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Question

can i use a borrowed cd to install an os

Jul 20, 2012 11:09AM PDT

I just bought a backup computer that has windows 7 on it.The owner lost or never had a restore disc.I bought it anyway because he sold it to me very cheap.My question is if i ever need to reinstall the os can i borrow someone else's windows 7 installation disc to reinstall the os using the key codes of the computer or any other way? Thank you.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Worth trying. Usually fails.
Jul 20, 2012 11:46AM PDT

On those OEM versions that key is specific to the maker so if this was a Dell, that might work with the Dell copy but you elected to share so little detail that I have to go with "try it."
Bob

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Answer
I think it'll fail . . .
Jul 20, 2012 11:47PM PDT

When Windows installs, it takes an inventory of the hardware. On activation this inventory is sent to Microsoft. Trying to use a copy that has already been activated on another machine will/may cause your idea to fail. Then again, Bob may be right, it seems that Dell sometimes doesn't care. And OEM copies are more lax.

Because of this inventory, I've had to reactivate when I changed a motherboard or added RAM. Activation was OK, but a new machine may cause a failure.

All you can do is try. It'll either work or it won't.