Questions regarding TechNet License

I'm tempted to bite on the 25% offer MS has going on till March 31st. My questions are:

1) Can anyone buy a TechNet license?

2) How much does it cost to renew after the year is up?

3) How are activation keys given out? Do you have to request which software you are interested in?

4) Can I use the same key i.e. Office 2007 or Office 2010 on 5 different computers?

5) Will these keys be subject to the upcoming WAT update?

6) How many times can I activate on a computer that has had changes like mobo/CPU swap etc?

7) Dumb question. If anyone can buy a TechNet license why don't more people take advantage of it? Buying a Windows 7 Ultimate along with Office 2010 Ultimate is a heck of a lot cheaper using a TechNet license.

 

1) Yes anyone can buy a technet license.

2) $349 for first year, $249 renewal, standard rates

3) You just browse through the library of software, find what you want, click the "Generate key" button (or whatever it says) and voila, you've got a key for that product. Several older products have a generic key that doesn't require activation.

4) Each key has 10 activations. You can use it on ten different PC's one time, or five different PC's two times, or one PC ten times. You can pull new keys any time, no problem. Just don't go hog wild up front.

5) WAT update, not sure, probably.

6) See #4 - each key has 10 activations total

7) I ask the same question myself.

One question you didn't ask that I think is important is that your keys are still valid even if you let your TechNet subscription expire. You just can't pull new keys obviously.

 

TechNet licenses are for evaluation only and not for production environment or home use (with the exception of one install of office IIRC)....

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/bb892756.aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/cc294422.aspx

HTH,

Jeff

 

It is fine for home use. It's intended to be used by one user to test and evaluate products. This falls under the home use category. It's a good way for the technically literate to understand and promote Microsoft products to other people. That's really what Microsoft wants. You really shouldn't give licences to friends and family though, although I know it happens a lot.

 

Sorry for the threadjack, but I had an MSDN subscription that ended after I generated a key, but before I used it and the key is now invalid. Is that supposed to happen? Other software that I used the MSDN keys for still works.

 

From what i've read you are supposed to use the key before your subscription expires. I read where others are still able to use their keys after not renewing. I would contact Microsoft.

 

Do you mean activate if for the first time? Can I reinstall my computer and reactivate it with the same key for second time?

Also, is it 249 always or only until april?

 

1) Yes activate for the first time.

2) From what i've read Keys don't have an expiration once activated and used. Someone else had posted TechNet info on Keys you've acquired and used prior to the expiration of your subscription. So once a key is activated it's still good should you decide not to renew.

3) Someone else said $249 is the going rate for a renewal. The bigger question is can you apply the 28% off towards a renewal. If so I would renew if I were you if you want to try Office 2010.

 

Can you renew early? And what is the code for the 25% off?

 

It's 28% and the promo code is on the main page.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/default.aspx

 

Oh, and just to clarify, for most software in technet, you get 10 keys. However, these are not one time use keys, they are full fledged retail keys. Which means I can use it more than once (just not at the same time).


However, I really wish that technet could tell me what keys are being used where. That would be so useful since I don't know what I used for what.

 

Hmmm, I don't see it:

 

Your keys don't expire with your technet subscription. It's awesome.

 

You get 10 keys for every edition of Windows 7 plus one multiple activation key for Windows 7 Enterprise (Editions such as Home Premium, Ultimate, ect.. 32/64-bit keys are shared). The only software I've seen on it with few keys provided is Windows Home Server, which only has one key available.

Log out, clear your temps and try again. (See attached picture of what displays when not logged it.)

Technet is pretty awesome.

 

Hmmm, still don't see it. Is it for renewals? I plugged in this code and it didn't deduct the 28%.

 

Try this link:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/ms788692.aspx

Just caught this:

You save $100 when renewing anyway, so not a big loss. I think you can also have multiple subscriptions.

Dude, shoulda got Excel:

 

Do these keys need to be deactivated if they need to be reused ? Eg., I install on one computer, then I install something else over it (say the factory OS), now I want to use the same key on a new computer. Do I need to do something to let microsoft know I have removed the earlier OS ?

 

PIM = Personal Information Manager.

learn it, love it, use it.

Time & Chaos, Essential PIM, Thunderbird (with and without plugins), etc, etc.

 

Which one you use? I jsut use Outlook + a bunch of folders +textfiles
TRies quite a few opesource pims, didn't like them.

 

I've been using Time & Chaos Intellect for 10+ years now. No data loss/corruption, ever. They use a real embedded dbms under the covers and include a number of recovery tools.

I am interested in Essential PIM but every time I check it out, Intellect just seems a lot smoother and polished.

 

if you look around there are tools to "back up" your retail keys so you can re-use them without reactivating as long as its the same hardware as before jst fyi. and yes i have technet all my systems are technet and i have it every year its just plain awesome....

 

i am trying to buy a subscription. i used the link provided and the code and got the discount, but the shipping address page is only for US.
if i go through the uk site, it adds on vat at 21% so the discount is gone. which is not good as i am resident in dubai and do not live in the uk. what to do?

"Which one you use? I jsut use Outlook + a bunch of folders +textfiles " - and dont forget the yellow post-it notes

 

I have one TechNet Win 7 key which I've used on one PC. I want to use it on the other instead and will happily uninstall it from the current machine, but to test the process, I installed Win 7 on my new machine and put in the same key I'd already used.

I was expecting an activation screen, at which point I'd be told to contact MS as the hardware was different. Instead, I was told that the key wasn't valid and not given any options to activate over the phone etc.

The installation on my current PC is 100% genuine, active and working but it sounds to me like the key has expired in some way, even though it was first used before the membership expired.

Any thoughts anyone?

 

Log on your Technet account and get a new key.

If your key was those 5$ Ebay ones, it's now blacklisted as those should never been sold in the first place.

 

But I'm no longer a TechNet subscriber/active member.

This wasn't bought on eBay.

 

Then you aren't entitled to new keys.

Simple as that.

msft has threatened for years to start invalidating os and app keys of subscribers who let their subscriptions lapse. They might have started doing that.

 

There is nothing that Microsoft states that they will or have invalidated users subscriptions that have lapsed. I don't think they'd just start doing it without a terms of use update, and it would be across the board, where you'd hear a lot more about it from other users.

You can use the same key across multiple PC's without an issue, just up to the limit allotted (I believe 10 activations). Perhaps the OP did a handful of reinstalls that used up his allotment.

 

OK, thanks all. I haven't done that - this would be the 2nd installation/activation. I'll give MS a call and see what they say.