computer and done considerable damage.

So, any computers I buy on ebay get their drives wiped clean now, as
soon as they are in my hands.

Anyhow, is there any place to buy a LEGAL copy of W7 that is reasonably
priced? (Which to me means around $35 or less). And that of course would
include the registration number.

I saw Win 7 Pro on Ebay for less than $20.

Andy wrote:
....
I saw Win 7 Pro on Ebay for less than $20.

And how do we know it is legit?
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On Sun, 09 Sep 2018 20:54:04 -0500, (Ant) wrote:

Andy wrote:
...
I saw Win 7 Pro on Ebay for less than $20.

And how do we know it is legit?

I based it on how many he sold and what his reviews were. If it passes
authentification, it is legit as far as I am concerned.
Stay tuned. I will let you guys know.
It was worth 25 bucks to me to try.
I would pay 25 bucks to watch a monkey **** ;-)

On 9/9/2018 8:19 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 09 Sep 2018 20:54:04 -0500, (Ant) wrote:

Andy wrote:
...
I saw Win 7 Pro on Ebay for less than $20.

And how do we know it is legit?

I based it on how many he sold and what his reviews were. If it passes
authentification, it is legit as far as I am concerned.
Stay tuned. I will let you guys know.
It was worth 25 bucks to me to try.
I would pay 25 bucks to watch a monkey **** ;-)

My memory ain't what it used to be, but some observations...

Back when I was looking into this, people were reporting that
their ebay license worked for a while, then reverted to not activated.
Something about the keys got used multiple times until they exceeded
some limit, then all systems using that key got blocked...YMMV.

The consensus was that there was no way to guarantee that a key
would continue to work. Activation now was not sufficient.
There must certainly be good keys out there. Problem is determining
which. I'd not trust higher price to be more likely genuine.
Ebay is a minefield.

IIRC, there's a set of files in the windows distro that define
which type of license it works with. There was a procedure to
start with any install disk, extract it, delete or modify those
files, reburn the disk and you'd have one that would install anywhere
and work with any legal key. It may have been that you had to know
in advance which kind of key you had and tell the installer that.
At one time, there was a utility that you could use to determine
which kind of key you had. Dunno if it still exists.
That doesn't help with drivers tho. I did that, and it worked.
The real MS distro disks from HEIDOC or old Digital River
removed the need for that.

IF I didn't have win7 systems working perfectly, and I didn't need
media center, I'd run win10.
I have most of my hardware set up with digital entitlement back when
it was free. Win10 with Windows Update MiniTool meets my minimum
requirements for "Don't change my computer without permission."
Tracking software is a given...get used to it.

Currently, my win10 test systems, acquired since the free period
ended and not activated, are working fine without activation.
VERY MINOR annoyances not worth paying money to remove.
No guarantee if/when MS will pull the plug on that or whether
it will be retroactive. For now, it's all good. It is likely
that you'll get warning if deactivation is eminent.

I bought a Thinkpad x200. Had a Vista
COA and key, win7 OS installed. I thought I'd just run it
with win10 not activated, but it activated win10 without
any intervention on my part. No idea what that was about.

I'd start with a fresh HD, save the old one, and just try stuff.

On Sun, 09 Sep 2018 21:34:47 -0700, mike wrote:

My memory ain't what it used to be, but some observations...

Back when I was looking into this, people were reporting that
their ebay license worked for a while, then reverted to not activated.
Something about the keys got used multiple times until they exceeded
some limit, then all systems using that key got blocked...YMMV.

My Office subscriptions still seem OK and I got 2 on Ebay.

On 08/09/2018 22:14, wrote:
I keep hearing people saying to upgrade to Windows7 rather than keep
using XP.

That's a silly advice whoever gave it to you.

Windows XP users should wipe their Hard disks (like they wipe their
bum!!!!!!!!) and install a Linux Operating system. It will run alright
on your archaic machine.

If you want to keep running Windows then your best option is to buy a
new machine from top brand OEMs like DELL or HP who will sell you a
Windows 10 machine. We have been using Windows 10 since it was first
released in 2015 and we love it. Our productivity has gone up
dramatically and all new Apps run just fine on it.

It's time to move on and start using a descent machine and do something
useful.

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In message ,
writes:
[]
And yea, I know I could buy a computer with W7 pre installed on ebay,
and that is just not something I am willing to risk. I have never gotten
a virus online, but years ago, I bought a computer from ebay with XP pre
installed and found it to contain one of the most destructive viruses
ever made. Yea, I took action against the seller, got a refund and did
not have to return the computer, but that was AFTER that virus had
gotten into my own computer and done considerable damage.

So, any computers I buy on ebay get their drives wiped clean now, as
soon as they are in my hands.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck in that respect.

I've been fortunate in the computers I've bought with 7 preinstalled -
five or six, I think, so far. (Not all for me!) I've always bought from
a dealer or refurbisher, never a private individual; I don't know if
that makes any difference, though I think it's always been a "clean" or
"cleaned" Windows, so I think reinstalled, whereas if from a private
seller it might not be. Some have died, but none have had any malware
that I know of; the Windows occasionally has not been set up correctly,
but only in the respect of not having the screen resolution set to the
native resolution (all have been laptops, of various sizes), or not
having the drivers for some of the more obscure hardware in them, which
I've always been able to get from the manufacturer's website.

You could get such a machine, and then boot it from one of the
standalone malware-scanners that can be put on a bootable disc
(Kaspersky used I think to be the one most often mentioned here), before
ever booting it in its own right. (Finding out from the web/YouTube what
key[s] to press to make it boot from CD/DVD.)

I would agree that 7 seems to be the last rescuable version. (Make sure
it's SP1, of course.) Or possibly 8.1, but I see no advantage in going
for that, and I dislike its default user interface - sure, Classic Shell
or the other one will put it back, but if you're going to do that why
bother (unless it's all you can find, which I don't think is the case
currently).

Anyhow, is there any place to buy a LEGAL copy of W7 that is reasonably
priced? (Which to me means around $35 or less). And that of course would
include the registration number.

(From what others have said, it appears not. I think valid _discs_ can
be downloaded - even from Microsoft, via the Heidoc - or obtained fairly
easily; but it's the key that you'd pay for.)

--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Europeans see luxury as a badge of civilisation. Whereas we [British] have
shabbiness as a badge of civilisation. - Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, in Radio
Times 12-18 October 2013

On Sun, 9 Sep 2018 08:56:25 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
wrote:

In message ,
writes:
[]
And yea, I know I could buy a computer with W7 pre installed on ebay,
and that is just not something I am willing to risk. I have never gotten
a virus online, but years ago, I bought a computer from ebay with XP pre
installed and found it to contain one of the most destructive viruses
ever made. Yea, I took action against the seller, got a refund and did
not have to return the computer, but that was AFTER that virus had
gotten into my own computer and done considerable damage.

So, any computers I buy on ebay get their drives wiped clean now, as
soon as they are in my hands.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck in that respect.

I've been fortunate in the computers I've bought with 7 preinstalled -
five or six, I think, so far. (Not all for me!) I've always bought from
a dealer or refurbisher, never a private individual; I don't know if
that makes any difference, though I think it's always been a "clean" or
"cleaned" Windows, so I think reinstalled, whereas if from a private
seller it might not be. Some have died, but none have had any malware
that I know of; the Windows occasionally has not been set up correctly,
but only in the respect of not having the screen resolution set to the
native resolution (all have been laptops, of various sizes), or not
having the drivers for some of the more obscure hardware in them, which
I've always been able to get from the manufacturer's website.

You could get such a machine, and then boot it from one of the
standalone malware-scanners that can be put on a bootable disc
(Kaspersky used I think to be the one most often mentioned here), before
ever booting it in its own right. (Finding out from the web/YouTube what
key[s] to press to make it boot from CD/DVD.)

I would agree that 7 seems to be the last rescuable version. (Make sure
it's SP1, of course.) Or possibly 8.1, but I see no advantage in going
for that, and I dislike its default user interface - sure, Classic Shell
or the other one will put it back, but if you're going to do that why
bother (unless it's all you can find, which I don't think is the case
currently).

Anyhow, is there any place to buy a LEGAL copy of W7 that is reasonably
priced? (Which to me means around $35 or less). And that of course would
include the registration number.

(From what others have said, it appears not. I think valid _discs_ can
be downloaded - even from Microsoft, via the Heidoc - or obtained fairly
easily; but it's the key that you'd pay for.)


If you have a used machine from a real company (Dell, HP/Compac,
Lenovo etc) they usually have the disk set to put the factory load
back on for $10 or so. If that was preloaded with 7, you get 7.
Once you get that disk, the version may work on any similar machine
but you will need a good COA number. Dell seems to be the one that is
the most proprietary. Dell OS disks only seem to work on Dell
machines. My HP disks seem to be more forgiving.

The question is when MS is going to turn off the machine matching app
on their authentification server for 7. It has been off for XP for
many years, even before they officially dropped support. If you had a
COA number that matched the version you were running, it sailed
through, no matter what you were running it on. I have used the same
number on different machines the same day.

On Sun, 9 Sep 2018 08:56:25 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
wrote:

(From what others have said, it appears not. I think valid _discs_ can
be downloaded - even from Microsoft, via the Heidoc - or obtained fairly
easily; but it's the key that you'd pay for.)

What is Heidoc?

wrote:
On Sun, 9 Sep 2018 08:56:25 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
wrote:

(From what others have said, it appears not. I think valid _discs_ can
be downloaded - even from Microsoft, via the Heidoc - or obtained fairly
easily; but it's the key that you'd pay for.)

What is Heidoc?

https://www.heidoc.net/joomla/techno...-download-tool

Paul

On 9/8/2018 5:14 PM, wrote:
I keep hearing people saying to upgrade to Windows7 rather than keep
using XP. Supposedly W7 was the last decent version of Windows.

I thought about giving it a try. I have never used anything newer than
XP, and there is no way in hell that I'd want Win10 or even 8.x. But I
am finding that original CDs for Win7 cost more than a new installer for
Win10. I looked on Ebay and was shocked at the prices. I think it costs
more than it did when it was sold in trhe stores.

I can buy a used working computer on ebay (that will run W7) for as
little as $25 or in the $40 to $60 range is more common, but a Win7 CD
costs $125 and up. (And then they wonder why people pirate software).

I refuse to pay that much for "obsolete" software.

And yea, I know I could buy a computer with W7 pre installed on ebay,
and that is just not something I am willing to risk. I have never gotten
a virus online, but years ago, I bought a computer from ebay with XP pre
installed and found it to contain one of the most destructive viruses
ever made. Yea, I took action against the seller, got a refund and did
not have to return the computer, but that was AFTER that virus had
gotten into my own computer and done considerable damage.

So, any computers I buy on ebay get their drives wiped clean now, as
soon as they are in my hands.

Anyhow, is there any place to buy a LEGAL copy of W7 that is reasonably
priced? (Which to me means around $35 or less). And that of course would
include the registration number.




just-me:

You must not be looking very hard on ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-W...item33ea4a5296

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Windows-7-P...o/163221974514

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Windows-7-D...D/322482378735

--

On 09/09/2018 17:14, John Dulak wrote:

You must not be looking very hard on ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-W...item33ea4a5296

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Windows-7-P...o/163221974514

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Windows-7-D...D/322482378735

Fine as installation media, but I wouldn't expect the product keys to
authenticate.

On 09/09/2018 12:28 PM, Java Jive wrote:
On 09/09/2018 17:14, John Dulak wrote:

You must not be looking very hard on ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-W...item33ea4a5296

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Windows-7-P...o/163221974514

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Windows-7-D...D/322482378735


Fine as installation media, but I wouldn't expect the product keys to
authenticate.

Since you can download the media for free from Microsoft, legit, the
media is of no value, it's a license you need to make it work.

The last one states "licenseless" if that's a valid word.
I don't like the somewhat vague wording on the first, it talks about OEM
with a drive (if you pay extra and want it). Sounds like it was a
working Win 7 installed on some PC. Might be licensed then but is it now?

I've seen these, and remember the saying, "if it's too good to be true,
it probably isn't true". But then you might luck out. Hell I've tossed
$17 at worst things, so it might be worth the try.