How to Virtualize an OEM windows install.

Posted by jumentous on Super User See other posts from Super User or by jumentous
Published on 2012-04-03T12:34:46Z Indexed on 2012/11/19 17:03 UTC
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Filed under:

windows-7

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linux

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virtualization

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oem

I've bought a new computer and like always it comes with windows 7 pre-installed. I'm a linux user by default but i still keep a virtual windows installation around.

Is it possible to install my linux distribution, and use the OEM license that came with the computer to create the virtual instance?

I have no intention of moving the license off the physical machine so i'm sure i could argue that i'm not violating the license but i don't expect that this would work and activate without great legal battles.

So in the event that this doesn't work what other options do i have? Can i shrink the physical partition and have Qemu boot it? My thoughts are that windows would detect the change in hardware and fail.

What can i do with this windows install as a linux user?

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