Microsoft does not sell any new Windows 7 licenses at all anymore.
You will need to rely on unopened retail boxes if you want a guranteed unused license key.

Thanks. I imagine the logic of not supporting old o.s. for too much time but I'd not see the reason why for some users that would like to still use old softwares officially buying and paying for it they can't. Obviously old retail boxes are sold at high prices just cause are not common anymore as usual.
It sounds like not much fair. It's like most old softwares generally must be soon forgotten after their support lifetime.

They probably stop selling licenses soon after their new OS version launches in order to not compete with their new product.
To start selling licenses again after the support period ended is probably not profitable enough to pursue. There's not a big market for unsupported OS after all.
Also (cheaply) selling an OS that has enough software compatibility to be used as a daily driver but not releasing security patches seems like a huge security issue and would likely give the company bad press from people who don't know any better.
That's not proven info but it appears logical to me.

If you can't get hold of a copy Windows 7, you might look out for a copy of Vista instead.

Despite popular believe, it wasn't that bad - at least not after two Service Packs and the Platform Update.

I agree with above post, Vista was great after 7 years of improvements. I have a maxed out system system dedicated to Vista.

With that said, a new unused system builder license for Windows 7 Professional is less than $30 and readily available. This is too expensive?

Alternatively, if you have or buy an OEM system like a Dell, Acer, etc. the license key may be installed in the BIOS already. With their recovery software, it activates automatically during install without online being necessary. I believe around 2012 with Windows 7 is when most OEMs we’re doing this. Dell was installing keys into the BIOS as far back as XP. You won’t even see the key printed on COAs with Windows 8 and later machines.

Meatball wrote on 2022-03-02, 12:30:

I agree with above post, Vista was great after 7 years of improvements. I have a maxed out system system dedicated to Vista.

With that said, a new unused system builder license for Windows 7 Professional is less than $30 and readily available. This is too expensive?

Alternatively, if you have or buy an OEM system like a Dell, Acer, etc. the license key may be installed in the BIOS already. With their recovery software, it activates automatically during install without online being necessary. I believe around 2012 with Windows 7 is when most OEMs we’re doing this. Dell was installing keys into the BIOS as far back as XP. You won’t even see the key printed on COAs with Windows 8 and later machines.

Before Windows 8 it was not the license key per se that was installed in the bios but rather a text string (SLP 1.0 for XP/2003) or a marker/public key combo (SLIC 2.x, for Vista,7,their respective server versions and server only versions of newer OSes).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Locked_Pre-installation

Nowadays there are trivial ways to mod pretty much any bios/uefi to add whatever SLIC/SLP that you want.
In fact for SLP it is often enough to change the "system manufacturer" string in the DMI table using standard ami/award tools, no modding required.

I always thought that existed or OEM builds licenses for a specific computer or Retail DVD boxed re-installable ones for the home user and I don't know about "system builders" licenses (?). I obviously am thinking about which are the possibilities for a genuine license for a home single config and of course in the correct way expected by the software user agreement that can be sold and bought as supposed to.

386SX wrote on 2022-03-02, 16:41:

I always thought that existed or OEM builds licenses for a specific computer or Retail DVD boxed re-installable ones for the home user and I don't know about "system builders" licenses (?). I obviously am thinking about which are the possibilities for a genuine license for a home single config and of course in the correct way expected by the software user agreement that can be sold and bought as supposed to.

If you are building a system, you are a system builder. All it means is Microsoft is not going to provide the support and you are responsible. They state, "not intended for purchase or installation by consumers." Meaning, consumers aren't the target market. The same scary non-sense is written on every product Intel ever released. "Intended to be professionally installed," Uh, huh...

Finally, Microsoft does not care what kind of media is used (Consumer, MSDN, Corporate, OEI, OEM, etc.)... only that that license used is purchased and specific to you (not buying a license key used 7 times and is suspect) and used as it is intended (Meaning if you have a license for Windows 7 Professional, you install and use Windows 7 Professional - doesn't matter which media is used.) I have this from personal experience with Microsoft licensing in Corporate. If you obtained a license key for Windows 7 Enterprise in the consumer market, that will never be valid because you don't have an Enterprise Agreement (or whatever they are calling them these days...), and you would never be able to use their imaging and other Enterprise specific tools. And you couldn't use a Dell OEM license key because those are tied to specific pieces of hardware. But a (new) OEI license? You have nothing to fear and can sleep soundly at night knowing you are not breaking any ethics.

386SX wrote on 2022-03-02, 10:08:

I mean beside the ebay expensive sold retail versions

You can also get keys cheaply on eBay. Some may even be legit, who knows. Like OEM keys. Technically it against the license terms to use them on anything but the original hardware they shipped with, but chances are Microsoft will activate them for you one way or the other, because - what do they care.

386SX wrote on 2022-03-02, 10:08:

if some hardware support only that old o.s.?
Some might not have the possibility to change the hardware and still would like to use that one.

If you have some old hardware that only supports this old OS - then you should probably already have a license for that OS somewhere, no? Or what did you use originally on that hardware?

For example - any laptop that originally came with a Windows license / COA - has that license tied to it forever and you can always activate it.

I have an industrial mini-itx board I bought new in the past that only had W7 drivers support and unofficially it works on W8.x. While I've got a W8.1 retail boxed/genuine license still it's an heavy o.s. and cause the older drivers while they works they doesn't let the system run as fast as they can on Win7, cause the WDDM logic and the various GUI changes, background processes etc.. I've seen these low power SoC running on Win7 and they run n times faster seriously. Not only on the o.s. GUI itself also older games run natively. From some research benchmarks like 3DMark2000 loose from 1000 to 2000 points of score depending on the tweaks to make it run as supposed to. Cause some sort of retro Directx emulation, older games polygons/s rate difference is like night and day (1light test: 11 Mt/s on W7 vs 4Mt/s on W8.x) with the same gpu driver and even CPU score decrease (200 to 140 points, I don't even understand how is possible I suppose background processes or heavier kernel who knows). Linux situation is worse on driver support so to really push this system the only way is its correct o.s that would be Win 7 x86.
So the best thing should be to find a retail boxed/dvds genuine package and free to be installed on a new system but how can I be sure the license would be detached from any possible previous installation?
EDIT: I also had in the past a netbook with these SoC chip and I remember the speed and benchmark results, simply W8.x is not intended for these config to run enough well.

386SX wrote on 2022-03-02, 18:40:

I have an industrial mini-itx board I bought new in the past that only had W7 drivers support and unofficially it works on W8.x. While I've got a W8.1 retail boxed/genuine license still it's an heavy o.s. and cause the older drivers while they works they doesn't let the system run as fast as they can on Win7, cause the WDDM logic and the various GUI changes, background processes etc.. I've seen these low power SoC running on Win7 and they run n times faster seriously. Not only on the o.s. GUI itself also older games run natively. As fast as I can tweak for example a benchmark like 3DMark2000 loose from 1000 to 2000 points of score depending on the tweaks to make it run as supposed to. Cause some sort of retro Directx emulation, older games polygons/s rate difference is like night and day (1light test: 11 Mt/s on W7 vs 4Mt/s on W8.x) with the same gpu driver and even CPU score decrease (200 to 140 points, not even undersand how is possible I suppose background processes or heavier kernel who knows). Linux situation is worse on driver support so to really push this system the only way is its correct o.s that would be Win 7 x86.
So the best thing should be to find a retail boxed/dvds genuine package and free to be installed on a new system but how can I be sure the license would be detached from any possible previous installation?

You cannot be sure. I have a Retail Licensed copy of Windows 7 Ultimate with a key I can’t use because Microsoft has banned it. You take a risk buying any previously used Windows Licenses. Make sure you can get your money back from the seller before purchase.

That's the point, it's so complex when it could be quite easy to just buy a discontinued o.s. accepting the end lifetime support, directly from the official company.

386SX wrote on 2022-03-02, 18:50:

That's the point, it's so complex when it could be quite easy to just buy a discontinued o.s. accepting the end lifetime support, directly from the official company.

It's not complex. Buy an OEI license on eBay. They are sealed and brand new. Less than $30. I've about 20 of them for various OS's tied to various machines I have put together for myself. In fact, I'm typing this to you right now on a Windows 10 OEI licensed machine.

Vista Ultimate can be bought rather cheap these days.

The Serpent Rider wrote on 2022-03-02, 23:36:

Vista Ultimate can be bought rather cheap these days.

Unfortunately, due to early drop-of-support, Vista ls miles behind Windows 7 when it comes to supporting modern software and, through browsers, the modern web.

That's true, on another notebook that had Vista, I've seen most softwares and not only web browsers, not supporting it since long time. I will read something more about what the OEI license permit or not.

I built my Win7 gaming PC last year and it activated fine. I've since rebuilt it and never got around to activating and now don't see the need. It spends most it's time off line and the black desktop doesn't bother me.

I think it locks taskbar and few other options lock after the grace period ends but if that's the case I had mine set the way I like it before been locked so this isn't an issue for me either.

What I did struggle with was applying updates, in the end I went with Wsus offline
https://download.wsusoffline.net/

chinny22 wrote on 2022-03-03, 13:52:

I built my Win7 gaming PC last year and it activated fine. I've since rebuilt it and never got around to activating and now don […]
Show full quote

I built my Win7 gaming PC last year and it activated fine. I've since rebuilt it and never got around to activating and now don't see the need. It spends most it's time off line and the black desktop doesn't bother me.

I think it locks taskbar and few other options lock after the grace period ends but if that's the case I had mine set the way I like it before been locked so this isn't an issue for me either.

What I did struggle with was applying updates, in the end I went with Wsus offline
https://download.wsusoffline.net/

Good technique and helpful information. I always wondered if Windows Vista/7 could be livable without activation. I may try this out in the future.

I always wondered if Windows Vista/7 could be livable without activation

Of course, you can always crack it open with certain software.