Refurbished System Windows License Key and OEM Media
- by Timothy R. Butler
According to this question, it is legal to use a Windows 7 OEM license that is presently installed as a 32-bit install with a 64-bit version of Windows 7. With that in mind, I purchased several refurbished systems through TigerDirect. When I received the computers today, I found that they have a Windows 7 license key attached to them that says it is a "refurbished key." A flyer in the box also seemed to imply that this key would not work with regular OEM media.
Has anyone tried using regular OEM media with a refurbished key? I had hoped to create a new 64-bit WIM image that I could use on these systems, but I don't want to try replacing the default install with this new 64-bit install only to find that the key won't validate. If it requires a special customized image, is it possible to convert another type of Windows 7 disc into the required sort much as one can convert a retail disc to an OEM one (and vise versa)?