Windows 7 Dell Upgrade need key when installing it?

Ugh.. I should have taken a picture of my license keys when I got the laptop.. I got the Dell Win 7 upgrade DVD which came with the license... I put the license on the bottom of the laptop with out thinking that I should take a picture of it... A few of the characters of the key are about illegible..

I had put a clean install of my retail copy of Win 7 Ultimate on it so I never used the key that came with the upgrade. Well I'm going to put my retail copy on the desktop instead, so I will be reinstalling Vista than running the Win 7 upgrade DVD (both dell discs). Will I need to input the key for the Win 7 upgrade? I know I didn't have to use the key when I used the Vista disc.

Basically when you upgraded using the Win 7 media Dell gave you, did you need to input a key?

 

If the notebook was bought with a Vista license, then Dell sent you a Windows 7 upgrade disk when 7 came out... I'd say that you'd have to put in a new license key, but the key should have come with the upgrade software.

 

You shouldn't need to. I forgot exactly how it works, but your BIOs contains all the info to input the key and activate using the generic Dell License. You'll be fine..

I can't even read the sticker on the bottom of my XPS

 

Every Dell W7 upgrade I've had to deal with required a key for activation. I do not think these are OEM copies, or at least they do not act like it.

The best advice I can give you is to contact Dell. They'll probably be able to send you a new sticker.

 

Yeah that's what I was hoping. Some how I doubt they will though. Good news though, I took a macro picture of the windows 7 sticker and blew it up in photoshop... The 3 letters I could not make out I was able to make out after the sticker was blown up! I'm saving both the vista and windows 7 sticker pictures!

I do wonder if Dell would be good enough to send a new sticker though, I may contact them. If they were to send me a new sticker that would solidify what I think of Dell that's for sure! So fare they have been excellent to me.

 

Damn activation was successful the first time, no need to call Dell or MS or anything - and this is from a clean install where I booted from the DVD!

 

If computer was shipped with Vista, it would have only Vista information in BIOS.

OEM can be both key activated or offline pre-activated. As offline activation requires BIOS to have Win7 info embedded and in this case computer only has Vista info, it will not work. That's why key has to be entered manually and activated via internet.

 

Are you in your Windows 7 that you want to reinstall?
If so, Get Everest (trial version is fine), and go under Software > License, to see your Windows 7 product key.

Alternatively you can call Microsoft for a new one. I always suggest to do like Dell does with the Latitude E series: they put the Windows key under the battery compartment (not on the battery itself, of course). This way, the battery protects the product key. So to see your product key, you just have to pull out the battery and flip your laptop for a second to copy it down. Of course, if you decide to flip the laptop and put it the screen lid on the table, have something under the laptop lid and table to prevent scratches.