Solved How can I check if my old W7 license key is valid and can be used for W11?


ddiaconu21

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Windows 11
So basically I want to use my W7 key to activate W11 as I understood that is possible.
How can I check if my key is valid and if it can be used for it before installation?
Thanks!
 
Windows Build/Version
11

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Start a VM and install Windows 7 and use hte key.

Or, you could try using SuperFly's ShowKey app:

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420 RGB + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge , Arc
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
Start a VM and install Windows 7 and use hte key.

Or, you could try using SuperFly's ShowKey app:

However, be advised that the activation of the virtual machine could use up the number of activations allowed with that specific Windows 7 product key and when you then attempt to activate Windows on the physical computer, you will find that the Windows 7 product key has been blocked.

Windows 7 and Windows 8 product keys (even retail product keys) have a limited number of activations allowed in a certain period of time. Once you exceed that limited number of activations, the product key gets blocked for online activations by Microsoft. Once that happens, if you want to use the product key you have to use phone in activation. The problem with phone in activation, though, is that it only works with the version of Windows the product key is for, Windows 7 or Windows 8. You cannot activate Windows 10 or 11 over the phone with a Windows 7 or 8 product key - at least not via the normal phone activation line. Microsoft customer support might be able to do it if you get to talk to the right living and breathing person.

If you discover that you have a Windows 7 or 8 product key that has been blocked from online activation what you can do is install the original OS (Windows 7 or 8) on the computer that you ultimately want Windows 10 or 11 on. Activate the Windows 7 or 8 via normal phone activation, then upgrade it in place to Windows 10 or 11. You don't need to worry about hardware drivers or updates on the original Windows 7 or 8, you are only going to use it as an upgrade path. Once you get a successful upgrade to Windows 10 or 11 and acquire the digital license for that computer, then you can turn around and do a clean install of Windows 10 or 11 without a product key and it will activate from the digital license.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
I used an upgrade Win 7 Home Premium licence collecting dust to install Win 10. At first, it didn't take it - had to do the phone activation. Then i used a modified Win 11 on a flash drive to install Win 11 in a VB VM. Shows activated finally after jumping through some hoops!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11

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