Basic Knowledge on Windows 7: Its Activation and Product Keys

Windows 7 is an operating system under Windows NT produced and developed by Microsoft. It is, by far, the most widely used Windows operating system.

According to sources, Windows 7 was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available to the market on October 22, 2009, or less than three years after the release of Windows Vista.

Windows 7 was initially intended to be an upgrade to Microsoft Windows Vista especially addressing Vista’s poor critical reception all the while maintaining its hardware and software compatibility.

Consequently, Windows 7 is almost similar to Windows Vista, with the exception of the fact that it has an entirely different graphics. The layout of its operating system is also different from older versions of Windows. It runs a lot smoother than the previous versions.

As compared to Windows Vista, Windows 7 received better reviews from critics who considered the operating system to be a major improvement due to its increased performance, more intuitive interface, fewer User Account Control pop-ups and other improvements made across the platform. Simply put, Windows 7 was a major success for Microsoft.

To use Windows 7, you may download it from Microsoft’s official website. Unfortunately, you will need a genuine Windows 7 key to activate the operating system and complete the installation process. Said keys may be purchased from Microsoft or any authorized reseller of Microsoft products.

Where to Find the Windows 7 Product Key

If you buy a physical copy of Windows 7, the product key should be indicated on the label or a card inside the box Windows came in with. If Windows 7 was preinstalled on your PC/computer, the product key should appear on a sticker attached to your device.

If in case you can not find the product key or you might have lost it, it is best to contact the manufacturer in able to acquire your Windows 7 product key.

Windows 7 Product Key

The product key is a 25-character code composed of numbers and letters. It comes in this format: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX.

The product key is a verification that your copy of Windows is genuine. Without it, you will not be able to activate the operating system on your device.

It is to be noted however that even if you have a genuine Windows 7 operating system yet you do not have a Windows 7 product key, you will still not be able to run Windows 7 on your computers or laptops.

Activating Windows 7

To activate Windows 7, start by clicking on the Start menu and searching on the search box “activate windows”. Click the option Activate Windows from the search results. In the alternative, you may also click the Activate Now notification that often appears on the taskbar.

Next, key in the Windows 7 product key. Afterwards, click Validate. It should only take a minute or so for the task to complete, depending on the speed of your internet connection.

If the product key is already used by someone else, you will receive a notification saying you have exceeded the number of activations for that key. The system will then ask you to enter a different key and then click Retry.

Verifying Windows 7 key

In order for one to verify his Windows 7 product key, or for one to make sure that his product keys are working, he may follow the following steps: first, click on the Start menu. Then, click on Control Panel. Choose System and Security. Finally, click on System.

After that, scroll down all the way to the bottom. You will see a section called Windows activation. In that section, you should see the words “Windows is activated” and you should also see the Product ID and the genuine Microsoft software logo.

Failure to Activate Windows 7

Failing to activate Windows 7 leaves your computer an annoying but usable system. Annoying in the sense that when you do not choose to activate Windows 7 during its installation, you will notice an “Activate Windows Online Now” notification in the system tray.

If you do not activate then, you will see another “Activate Now” notification every single day from the fourth day until the 27th day. Thereafter and until the 30th day, you will get that “Activate Now” notification message as often as every four hours for the next days until the 30th.

After the 30th day, you will get that “Activate Now” notification every hour, along with a reminder that your Windows version is not genuine whenever you launch the Control Panel.

To add, Windows 7 will not perform any system updates after the grace period. Further, Windows will automatically turn the screen’s background image to black, even after you change it back to your preferred image. This behavior of the operating system will continue until you successfully activate your Windows 7.