Windows 7 keys on ebay

**myf360f1** · 10-11-09, 07:15 PM

Hi all,

I was doing some searching for a friend and stumbled on I was abit surprised at how cheap keys can be had when someone informed me that people were selling RTM keys. Did MS release one RTM key or were many issued ?

Cheers

**woofer&ferret** · 10-11-09, 07:39 PM

Some of these will be keys obtained through MSDN or Technet subscriptions. Subscriptions start at about $AU500 and allow members to download up to 10 keys for each version of Windows, with 10 activations for each key. There are strict conditions on how and where the software can be used. Having said that, I took the chance about a month go and paid $US30.00 for a key which activated fine on three machine so far and is still running. The seller had good feedback but is no longer a registered user on eBay. I guess that he must have been reported. My Google searches suggest that MS does not normally cancel keys that have been passed on outside of license agreements. Rather, they cancel the MSDN or Technet subscription. There is an Australian site with Whirlpool in its URL that has many pages about creative uses of these subscriptions.

**myf360f1** · 10-11-09, 08:05 PM

Hi woofer and Ferret,

Sounds like a definite source of these keys. Is there anyway of distiguishing whether the keys are new or just RTM ?

**woofer&ferret** · 10-11-09, 09:05 PM

AFIK RTM (release to manufacturer) refers to the software rather than keys or serial. In other words, it is the first non-beta version of WIN 7, which will actually generate M$. I suspect that you were asking about OEM keys, which are released to manufacturers such as DELL or Lenovo. My understanding is that it is more complicated than simply entering an OEM key to activate WIN 7. You are meant to have the correct BIOS for this to work. However there are ways around this and there is no need to pay for such keys. Google Hazar or Keznews for a wealth of information.
Don't forget that eBay has the facility to ask the seller a question before making a commitment.
ioffer is another auction site that has cheap software. However, you need to be very careful as much of it is what you could download yourself via torrents or Usenet. Again, you need to ask the seller the right questions.

**myf360f1** · 11-11-09, 07:41 AM

Thanks woofer, I was talking about RTM because it is mentioned frequently by sellers who are saying that their product is not the same.

Oh well its buyer beware again.

cheers