Exercising 8.1 Pro to 7 Pro "downgrade" rights

Microsoft gives users the right to "downgrade" Windows 8.1 Pro to
Windows 7 Pro, but actually doing so can be problematical.

The details on how it is supposed to work are he

http://www.microsoft.com/oem/en/lice...id=jYOzN6LvHWi

There are specific, step-by-step instructions that on the surface seem
pretty straightforward.

The problem is that the procedure outlined involves using the Win7 Pro
license key from another random computer, and when presumably it does
not activate you call in and a customer representative is supposed to
"provide a single-use activation code to activate the software."

Sounds good in theory, but...

Sometimes the random Win7 Pro key goes ahead and activates even though it's
in use on another computer, but now you have more than one PC with the
same key which is obviously not a good thing. Will Microsoft flag them
as invalid at some point?

The other problem is that when calling in, it is virtually impossible
to get hold of anyone at Microsoft's call center that understands the
downgrade process. Pointing them to the above web page falls on deaf ears,
they insist they cannot do it, that we have to buy a Win7 Pro license. We
went through this today, spending about 1/2 hour on the phone with the
initial "customer representative" and his managers, getting nowhere,
and finally getting disconnected. All very exasperating.

I'm working with an office that has about a dozen PCs that need to be
downgraded due to software compatibility issues and we just keep running
into these roadblocks where we can't get anyone at Microsoft to assist us
in the process that they themselves publicly document.

Does anyone know of a direct contact number that works for this, or is
there some mystical incantation we're missing, or something else we need
to be doing?

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roger Blake (Change "invalid" to "com" for email. Google Groups killfiled.)

NSA sedition and treason -- http://www.DeathToNSAthugs.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roger Blake wrote:
Microsoft gives users the right to "downgrade" Windows 8.1 Pro to
Windows 7 Pro, but actually doing so can be problematical.

The details on how it is supposed to work are he

http://www.microsoft.com/oem/en/lice...id=jYOzN6LvHWi

There are specific, step-by-step instructions that on the surface seem
pretty straightforward.

The problem is that the procedure outlined involves using the Win7 Pro
license key from another random computer, and when presumably it does
not activate you call in and a customer representative is supposed to
"provide a single-use activation code to activate the software."

Sounds good in theory, but...

Sometimes the random Win7 Pro key goes ahead and activates even though it's
in use on another computer, but now you have more than one PC with the
same key which is obviously not a good thing. Will Microsoft flag them
as invalid at some point?

The other problem is that when calling in, it is virtually impossible
to get hold of anyone at Microsoft's call center that understands the
downgrade process. Pointing them to the above web page falls on deaf ears,
they insist they cannot do it, that we have to buy a Win7 Pro license. We
went through this today, spending about 1/2 hour on the phone with the
initial "customer representative" and his managers, getting nowhere,
and finally getting disconnected. All very exasperating.

I'm working with an office that has about a dozen PCs that need to be
downgraded due to software compatibility issues and we just keep running
into these roadblocks where we can't get anyone at Microsoft to assist us
in the process that they themselves publicly document.

Does anyone know of a direct contact number that works for this, or is
there some mystical incantation we're missing, or something else we need
to be doing?


If you use an install-only key, those can't really activate, because
they'll get stopped at the Microsoft activation server. After the
install is finished, you can then change the key. In Windows 8,
it is "slui 3" to reach the "change key" interface.

These are examples of install-only keys for Windows 8. Normally,
the pages with install only keys, list a large number of
"Enterprise" install-only keys. These are the only ones
I've snagged for home-user type installs of Windows 8. I
didn't find these on the first or the second try.

Windows 8.1 Pro: XHQ8N-C3MCJ-RQXB6-WCHYG-C9WKB
Windows 8.1: 334NH-RXG76-64THK-C7CKG-D3VPT 8.1 Home

Windows 8.0 Pro: XKY4K-2NRWR-8F6P2-448RF-CRYQH
Windows 8.0: FB4WR-32NVD-4RW79-XQFWH-CYQG3 8.0 Home

I can't find any for Windows 7. Sure, I can find them
for Windows 7 Enterprise - the install-only keys for
that (for interworking with KMS setups) are available
right on the Microsoft site. It's the "home user" kind
of keys, that there aren't any Windows 7 keys I can find.

Sure, I can trawl through search results, and find
*some* random Windows 7 key, but I'd prefer to use
an install-only key if such a thing exists for Win7
or Win7 SP1.

I tried a test install in a VM, and it would not accept
the Enterprise install-only key, as I was installing
from my Win7 SP1 Home Premium x32 disc (to suit the x32
VM environment). And that was a no-go. It would really
depend on what version you were downgrading to, whether
the license key would be easy to find or not.

Paul

On 2014-06-25, Paul wrote:
If you use an install-only key, those can't really activate, because
they'll get stopped at the Microsoft activation server. After the
install is finished, you can then change the key. In Windows 8,
it is "slui 3" to reach the "change key" interface.

We're using ordinary OEM Win7 Pro keys from other computers, as specified
in Microsoft's instructions. What we are trying to do is perfectly legitimate,
per the company's own "explanation of downgrade rights" page, we are not
attempting to subvert the licensing agreement via pirated keys.

Really the problem is two-fold: First, if the key used activates online
we wind up with multiple PCs that have the same license key. (Supposedly
if a key is in use on one machine it will not activate on another,
but experience in the field has shown this is not always the case.)

Secondly, if the key does not activate (which is the desired result),
per Microsoft's instructions when we call and get a representative on
the phone they invariably have absolutely no knowledge of the downgrade
process and refuse to provide the one-time downgrade activation key
documented on Microsoft's web site.

It is very frustrating. On the one hand it's great that Microsoft
provides downgrade rights to end users, as it is sometimes necessary
to use a previous version of the OS due to compatibility issues. On the
other hand, they seem to have this jerry-rigged procedure for actually
performing the downgrades which just doesn't work the way that Microsoft
says it should on their own web site.

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roger Blake (Change "invalid" to "com" for email. Google Groups killfiled.)

NSA sedition and treason -- http://www.DeathToNSAthugs.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

We're using ordinary OEM Win7 Pro keys from other computers, as specified
in Microsoft's instructions. What we are trying to do is perfectly legitimate,
per the company's own "explanation of downgrade rights" page, we are not
attempting to subvert the licensing agreement via pirated keys.


Just trying to help,

One piece of information that I don't see (perhaps others have) is
whether your company's Windows 8.1 licenses are OEM licenses, per
definition of MS:

(1) Purchase a PC preinstalled with Windows.

(2) Something like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Windows-8-1-Sy...=Windows+8+OEM


It's the OEM version of Windows 8.x that is eligible for downgrade rights.

Regarding downgrade process, I'd think Ken1943's suggestion for a clean
install is better, and here is one article that may also help: How to
Uninstall Windows 8, Install Windows 7 on Your PC
(http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2417361,00.asp).

A word of caution for future reference:

1. For business computers, it is strongly advised to buy from a system
builder (large or small, brand name or nearby shop), so you would have
support for all sorts of problems including but not limited to this one.

2. For business computers, it is also strongly advised to delay OS
migration or even for applications, at least, not until thorough tests
(hardware, peripherals, applications, etc.) have been passed, and pilot
roll-outs have been done followed by proper training.

In many serious companies, IT head will be fired for putting their
business into situations like this.

Hope this helps and good luck

Ken1943 wrote:
On Thu, 26 Jun 2014 01:24:26 +0000 (UTC), Roger Blake
wrote:

On 2014-06-25, Paul wrote:
If you use an install-only key, those can't really activate, because
they'll get stopped at the Microsoft activation server. After the
install is finished, you can then change the key. In Windows 8,
it is "slui 3" to reach the "change key" interface.
We're using ordinary OEM Win7 Pro keys from other computers, as specified
in Microsoft's instructions. What we are trying to do is perfectly legitimate,
per the company's own "explanation of downgrade rights" page, we are not
attempting to subvert the licensing agreement via pirated keys.

Really the problem is two-fold: First, if the key used activates online
we wind up with multiple PCs that have the same license key. (Supposedly
if a key is in use on one machine it will not activate on another,
but experience in the field has shown this is not always the case.)

Secondly, if the key does not activate (which is the desired result),
per Microsoft's instructions when we call and get a representative on
the phone they invariably have absolutely no knowledge of the downgrade
process and refuse to provide the one-time downgrade activation key
documented on Microsoft's web site.

It is very frustrating. On the one hand it's great that Microsoft
provides downgrade rights to end users, as it is sometimes necessary
to use a previous version of the OS due to compatibility issues. On the
other hand, they seem to have this jerry-rigged procedure for actually
performing the downgrades which just doesn't work the way that Microsoft
says it should on their own web site.

Do you have Win 7 drivers ? Maybe a clean install ?


KenW

I tested it here. The problem is, when you install Windows 7,
the copy phase and some number of reboots happen, before you're
prompted for a license key. Roger is trying to solve the license
key issue, where you need to reach Microsoft to get this fixed,
but you can't get to that stage, without using some (valid)
key. I tried some of my list of VLK install-only keys for
Enterprise, and those won't work on Home Premium. If there
was such a thing as an install-only key, for the "non-business"
lower-end OSes like Home Premium, we could at least
get past that point. There are such things for Windows 8,
and I eventually found them.

I don't really like the idea of grabbing a key that
is already in usage, or grabbing a key off some
random hacker site either. There should be a procedure
and information, to do this in an orderly manner.

Paul

Roger Blake wrote, On 6/25/2014 9:24 PM:

We're using ordinary OEM Win7 Pro keys from other computers, as specified
in Microsoft's instructions. What we are trying to do is perfectly legitimate,
per the company's own "explanation of downgrade rights" page, we are not
attempting to subvert the licensing agreement via pirated keys.

Really the problem is two-fold: First, if the key used activates online
we wind up with multiple PCs that have the same license key. (Supposedly
if a key is in use on one machine it will not activate on another,
but experience in the field has shown this is not always the case.)

Secondly, if the key does not activate (which is the desired result),
per Microsoft's instructions when we call and get a representative on
the phone they invariably have absolutely no knowledge of the downgrade
process and refuse to provide the one-time downgrade activation key
documented on Microsoft's web site.

It is very frustrating. On the one hand it's great that Microsoft
provides downgrade rights to end users, as it is sometimes necessary
to use a previous version of the OS due to compatibility issues. On the
other hand, they seem to have this jerry-rigged procedure for actually
performing the downgrades which just doesn't work the way that Microsoft
says it should on their own web site.


qp
Use genuine Windows media **and** a corresponding product key for the
version of Windows that is eligible for downgrade. The media/key should
come from a previously licensed product from the OEM or retail channel.

End users who are licensed separately through Microsoft Volume Licensing
(VL) may provide their VL media and key to a system builder to
facilitate the downgrade on their own systems.

Insert the downgrade-eligible version of Windows media and follow the
installation instructions.
Enter the product key."
/qp

Is there unique Win7 Pro media (OEM or retail) and its corresponding
product key for each purchased OEM 8.1 Pro pc being downgraded ?

If yes, is the media OEM or Retail ?

Were any of the 8.1 machines upgraded from 8.0 ?


--
...winston
msft mvp consumer apps

In ,
Paul typed on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 22:23:14 -0400:
I don't really like the idea of grabbing a key that
is already in usage, or grabbing a key off some
random hacker site either. There should be a procedure
and information, to do this in an orderly manner.

Downgrade rights are only available for OEM Windows. If it is a branded
OEM version, it is probably using a volume license key (maybe there is
another name for this?) from the manufacture. These keys should not
require any activation and nor do I believe hardware changes will trip
them to do so. That is assuming the BIOS key never changes, they seems
to be always happy. If you don't know if you are using one of these
volume license keys, Belarc Advisor (free for personal use) is one
utility that will report whether or is or not.

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Kingston 120GB SSD - OE-QuoteFix v1.19.2
Centrino Core Duo T2300 1.66GHz - 4GB - ATI X1400 - Windows XP SP2

In ,
.. . .winston typed on Thu, 26 Jun 2014 03:21:58 -0400:
Roger Blake wrote, On 6/25/2014 9:24 PM:

We're using ordinary OEM Win7 Pro keys from other computers, as
specified in Microsoft's instructions. What we are trying to do is
perfectly
legitimate, per the company's own "explanation of downgrade rights"
page, we are not attempting to subvert the licensing agreement via
pirated keys. Really the problem is two-fold: First, if the key used
activates
online we wind up with multiple PCs that have the same license key.
(Supposedly if a key is in use on one machine it will not activate on
another,
but experience in the field has shown this is not always the case.)

Secondly, if the key does not activate (which is the desired result),
per Microsoft's instructions when we call and get a representative on
the phone they invariably have absolutely no knowledge of the
downgrade process and refuse to provide the one-time downgrade
activation key documented on Microsoft's web site.

It is very frustrating. On the one hand it's great that Microsoft
provides downgrade rights to end users, as it is sometimes necessary
to use a previous version of the OS due to compatibility issues. On
the other hand, they seem to have this jerry-rigged procedure for
actually performing the downgrades which just doesn't work the way
that Microsoft says it should on their own web site.

qp
Use genuine Windows media **and** a corresponding product key for the
version of Windows that is eligible for downgrade. The media/key
should come from a previously licensed product from the OEM or retail
channel.
End users who are licensed separately through Microsoft Volume
Licensing (VL) may provide their VL media and key to a system builder
to facilitate the downgrade on their own systems.

Insert the downgrade-eligible version of Windows media and follow the
installation instructions.
Enter the product key."
/qp

Is there unique Win7 Pro media (OEM or retail) and its corresponding
product key for each purchased OEM 8.1 Pro pc being downgraded ?

If yes, is the media OEM or Retail ?

Were any of the 8.1 machines upgraded from 8.0 ?

This is the way it is supposed to work.

Maybe you've given Windows 8 a fair shake and it just isn't
working for you, or maybe you're so against upgrading that you
don't want to buy a new computer until you know you can
downgrade. No matter your reasons, you may actually have a way
out. Some Windows 8 PCs come with what are called "downgrade
rights." If your PC comes with Windows 8 Pro, you can downgrade
to Windows 7 Pro just by installing it on top of your existing
OS. You'll need a legitimate disc and product key, but you can
just use an old or used one -- after you install, you can call
Microsoft and they'll activate your downgrade for you. You can
even downgrade multiple machines with the same CD and key.

http://lifehacker.com/5974318/downgr...ows-7-for-free

Sounds easy enough, but as Roger has noted, calling Microsoft will get
you nowhere. All they want to do is to sell you a new key(s).

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Kingston 120GB SSD - OE-QuoteFix v1.19.2
Centrino Core Duo T2300 1.66GHz - 4GB - ATI X1400 - Windows XP SP2

In ,
Roger Blake typed on Thu, 26 Jun 2014 01:24:26 +0000 (UTC):
On 2014-06-25, Paul wrote:
If you use an install-only key, those can't really activate, because
they'll get stopped at the Microsoft activation server. After the
install is finished, you can then change the key. In Windows 8,
it is "slui 3" to reach the "change key" interface.

We're using ordinary OEM Win7 Pro keys from other computers, as
specified in Microsoft's instructions. What we are trying to do is
perfectly legitimate, per the company's own "explanation of downgrade
rights" page, we are not attempting to subvert the licensing agreement
via pirated keys.

Really the problem is two-fold: First, if the key used activates
online we wind up with multiple PCs that have the same license key.
(Supposedly if a key is in use on one machine it will not activate on
another, but experience in the field has shown this is not always the
case.)

Secondly, if the key does not activate (which is the desired result),
per Microsoft's instructions when we call and get a representative on
the phone they invariably have absolutely no knowledge of the
downgrade process and refuse to provide the one-time downgrade
activation key documented on Microsoft's web site.

It is very frustrating. On the one hand it's great that Microsoft
provides downgrade rights to end users, as it is sometimes necessary
to use a previous version of the OS due to compatibility issues. On
the other hand, they seem to have this jerry-rigged procedure for
actually performing the downgrades which just doesn't work the way
that Microsoft says it should on their own web site.

The easiest way to do this and to avoid Microsoft activation is if the
machines that you want to downgrade are all from the same manufacture
(whether the same model may not matter). If true, this makes everything
so much easier. Sometimes you can get the Windows 7 Pro from the
manufacture for free or for a small price like 10 bucks or something.

If they won't supply you will one (I don't think they have to legally).
And let's say all of the machines are Dells or something. All you need
is one branded Windows 7 Pro OEM install disc from that manufacture (you
can find them on eBay). You won't need a key for any of the machines.
Nor do you need to call Microsoft for anything. Nor does your installed
Windows 7 Pro need to be activated. As these are all pre-activated due
to the legal key in the BIOS. Use one of these discs on a machine from
the wrong manufacture will either fail or acts like a generic OEM
install and then you must have a key and go through the activation
process.

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Kingston 120GB SSD - OE-QuoteFix v1.19.2
Centrino Core Duo T2300 1.66GHz - 4GB - ATI X1400 - Windows XP SP2

On 2014-06-26, xfile wrote:
One piece of information that I don't see (perhaps others have) is
whether your company's Windows 8.1 licenses are OEM licenses, per
definition of MS:

(1) Purchase a PC preinstalled with Windows.

(2) Something like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Windows-8-1-Sy...=Windows+8+OEM

Yes, it is OEM Windows 8.1, installed by the manufacturer (in this case
a local computer shop). Each PC has a legitimate OEM Windows 8.1 Pro
licence key. That part is covered.

Regarding downgrade process, I'd think Ken1943's suggestion for a clean
install is better, and here is one article that may also help: How to
Uninstall Windows 8, Install Windows 7 on Your PC
(http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2417361,00.asp).

That's what we've been doing. The problem is that the activation process
for the downgraded OS is ill-conceived and poorly implemented. One thing
I was wondering is if anyone here knew of a Microsoft support number
that one could call where the personnel actually know about the downgrade
process and can proceed as documented on the company's web site.

1. For business computers, it is strongly advised to buy from a system
builder (large or small, brand name or nearby shop), so you would have
support for all sorts of problems including but not limited to this one.

The computer shop is also struggling with this problem, they have been
attempting to assist us but have run up against a brick wall with
Microsoft.

2. For business computers, it is also strongly advised to delay OS
migration or even for applications, at least, not until thorough tests
(hardware, peripherals, applications, etc.) have been passed, and pilot
roll-outs have been done followed by proper training.

Not always possible for small companies that do not have their own
internal support staff. The problem here is that these PCs were
purchased with the intent of downgrading them to Windows 7 as detailed
on Microsoft's web site for compatibility, but the process has turned
out to be seriously flawed. This is not due to hardware or driver
issues, it is a problem with Microsoft's real-world implementation
of their downgrade policy.

Hope this helps and good luck

Thanks, I hope I've provided a little more detail as to what we are
doing. As I said, we have PCs with legit OEM Windows 8.1 Pro licence
keys. They are being wiped and installed with Windows 7 Pro from
scratch. This is all in accordance with Microsoft's instructions. The PCs
are perfectly functional aside from the activation problems. That's
where the trouble is, we simply cannot get anyone we have spoken to at
Microsoft to even acknowledge the existence of downgrade rights despite
the step-by-step instructions the company provides on its own web site.

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roger Blake (Change "invalid" to "com" for email. Google Groups killfiled.)

NSA sedition and treason -- http://www.DeathToNSAthugs.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On 2014-06-26, . . .winston wrote:
Is there unique Win7 Pro media (OEM or retail) and its corresponding
product key for each purchased OEM 8.1 Pro pc being downgraded ?

If yes, is the media OEM or Retail ?

Were any of the 8.1 machines upgraded from 8.0 ?

The installation media is genuine Microsoft Win7 Pro OEM. The machines
came with Windows 8.1 out of the box. We don't even get to that point in
the discussion with Microsoft representatives, they deny all knowledge
of the downgrade process.

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roger Blake (Change "invalid" to "com" for email. Google Groups killfiled.)

NSA sedition and treason -- http://www.DeathToNSAthugs.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On 2014-06-26, BillW50 wrote:
Sounds easy enough, but as Roger has noted, calling Microsoft will get
you nowhere. All they want to do is to sell you a new key(s).

That's it exactly, in a nutshell. The Microsoft representatives are
disavowing the downgrade process, claiming no knowledge of it, and
insist we have to purchase new Windows 7 Pro licenses. So far asking
for a manager has not helped, the "manager" also stonewalls us.

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roger Blake (Change "invalid" to "com" for email. Google Groups killfiled.)

NSA sedition and treason -- http://www.DeathToNSAthugs.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On 2014-06-26, BillW50 wrote:
If they won't supply you will one (I don't think they have to legally).
And let's say all of the machines are Dells or something. All you need
is one branded Windows 7 Pro OEM install disc from that manufacture (you
can find them on eBay). You won't need a key for any of the machines.

That may be true for Dell and other large manufacturers, but these
are locally-built machines from a small shop that do not have the
licence key in BIOS, the keys were entered manually by the builder
when the machines were loaded. But you are right, if we had purchased
Dell PCs this would have been a lot easier, but we have local shop
that builds a good product that we prefer to deal with. Unfortunately
we naively took Microsoft at their word regarding the ability to
downgrade the machines to Windows 7 Pro, so now we're in a bind.

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roger Blake (Change "invalid" to "com" for email. Google Groups killfiled.)

NSA sedition and treason -- http://www.DeathToNSAthugs.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

BillW50 wrote:
In ,
Paul typed on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 22:23:14 -0400:
I don't really like the idea of grabbing a key that
is already in usage, or grabbing a key off some
random hacker site either. There should be a procedure
and information, to do this in an orderly manner.

Downgrade rights are only available for OEM Windows. If it is a branded
OEM version, it is probably using a volume license key (maybe there is
another name for this?) from the manufacture. These keys should not
require any activation and nor do I believe hardware changes will trip
them to do so. That is assuming the BIOS key never changes, they seems
to be always happy. If you don't know if you are using one of these
volume license keys, Belarc Advisor (free for personal use) is one
utility that will report whether or is or not.


"Downgrade rights are only available for OEM Windows"

Yes, that's how I read the terms. If you buy a Windows 8 Pro machine
from Dell or HP, then you should be able to install Windows 7 Pro.

As far as I know, large businesses, when a machine comes in, they
basically throw away the royalty OEM copy of Windows, and
install the corporate image in its place (so the Acer games
get removed). They use a VLK and a KMS server for that. They're
basically paying for a license twice, as the incoming royalty OEM
is thrown away.

Install-only keys, as I understand it, are one way of preparing
installation images, for later replacement. And that's why
Microsoft has a page, with install-only keys for Enterprise
or Pro.

The large business user, in the above scenario, isn't using the
downgrade right, since they always install their own corporate
image of Windows, and license using their own purchased (Volume)
key.

A small business, might not be using KMS. Maybe they actually
want to use the key that came on the machine. And the downgrade
idea is important to them. There is no install-only key for
Win7 or Win7 SP1 that I could find, in a quick search. And without
a KMS/VLK purchase by the company, there would be no organization
at Microsoft supporting them. So the only support they'd get,
is the workaround by talking to a human at Microsoft, at activation
time. And that's the hole in the process. If the downgrade right
had been backed up by some sort of COA sticker on the machine,
the whole downgrade thing might be more believable. (They could
make up a COA, that only works on a machine with a BIOS key.
Or, they could have specified to the OEMs, that not only
would a BIOS key be present for Windows 8, but a SLIC table
for Windows 7 would be in there. The OEM computer maker obviously
doesn't feel this is a "feature", since the support for it is
poor. Otherwise, they'd complain to Microsoft about the mechanical
aspects, key management for the downgrade.)

There are enough bits and pieces (custom BIOS key for each Windows 8
motherboard, OEM-wide SLIC table for Windows 7 or previous), to have
made a complete downgrade-supporting solution. One wonders what
the license terms dictated to the (royalty) OEM said in the process,
whether they're allowed to put both in the BIOS or not.

(Royalty OEM, is any large company making computers that is paying
$50 a unit to put Windows on the computer, and use a key of some
sort that automatically activates. System builder OEM, is a copy
of Windows you buy at Newegg, intended to stay with the one computer,
where each box of software has its own key and COA sticker. That's
for people who build computers for other people, by hand. The Royalty
version uses BIOS tricks, such as SLIC for Windows 7 or a discrete license
key for Windows 8. The System Builder is handled like any home user,
more or less.)

Paul

On 6/26/2014 7:43 PM, Roger Blake wrote:
On 2014-06-26, BillW50 wrote:
If they won't supply you will one (I don't think they have to legally).
And let's say all of the machines are Dells or something. All you need
is one branded Windows 7 Pro OEM install disc from that manufacture (you
can find them on eBay). You won't need a key for any of the machines.

That may be true for Dell and other large manufacturers, but these
are locally-built machines from a small shop that do not have the
licence key in BIOS, the keys were entered manually by the builder
when the machines were loaded. But you are right, if we had purchased
Dell PCs this would have been a lot easier, but we have local shop
that builds a good product that we prefer to deal with. Unfortunately
we naively took Microsoft at their word regarding the ability to
downgrade the machines to Windows 7 Pro, so now we're in a bind.


After reading your replies and the linked page you initially provided
again, it seems to me that it's best for you to simply return those
systems to the shop and ask them to perform the downgrade process for
you, or provide you with Windows 7 systems.

Excerpt:

"Important: the information on this page is intended for system builders
and the downgrade rights that apply to their customers. If you are a
customer of a direct OEM, please contact your OEM for more information
about downgrade rights. If you are a direct OEM, please contact your
Microsoft Account Manager."

Actually, it's not your job to perform the downgrade process if you
purchased from an OEM, and you should ask them to sort it out for you.

Good luck!