Windows 7 OEM – Applying OEM System Locked Preinstallation Activation using the Activation and Backup Recovery Program

This is a legacy guide. The procedure has been made much easier to follow here.

Contents

What is Original Equipment Manufacturer System Locked Preinstallation Activation?

Examples of Microsoft’s Major Partner Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEMs) are:

  • Alienware/Dell
  • Lenovo/IBM
  • HP/Compaq
  • ASUS
  • Acer
  • Samsung
  • Sony
  • Toshiba
  • MSI
  • Fujitsu

Microsoft Major Partner OEMs preinstalled Windows 7 on millions of machines. In order to save production time these Major OEM licenses utilised a BIOS based activation mechanism. The conventional way would have required the OEM to input a unique 25 digit product key and call Microsoft for every single machine…

This BIOS based activation mechanism is called OEM System Locked Preinstallation as an activation mechanism. Customised Windows 7 installation media inputs a generic product key known as a System Locked Preinstallation (SLP) key which results in offline product activation if and only if the System License Internal Code (SLIC) is valid i.e. the system has an eligible system BIOS. For more details on determining the SLIC see my BIOS/UEFI guide.

Lets take Dell and the Edition Windows 7 Professional for example. Every single Dell PC shipped with Windows 7 Professional OEM has the same product key 32KD2-K9CTF-M3DJT-4J3WC-733WD and this will show up in system properties as Product ID: 00371–OEM-8992671-00524 (the first 5 digits differ depending on language, English is shown). A Dell Branded Windows 7 Professional Reinstallation DVD will automatically select to install Windows 7 Professional and input this product key and offline product activation if and only if the system has an eligible Dell BIOS and has been sold with Windows 10 Pro OEM (via downgrade rights), Windows 8.1 Pro OEM (via downgrade rights) or Windows 7 Professional OEM.

Lets take Dell and the Edition Windows 7 Home Premium for example. Every single Dell PC shipped with Windows 7 Home Premium OEM has the same product key 6RBBT-F8VPQ-QCPVQ-KHRB8-RMV82 and this will show up in system properties as Product ID: 00359–OEM-8992687-00095 (the first 5 digits differ depending on language, English is shown). A Dell Branded Windows 7 Professional Reinstallation DVD will automatically select to install Windows 7 Home Premium and input this product key and offline product activation if and only if the system has an eligible Dell BIOS and has been sold with Windows Home Premium Pro OEM.

Note if your OEM e.g. Dell have only certified a particular model to run Windows XP or Windows Vista, there will not be a Dell BIOS update available and hence the system will not be certified for Windows 7 OEM System Locked Preinstallation and Product Activation will fail.

To identify if your system has been installed using a Microsoft’s Major Partner OEM SLP you will have a product ID of the form:

  • xxxxx-OEM–899xxxx-xxxxx

You may check your activation status by pressing [Windows] and [Pause|Break] or by going to Start and right clicking computer and selecting properties.

windowsactivated

If there is no OEM in the Product ID you have a Retail or Volume license and these licenses are not supported with this guide…

Note if the product ID has the form:

  • xxxxx-OEM–910xxxx-xxxxx

You have Windows 7 installed via the unique 25 digit product key from the Code of Authenticity (COA) affixed to your computer.* This activation mechanism works however OEM System Locked Preinstallation is in general preferred.

* It should be noted that there are two very poorly understood additional OEM licenses which may lead to confusion. These two licenses are Commerical OEM System Builder Licenses and Manufacturer Refurbisher OEM Licenses. These licenses do not have OEM System Locked Preinstallation and are hence not supported in this guide.

Although OEM media which applies OEM SLP is preferred. For Windows 7 Microsoft had a terrible Digital Distribution with only Retail installation media being made downloadable. There is no official OEM download for most OEMs. For Dell systems:

This Dell branded Reinstallation media is more up to date than Microsoft’s offerings and automatically applies OEM SLP.

Identification Stickers for Windows 7 OEM System locked Preinstallation

I will mention identification stickers now…

If the system is shipped with a Windows Pro OEM Edition and is eligible for Windows 7 Pro OEM System Locked Preinstallation:

win10ProWin8Pro

If the system is shipped with a Windows Home OEM Edition and is ineligible for Windows 7 OEM System Locked Preinstallation i.e. product activation will fail:

Win10HomeWin8HomeWin8Bing

If the system has an OEM branded Windows 7 COA it is eligible for OEM system locked preinstallation from that OEM:

Windows 7 COA

These COAs are often found under the battery compartment or computer cover to prevent fading:

Laptop COA

If the COA is unbranded it is not eligible for OEM System Locked Preinstallation. A commercial OEM COA even for a Pro Edition has no Downgrade Rights as tit doesn’t support OEM System Locked Preisntallation.

Unfortunately there are many systems sold with incorrectly licensed Windows 7 COAs. A HP system sold with a Dell branded COA or a Dell branded COA sold without a Dell system is non-genuine. This can become confusing for end-users when they have bought an older Dell Windows Vista system and this PC has had its Windows Vista COA removed and replaced with a Dell branded Windows 7 COA. Needless to say these non-genuine COAs aren’t supported and OEM System locked Preinstallation will fail for system models where no BIOS Update is available to certify the system to run Windows 7.

What is the Activation Backup and Recovery Program?

OEM system locked preinstallation keys cannot be used in the traditional manner… If one uses traditional Retail installation media (or Commercial OEM installation media) downloadable from Microsoft OEM SLP will not be applied.

If one attempts to input the OEM System Locked Preinstallation Key during installation:

Win7-9

Or via Change your Product Key:

4

It will result in an unactivated Windows Edition.

The Activation Backup and Recovery (ABR) Program is a third party utility which allows one to Backup and Reapply OEM System Locked Preinstallation. The backup procedure obtains the OEM cert file and OEM SLP key in text form however because the cert file files are in mass circulation e.g. every single Dell Windows 7 Professional OEM install has the same cert file and same OEM SLP key, in most cases the Backup feature is not required.

The use of the ABR Recovery utility alongside the cert file means one can install Windows 7 Retail without a Product Key to initiate a 30 day trial and then apply OEM System Locked Preinstallation.

activate

As ABR only applies OEM System Locked Preinstallation it will only work on eligible systems. If the cert file and OEM SLP key is used on an illegal system you will be given 9 days to input a valid product key.

This tool is useful if there is a product activation issue and Dell/HP OEM SLP needs to be reapplied without reinstallation or if one has a Retail Installation DVD.

Download Links and System Locked Preinstallation Keys

Most major OEMs are supported with this collection:

  • Alienware/Dell
  • Lenovo/IBM
  • HP/Compaq
  • ASUS
  • Acer
  • Samsung
  • Sony
  • Toshiba
  • MSI
  • Fujitsu

These were obtained from here which covers a few more less common major OEMs.

Restore

Download ABRbeta (Windows 7) and the Activation Files.

The following steps may look a bit more complicated than they actually are. Essentially all you are doing is extracting two folders. One has two programs activation_backup.exe and activation_restore.exe. The cert and product key files must be copied to this extracted folder so the activation_restore.exe can be launched.

Extraction

Right click the “Dell/HP ABR Activation Files Vista and 7” and select extract all.

1

Opt for the extracted files to be in downloads.

2abr

Select to open the folder and snap it to the right. Next snap downloads to the left. Extract ABRbeta.exe (Windows 7) or ABR.exe (Windows Vista) by double clicking it.

3abr

Accept the warnings to run it

4abr

Again select the default location of downloads and select extract

5abr

You will now have a folder called ABR, open it to the left and open the ABR activation files to the right.

6abr

Activation-Restore.exe

Select your version of Windows.

7abr

I will use Professional as an example. Move the backup-cert.XrML and backup-key.txt file to the ABR folder.

8abr

Once these files are copied across run activation-restore.exe by double clicking it and accept any user-account control. It will input the Major OEM SLP key from the backup-key.txt and use this with the backup-cert.XrML to activate Windows Vista or Windows 7.

Note: You may be prompted to continue press [y] and [enter] if asked (usually you are asked this only if you entered a product key during installation which was not recommended).

abrfull

Product Activation Check

Restart your computer and check your activation status by pressing [Windows] and [Pause|Break]. Windows 7 should be activated in the exact same manner as the OEM factory install.

windowsactivated

The rest of this guide is just additional information… and won’t be required in most cases…

Backup

In the rare cases where the Cert file is not downloadable or you wish to backup your own one.

Check to see if your computer is running an OEM license by looking at the product ID in System Properties (press [Windows] and [Pause|Break]:

windowsactivated

Look at your Product ID; the product ID of a major Windows 7 OEM license with OEM SLP will have the form of xxxxx-OEM-899xxxx-xxxxx and for a major Windows Vista OEM license the SLP will have the form xxxxx-OEM-733xxxx-xxxxx. The ABR backup will not work for a system without such a product ID.

Download ABRbeta (Windows 7) or ABR (Windows Vista). Extract ABRbeta.exe (Windows 7) or ABR.exe (Windows Vista) by double clicking it.

3abr

Accept the warnings to run it

4abr

Select the default location to extract.

5abr

This will extract to an ABR folder, open it.

6abr

Launch the activation_backup.exe

abrbackupfull

Accept any UAC prompts, you will now have a backup-cert.XrML file and backup-key.txt file created.

abrbackupfull2Copy the ABR Folder to a safe place for later use. These can be used later to restore your OEM product activation.

If you have the cert file for any OEM thats not Dell or HP you may add the files to a zip file and save this to OneDrive and share it in the comments section. It can help other users with Vista or 7 from your OEM which wish to clean install and whose hard drive or installation has failed and have no recovery media.

My Dell Shipped with Windows Vista OEM – Can I Install Windows 7 OEM Instead?

Windows 7 OEM was a Free Upgrade for Late Windows Vista OEMsystems. Microsoft marketed Windows 7 OEM as a “Free Upgrade” to Windows Vista OEM if the system was sold 6 months before the release of Windows 7 OEM. Windows 7 OEM was released on the 22/07/2009.

This “6 months” is just a rough guide. In reality it is the hardware which dictates the ability to perform the Free Upgrade from Windows Vista OEM to Windows 7 OEM… Lets take the Dell OptiPlex 760 system which was released by Dell on the 29th of October 2008. It may have been sold any time from November 2009 to December 2009. This makes the vast majority of these models sold in the 6 months before the release of Windows 7 OEM (Microsoft’s marketing Window). Irregardless of the precise point of sale, Dell the OEM classify them as the same model and they have the same BIOS update making them eligible to run Windows 7 Pro OEM.

As a consequence most models released around this time are eligible to run Windows 7 OEM provided they have their latest BIOS update applied.

  • The latest BIOS Update in many cases updates the SLIC to 2.1 from SLIC 2.0 making the system valid for Windows 7 OEM SLP (for more details see my BIOS/UEFI guide).

Dell models released in this time period are eligible to run Windows 7 using Dell OEM SLP providing their following BIOS update is applied.

After applying the latest BIOS Update check to see if your SLIC is 2.1. If it is WIndows 7 OEM will activate if it isn’t Windows 7 OEM will fail to activate. For more details on checking this see my BIOS/UEFI guide. This check is needed on the Mid 2008 systems (I don’t have all the hardware to test).

Adamo Desktops

Dimension Desktops

Inspiron Desktops

Inspiron Laptops

Latitude Laptops

OptiPlex Desktops

Precision Desktops

Precision Laptops

Studio Desktops

Studio Laptops

Vostro Desktops

Vostro Laptops

XPS Desktops

Ineligible System Example Test

This is just a demonstration to show that the Activation Backup Recovery program or Dell Windows 7 Reinstallation DVD won’t work on ineligible systems.

A Dell Latitude D820 was used with an Vista Business COA in this test. It has a genuine Windows 7 Upgrade license and was later activated using it.

This system was only sold by Dell with Windows XP and Windows Vista, hence the latest BIOS revision only has markers for Windows XP and Windows Vista. If one tries installing with a Dell Windows 7 Professional Reinstallation DVD or using the ABR files for Windows 7 which mimic the activation mechanism of the Reinstallation DVD on this system, Windows 7 will not activate. Instead you will get a 9 days until automatic activation as shown below.

abrbad1

When you click to activate now you will be unable to activate with the Dell SLP key and will be prompted to enter another product key. After 9 days you will get:

abrbad2

System Locked Preinstalaltion Key and Product ID List

Dell OEM SLP Keys and Product IDs

Product IDs (the first 5 digits differ depending on language – English UK is given here):

  • Windows Vista Home Basic xxxxx-OEM-7332166-00096
  • Windows Vista Home Premium xxxxx-OEM-7332157-00204
  • Windows Vista Business xxxxx-OEM-7332141-00054
  • Windows Vista Ultimate xxxxx-OEM-7332132-00141
  • Windows 7 Starter 00342-OEM -8992707-00082
  • Windows 7 Home Basic 00346-OEM-8992752-50258
  • Windows 7 Home Premium 00359-OEM-8992687-00095
  • Windows 7 Professional 00371-OEM-8992671-00524
  • Windows 7 Ultimate 00426-OEM-8992662-00400

SLP keys are:

  • Windows Vista Home Basic 3YMR2-WMV49-4WD8X-M9WM7-CH4CG
  • Windows Vista Home Premium 4GPTT-6RYC4-F4GJK-KG77H-B9HD2
  • Windows Vista Business 368Y7-49YMQ-VRCTY-3V3RH-WRMG7
  • Windows Vista Ultimate 2QBP3-289MF-9364X-37XGX-24W6P
  • Windows 7 Starter 36Q3Y-BBT84-MGJ3H-FT7VD-FG72J
  • Windows 7 Home Basic 36T88-RT7C6-R38TQ-RV8M9-WWTCY
  • Windows 7 Home Premium 6RBBT-F8VPQ-QCPVQ-KHRB8-RMV82
  • Windows 7 Professional 32KD2-K9CTF-M3DJT-4J3WC-733WD
  • Windows 7 Ultimate 342DG-6YJR8-X92GV-V7DCV-P4K27

Alienware OEM SLP Keys and Product IDs

Product IDs (the first 5 digits differ depending on language – English UK is given here):

  • Windows 7 Home Premium 00359-OEM-8992687-00008
  • Windows 7 Professional 00371-OEM-8992671-00188
  • Windows 7 Ultimate 00426-OEM-8992662-00008
  • Windows 7 Ultimate 00426-OEM-8992662-00120 (Variant 2)

SLP keys are:

  • Windows 7 Home Premium V3Y2W-CMF9W-PGT9C-777KD-32W74
  • Windows 7 Professional 4CFBX-7HQ6R-3JYWF-72GXP-4MV6W
  • Windows 7 Ultimate 4HMYB-6YHYT-TW2J6-FQBC3-6GBFW (Variant 2)

Lenovo and IBM OEM SLP Keys and Product IDs

Product IDs (the first 5 digits differ depending on language – English UK is given here:

  • Windows 7 Starter 00342-OEM-8992752-30169
  • Windows 7 Starter 00342-OEM-8992702-00153 (Variant 2)
  • Windows 7 Home Basic 00346-OEM-8992752-50213
  • Windows 7 Home Premium 00359-OEM-8992687-00249
  • Windows 7 Professional 00371-OEM-8992671-00437
  • Windows 7 Professional 00371-OEM-8992662-00537 (Variant 2)
  • Windows 7 Ultimate 00426-OEM-8992662-00537

SLP keys are:

  • Windows 7 Starter 273P4-GQ8V6-97YYM-9YTHF-DC2VP
  • Windows 7 Starter 22P26-HD8YH-RD96C-28R8J-DCT28 (Variant 2)
  • Windows 7 Home Basic 22MFQ-HDH7V-RBV79-QMVK9-PTMXQ
  • Windows 7 Home Premium 27GBM-Y4QQC-JKHXW-D9W83-FJQKD
  • Windows 7 Professional 237XB-GDJ7B-MV8MH-98QJM-24367
  • Windows 7 Professional 6K2KY-BFH24-PJW6W-9GK29-TMPWP (Variant 2)
  • Windows 7 Ultimate 6K2KY-BFH24-PJW6W-9GK29-TMPWP

HP and Compaq OEM SLP Keys and Product IDs

Product IDs (the first 5 digits differ depending on language – English UK is given here

  • Windows Vista Starter xxxxx-OEM-7332204-00603
  • Windows Vista Home Basic xxxxx-OEM-7332166-00021
  • Windows Vista Home Premium xxxxx-OEM-7332157-00174
  • Windows Vista Business xxxxx-OEM-7332141-00039
  • Windows Vista Ultimate xxxxx-OEM-7332132-00015
  • Windows 7 Starter xxxxx-OEM-8992752-30008
  • Windows 7 Home Basic 00346-OEM-8992752-50008
  • Windows 7 Home Premium 00359-OEM-8992687-00010
  • Windows 7 Professional 00371-OEM-8992671-00008
  • Windows 7 Ultimate 00426-OEM-8992662-00010

SLP keys are:

  • Windows Vista Starter 223JH-DDMFR-3WBTR-H3V93-28JK8
  • Windows Vista Home Basic 2VX48-BVXT6-GD2PK-BD3R2-44MV3
  • Windows Vista Home Premium HW7V9-XYT4W-PFR9Q-2DKGJ-RR4TD
  • Windows Vista Business 2Q2WM-VCB98-8C6BG-C9BT2-3XDRY
  • Windows Vista Ultimate 23CM9-P7MYR-VFWRT-JGH7R-R933G
  • Windows 7 Starter RH98C-M9PW4-6DHR7-X99PJ-3FGDB
  • Windows 7 Home Basic DX8R9-BVCGB-PPKRR-8J7T4-TJHTH
  • Windows 7 Home Premium 4FG99-BC3HD-73CQT-WMF7J-3Q6C9
  • Windows 7 Professional 74T2M-DKDBC-788W3-H689G-6P6GT
  • Windows 7 Ultimate MHFPT-8C8M2-V9488-FGM44-2C9T3

For other OEMs the details are found in this text file here. Its Windows 7 content is shown below:

STARTER (OEM-8992752 & OEM-8992707)

RDJXR-3M32B-FJT32-QMPGB-GCFF6  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30004 ACER/GATEWAY/PACKARD
6K6WB-X73TD-KG794-FJYHG-YCJVG  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30005  ASUS (Eee)
6PB94-MC2C6-4F37H-KTJ32-PF2PT  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00097  CASPERERA
BB2KM-PDWW3-99H7J-F7B9R-FXKF6  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00010  COMPAQ/HP
4FQRW-9R6H7-6P49K-2QKW6-WVK46  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00222  CREA
36Q3Y-BBT84-MGJ3H-FT7VD-FG72J  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00082  DELL
BHP4B-MXP9G-RG7KQ-T8R84-CW3D3  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00232  EXCIMER
4FRH4-WQDGJ-M9HRY-K73D8-RGT3C  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00228  EXPER
PMXH9-M23P9-QJJMB-2FWRC-7CDKP  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30007  FUJITSU
BRFCY-XMXRV-28JHQ-F6D9B-BV73C  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30198  HANNSPREE
RH98C-M9PW4-6DHR7-X99PJ-3FGDB  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30008  HP/COMPAQ
6KTVJ-RY667-X3Q9J-26MXJ-KKWT8  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00133  KSYSTEMS-IRBIS
273P4-GQ8V6-97YYM-9YTHF-DC2VP  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30169  LENOVO/IBM
22P26-HD8YH-RD96C-28R8J-DCT28  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00153  LENOVO/IBM
2V3W2-JXTTR-28RD8-R228D-KR69C  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30099  LG
2K8WH-JVQDM-C9HVC-YR2XC-8M76G  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30065  MEDION
2W4DJ-JFFJV-DMCPP-2C3X8-883DP  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00121  MSI
2YKPV-BFXFW-X8GJQ-9KQFF-KCXGD  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30271  MSI
2XGHP-9TQK2-8CF28-BM2P2-8FRX8  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30269  NOKIA
4BBMG-9W3GV-W48DD-KX6MB-XMMMK  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00174  OEGSTONE
344HQ-3YHDT-C7VCT-BDPBV-4KTR3  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00192  OLIDATA
PV9BD-YBRX6-CTMG6-CCMJY-X8XG7  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30013  SAMSUNG
32J2V-TGQCY-9QJXP-Q3FVT-X8BQ7  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00016  SONY
6RVFM-RTMTJ-4DGWV-TXTQW-7GFFB  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30173  TAROX
TGBKB-9KBGJ-3Y3J6-K8M2F-J2HJQ  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30015  TOSHIBA
6TQ9G-QB2WK-FM2TB-CKBDP-9D6HM  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30215  VIEWSONIC
7W842-2HCPJ-BC3MJ-B79K6-TD2HQ  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30214  VILIV
6JPKB-P8D84-6DT8D-P2QHB-QMKP9  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30069  ZOOSTORM
6CYKC-TDDYQ-K4B6G-HQD89-CWDP3  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00169  ?????
4HGWK-KHT8C-J2KCF-F3PVF-44PD4  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00172  ?????
32TF3-PT6YV-V6GCK-RR8GM-VM4QG  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00180  ?????
6HKDD-HMKWQ-74YC4-2B8C3-MPG6R  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00303  ?????
CPWRQ-6XR63-4VK76-2FGT3-8BC3R  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00291  ?????/PHILCO
BJ4TC-8D6GG-V7DDW-23QGM-WXQJQ  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30056  ?????
2VK6K-VRCTY-7CBJ6-P32JW-27PXY  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00057  ?????
49XPC-DRPCY-QW32T-DDYYR-4CJQ2  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00139  ?????
8YTY6-YV62C-WKCW3-4FDKT-PMCFD  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00281  ?????
2XVCK-7B4HM-367Q8-6QMKT-V3MCK  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00181  ?????
3W64W-XQBKP-H7YMF-BV22K-42YTC  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00140  ?????
9GX2X-9J693-9R6DC-KXY6H-W6FCV  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00065  ?????
BH7P7-V47R7-WX48V-JDKFF-KTM8R  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30260  ?????
BBR9D-7GDDG-TWPWM-7V3JM-DBVJY  XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00226  ?????
BVR93-YDCDW-2KP6F-F22W9-M22TH  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-30134  ?????

HOME BASIC (OEM-8992752)

MB4HF-2Q8V3-W88WR-K7287-2H4CP  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50004  ACER/GATEWAY/PACKARD
89G97-VYHYT-Y6G8H-PJXV6-77GQM  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50005  ASUS
6M78P-JJRQP-9C4RX-RPK7G-3VTH3  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50273  DEALIN
36T88-RT7C6-R38TQ-RV8M9-WWTCY  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50258  DELL
BDGFF-3P2D4-YVV7H-BXD2T-9JKJJ  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50208  EXCIMER
7WGMV-QFYXX-64DCG-HQFWM-DWGKY  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50100  FOUNDER
8W3JQ-BP2HY-F47QX-6CQ94-2BKQB  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50007  FUJITSU
2Q4QP-8P4MD-47YBP-7TXX9-FKDRM  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50229  HCL
DX8R9-BVCGB-PPKRR-8J7T4-TJHTH  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50008  HP
239PK-QV6BM-6BX3V-KH2BD-R3VTY  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50065  ITAUTEC
2YB9V-B4R3R-D8Y6R-CB7DB-J6YY7  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50267  KRAFTWAY
82P6X-KGH24-FCPXC-XQKC9-74KC8  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50059  KSystems
22MFQ-HDH7V-RBV79-QMVK9-PTMXQ  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50213  LENOVO/IBM
2TY7W-H4DD4-MB62F-BD9C3-88TM6  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50179  MSI
6DG93-2G6YJ-VHRX8-3YRWX-K4HWP  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50073  OEGSTONE
4FW6G-J7FR9-MHWGW-JDXP6-QQH89  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50092  POSITIVO
2P6PB-G7YVY-W46VJ-BXJ36-PGGTG  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50013  SAMSUNG
YV7QQ-RCXQ9-KTBHC-YX3FG-FKRW8  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50014  SONY
9DBMT-GXRWM-6Q9Y3-WMYM8-FJCBW  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50165  TONGFANG
9H4FH-VD69Y-TGBD2-4PM4K-DRMMH  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50015  TOSHIBA
72CBX-694QK-D6RBG-8CXQB-PV899  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50182  ?????
84HQ6-KHBG8-4GK2Y-QD82Y-HKX94  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50191  ?????
34GHT-J3WC3-XG8R2-H7JCF-GG6H9  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50214  ?????
7Q2DF-C4FJJ-VM98J-VB2X7-VK3Y9  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50082  ?????
BHB7Q-R2KDK-YY2VY-T3H4M-2HM4B  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50076  ?????
2726G-HMJ7V-JC2Y7-94KYY-HTYJR  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50157  ?????
CYWJJ-QVG7J-GJDFP-TWGPM-29TTF  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50099  ?????
2TWK7-TRCX8-K29CY-8CMVM-G2Y7M  XXXXX-OEM-8992752-50127  ?????

HOME PREM (OEM-8992687)

VQB3X-Q3KP8-WJ2H8-R6B6D-7QJB7  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00006  ACER/GATEWAY/PACKARD
38JTJ-VBPFW-XFQDR-PJ794-8447M  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00304  ADVENT
V3Y2W-CMF9W-PGT9C-777KD-32W74  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00008  ALIENWARE
2QDBX-9T8HR-2QWT6-HCQXJ-9YQTR  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00007  ASUS
7JQWQ-K6KWQ-BJD6C-K3YVH-DVQJG  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00118  ASUS (Eee)
8YDX9-B7MMG-82XD9-V88G9-MR92T  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00063  DEALIN
6RBBT-F8VPQ-QCPVQ-KHRB8-RMV82  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00095  DELL
83K3W-QH8JT-T7KBY-9FQB6-V9R8H  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00191  DELL
GRDX4-HGYJQ-CWJ6B-3HVT2-YKRG4  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00217  EXO
C6MHH-TRRPT-74TDC-FHRMV-XB88W  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00009  FUJITSU
2V36J-4RK8B-GW27Q-4DXPG-RQP78  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00243  GENUINE C&C
3743C-T6892-B4PHM-JHFKY-4BB7W  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00202  GIGABYTE
39QDH-D7MHH-WDMTD-TM2R9-KM7DB  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00258  HCL
4FG99-BC3HD-73CQT-WMF7J-3Q6C9  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00010  HP
P434X-9H862-PTK88-YGH82-G3THD  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00201  Impression Computers
6H6K2-Y6CVC-PR6BK-WQ2WP-TJVJ9  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00265  KRAFTWAY
27GBM-Y4QQC-JKHXW-D9W83-FJQKD  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00249  LENOVO/IBM
38GRR-KMG3D-BTP99-TC9G4-BBDJJ  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00174  LG
BHJWK-9K4HP-M9DQ2-XX3DR-CJFMR  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00262  MAXDATA/QUANMAX/CHILIGREEN
2P2P9-CM3F8-FTV6P-PC7CX-8TFF7  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00093  MEDION
4G3GR-J6JDJ-D96PV-T9B9D-M8X2Q  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00246  MSI
86DTG-C7PDC-JDHKH-PGDM7-V9FVY  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00199  OEGSTONE
6WMCP-JJHVF-GK796-9JB9X-BFX3R  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00279  ONKYO
J84PD-BHP6K-FCHBJ-7PHWD-76MXK  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00239  PARADIGIT
2XPWB-Q64BJ-W8CT3-WJTWT-4DQ99  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00267  POSITIVO
CQBVJ-9J697-PWB9R-4K7W4-2BT4J  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00015  SAMSUNG
C3V4C-6Y6WM-DGRM9-QJG82-8K3FP  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00211  SHUTTLE
HWDFB-YVFG4-3TJ7F-Q3WMT-7B6PH  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00138  SIRAGON
H4JWX-WHKWT-VGV87-C7XPK-CGKHQ  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00016  SONY
BWHCT-BWJPG-H9PV3-4V4WT-9978X  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00200  TAROX
6B88K-KCCWY-4F8HK-M4P73-W8DQG  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00057  TOSHIBA
6GF36-P4HWR-BFF84-6GFC2-BWX77  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00017  TOSHIBA
C23T3-9F2T2-FPWBM-XYMW2-272J9  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00143  VIEWSONIC
83BJB-QKYF3-H9K4M-DV32X-8X2XD  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00261  ZT Systems
TTJQ7-4PFJC-6JFJ8-B22VD-VXW88  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00013  ?????
GFDW7-7T4B9-VB8W7-TTHRM-JG2KB  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00079  ?????
CPF7K-XP3YV-JVHHF-YMMRD-Y4Y9K  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00135  ?????
7K377-DVP2Q-YGWJG-3M3G7-RBCDP  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00194  ?????
BD8CB-7Q28H-B8KQR-MDCVP-42XP8  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00210  ?????
BVQFP-FKQGV-J82F3-2JTVV-733D2  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00236  ????? / ZOOSTORM ?
76QPJ-99DMC-MW43P-8JKHY-6YMRQ  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00280  ?????
3XCH4-KCYHJ-FFFVX-9P87K-RG7QP  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00276  ?????
HT89B-V9F8T-TJQP6-7DB4P-WYPY9  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00248  ?????
H3XR7-PH8M6-2BYCP-HKCMM-MCQJM  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00140  ?????
7MJXM-FTDGX-7VJF7-7D287-P792Y  XXXXX-OEM-8992687-00100  ?????

PROFESSIONAL (OEM-8992671)

YKHFT-KW986-GK4PY-FDWYH-7TP9F  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00004  ACER/GATEWAY/PACKARD
4CFBX-7HQ6R-3JYWF-72GXP-4MV6W  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00188  ALIENWARE
2WCJK-R8B4Y-CWRF2-TRJKB-PV9HW  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00407  ASUS
4872B-B4R7J-QWCFR-YH962-RGDRW  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-74871  BGH eNova
D8VYT-828P6-7V77D-P8VV7-CHC4M  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00440  CCE INFO
6BJ27-DVBFF-VKQC8-7JPQP-TJKYY  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00215  DEALIN
32KD2-K9CTF-M3DJT-4J3WC-733WD  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00524  DELL
PT9YK-BC2J9-WWYF9-R9DCR-QB9CK  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00007  FUJITSU
2QTV2-3CMPP-FQBYK-GRD62-D7XMW  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00501  HCL
74T2M-DKDBC-788W3-H689G-6P6GT  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00008  HP
32HPJ-4XRDR-424C8-DYQM9-GM768  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00158  KRAFTWAY
237XB-GDJ7B-MV8MH-98QJM-24367  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00437  LENOVO/IBM
2QGXM-V9W9W-6Q7MR-64C4X-R26CV  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00207  LG ?
4FXT2-THHQK-B7293-VYHKX-3DRPD  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00270  OEGSTONE
84TBR-V3TCM-DC73Q-TDRQ7-WHPJ4  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00183  MAXDATA/QUANMAX/CHILIGREEN
2WGY7-J3JQT-78CF9-J6DHQ-DJTQW  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00187  MECER
2W3CX-YD4YJ-DF9B2-V27M6-77GMF  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00503  MSI
2RGBP-GKB4B-BGF4Y-8H6XF-WWPJD  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00467  PANASONIC
GMJQF-JC7VC-76HMH-M4RKY-V4HX6  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00013  SAMSUNG
H9M26-6BXJP-XXFCY-7BR4V-24X8J  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00014  SONY
7RQGM-4BJBD-GM2YY-R2KTT-43HG8  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00282  STEG
72X79-RQPFF-YGK82-7FF8M-PX4XB  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00110  TAROX
2V8P2-QKJWM-4THM3-74PDB-4P2KH  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00137  TOSHIBA
W2PMW-T7DBH-YHKRM-DXXF6-KP4KT  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00015  TOSHIBA
6JKVQ-WJTWW-JVPRB-77TGD-2DV7M  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00339  WORTMANN
H8KMB-DPB9M-P3RYK-7JCGW-X97C3  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00198  XPLORE
BV4Y4-DVXDT-3FC64-X2QR7-DW82M  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00468  ?????
6FWJ7-TDRCV-BYTP3-JWB98-9J64J  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00211  ?????
862R9-99CD6-DD6WM-GHDG2-Y8M37  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00205  ?????
7QY32-TQCBJ-G7MC8-Y4PGF-7TGB8  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00284  ?????
36KXM-JVMP6-88WMK-YCCGV-YFDVX  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00230  ?????
CRYGF-JG347-QPJKH-BR82M-3MQP3  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00101  ?????
7MB39-TFBVT-9KJKK-6G7H4-66Y7W  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00098  ?????
6HKBJ-JJ8DR-HJGMM-4CXWP-HTVCH  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00155  ?????
24437-XVJQQ-F36R3-7HM2B-RXTCX  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00433  ?????
9FY83-9H2MW-983JB-6VGKY-6KVQV  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00011  ?????
9CQKK-KR6BD-PRF8P-CXP6X-YW7YT  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00595  ?????
BPM2T-G28MM-DYPRD-CDFQB-JG89V  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00254  ?????
38TCQ-GQKDQ-7GF72-2HY97-6B2Y6  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00448  ?????
BCM2T-PC84R-R6GTX-MQ2RP-H3XTF  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00268  ?????
2KH22-2H9QT-YG6WX-8X6Q8-Y89K4  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00105  ?????
FBTRK-D394V-87QR3-K4BQM-FM6R6  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00252  ?????
2XGJT-GV4QG-QBHPB-D6DBW-DTW9Q  XXXXX-OEM-8992671-00097  MITAC

ULTIMATE (OEM-8992662)

FJGCP-4DFJD-GJY49-VJBQ7-HYRR2  XXXXX-OEM-8992662-00006  ACER/GATEWAY/PACKARD
VQ3PY-VRX6D-CBG4J-8C6R2-TCVBD  XXXXX-OEM-8992662-00008  ALIENWARE
4HMYB-6YHYT-TW2J6-FQBC3-6GBFW  XXXXX-OEM-8992662-00120  ALIENWARE
2Y4WT-DHTBF-Q6MMK-KYK6X-VKM6G  XXXXX-OEM-8992662-00173  ASUS
342DG-6YJR8-X92GV-V7DCV-P4K27  XXXXX-OEM-8992662-00400  DELL
9CW99-79BBF-D4M3X-9BK9M-4RPH9  XXXXX-OEM-8992662-00009  FUJITSU
MHFPT-8C8M2-V9488-FGM44-2C9T3  XXXXX-OEM-8992662-00010  HP
6K2KY-BFH24-PJW6W-9GK29-TMPWP  XXXXX-OEM-8992662-00537  LENOVO/IBM
76MTG-QMQJQ-46DQR-CHRBB-7K3HD  XXXXX-OEM-8992662-00194  OEGSTONE
49PB6-6BJ6Y-KHGCQ-7DDY6-TF7CD  XXXXX-OEM-8992662-00015  SAMSUNG
YJJYR-666KV-8T4YH-KM9TB-4PY2W  XXXXX-OEM-8992662-00016  SONY
4BRY2-6W9VH-9CM6R-GPKRY-HHVCY  XXXXX-OEM-8992662-00556  TAROX
2XQ63-J3P67-9G3JC-FHQ68-8Q2F3  XXXXX-OEM-8992662-00459  TOSHIBA
2WX6M-X2HKM-86X8X-2QD44-F3FGJ  XXXXX-OEM-8992662-00481  ?????
78FPJ-C8Q77-QV7B8-9MH3V-XXBTK  XXXXX-OEM-8992662-00366  ?????
9D4JH-GPGMP-CTQYB-XM74F-2CTYY  XXXXX-OEM-8992662-00267  ?????

55 thoughts on “Windows 7 OEM – Applying OEM System Locked Preinstallation Activation using the Activation and Backup Recovery Program”

  1. Hi,
    Have downloaded the Win7 Ultimate SP1 and did all what you said here. Once I start the installation in a new HDD of my Inspiron M5040 an error come up saying:

    Have tried to find a driver for the HDD in DELL support site but the one available driver is not working. Tried the HDD site, not luck.

    Any suggestions as to how resolve this?

    Thanks!

    Reply

  2. You’re right. I made the error entry in caps and was deleted by the blog. Anyways, what the error say is: No drivers available, etc…This is a brand new Hitachi HDD with the new Advance Format system file.

    Reply

    1. M5040 is an AMD system and not an Intel one. I am less experienced with AMD than Intel systems as I prefer Intel. According to WD you shouldn’t need a driver for AMD:
      http://www.wdc.com/global/products/features/?id=7&language=1

      Obviously you are finding that you do. Its the AMD A50M Chipset family so you need the AMD AHCI drivers.
      They might be obtained within the Chipset driver listed by Dell R313347. Once extracted with 7zip there is a folder called packages and within it a folder called drivers. I would try selecting this folder to load during the Windows setup. However I am not sure if the Dell driver will cover an AF HDD so I would go for the one direct from AMD:
      http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/chipset?os=Windows

      Try the top one. Once extracted with 7zip select the drivers folder:
      13-4_vista_win7_win8_32-64_sb\$_OUTDIR\Packages\Drivers

      Reply

  3. I have completed a hardware upgrade on a Dimension E510 and purchased a Dell reinstallation DVD for Windows 7 Pro. The installation went fast and smooth but the Product Activation Code I’ve purchased from a noted online software retailer is not working. I wrote them and they sent a second PAC which did not work either. I’m a bit confused right now about the article above but is it possible that I need to buy the PAC from Dell to activate the copy of W7 Pro or will the procedures outlined in your article above work for me?

    Thanks for your answer.

    Reply

    1. Neither the Reinstallation DVD or the ABR program (which mimics the activation mechanism of the Reinstallation DVD) will work on your system.

      The Dimension 5100 was sold by Dell with only Windows XP and maybe in some cases Windows Vista. Thus Dell have only placed the markers for Windows XP and possibly Windows Vista in the system BIOS. They have not placed the Windows 7 markers in the BIOS and the activation mechanism will therefore sees an invalid BIOS and hence will not activate. See notes on ineligible systems:
      http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/a-clean-install-of-windows/microsoft-product-activation/the-activation-backup-and-recovery-program-windows-vista-7-version/#Ineligible

      A retail license should activate directly. See here for details describing the differences between OEM and Retail:
      http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/a-clean-install-of-windows/the-oem-or-retail-license/

      In your case you have purchased a Reinstallation DVD and a COA so phone activation may work:
      http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/a-clean-install-of-windows/microsoft-product-activation/phone-activation-windows-vista-7/
      In reality a Dell Windows 7 COA should not be sold separately from a Dell system so it is also possible you were sold a non-genuine license. Theres lots of piracy of fake Windows 7 COAs and for these reasons COAs are removed in Windows 8 and later. The system builder OEM license is usually just Microsoft branded.

      Reply

      1. Thanks. This is pretty frustrating since I had upgraded my wife’s PC at her office which was from the same era as this one but was of the OptiPlex variety, I think. The cases were shaped the same except my wife’s was taller. It runs W7 with no problems at all and validated itself. The little E510, so far, runs W7 just fine, too.

        The PAC was purchased from buycheapsoftware.com, not one of those on ebay that I looked at prior to the purchase and didn’t trust in the slightest. I can’t see them selling fake licenses but they may not know about the markers you speak of.

        So phone activation through Microsoft is the only possible way you see to activation? Your link above points to a page that is no longer there but it is one of the options available after the activation attempts I’ve made have failed.

        Thanks again.

      2. Sorry I updated that link, it should work:
        http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/a-clean-install-of-windows/microsoft-product-activation/phone-activation-windows-vista-7/
        If your wifes was an OptiPlex 760, Dell sold it with Windows 7 so the latest BIOS does have the markers for Windows 7 Dell OEM activation. The OptiPlex 745 and 755 do not similar to the Dimension E510.

        I would be very cautious of buying software like this:
        http://www.buycheapsoftware.com/details~productID~5975.asp

        “When buying Microsoft software as a digital download, we recommend that you avoid auction sites and peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing sites. At the moment there are a limited number of sites where you can legally purchase digital downloads of Microsoft software. One example is the online Microsoft Store, where you can buy a wide variety of genuine software and hardware directly from Microsoft (in select markets). Additionally, you can purchase a digital download of Windows at http://www.windows.com/shop.
        With the exception of Product Key Cards distributed with Certificates of Authenticity (COA’s), Microsoft does not distribute products keys as standalone products. If you see a listing on an auction site, online classified ad, or other online page advertising product keys, it’s a good indication that these keys are likely stolen or counterfeit.”
        http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/howtotell/Software.aspx

        i.e. Microsoft don’t simply allow giving out of product keys via telephone.

  4. We were in town today and I looked at my wife’s old computer again and it’s actually a Dimension 9200.

    The PAC I bought for the E510 was this one:
    http://www.buycheapsoftware.com/details.asp?productID=5748. They’ve been around for a long time and we’ve purchased a lot of software from them personally as well as for my wife’s office an the plaice I used to work as well. The PAC was sent via e-mail and they attached this to the reply I got when I asked them the first time about the first PAC not working:

    Product Key : XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-RJ3PX (my X’s)
    Validity : Valid
    Product ID : XXXXX-OEM-9309671-17961
    Activation ID : da22eadd-46dc-4056-a287-f5041c852470
    Edition Type : Professional
    Description : Windows 7 Professional OEM:COA
    Edition ID : X15-37341
    Key Type : OEM:COA
    Crypto ID : 186

    I’ve finally arrived at a point where I can try the phone activation. If it doesn’t work I guess I’m just out of luck on the upgrades and whatever. Just hope I can get my money back on the W7 Pro license.

    Thanks again.

    Reply

  5. I can’t believe it! Using the phone activation procedure the activation was a success! Did it override the BIOS markers or something?

    Reply

    1. The BIOS SLP activation is the main activation mechanism of the Dell Reinstallation DVD. Inputting the unique 25 digit product key on the COA and activating by phone is a secondary activation mechanism usually reserved to the rare cases when the SLP mechanism doesn’t work. You should be fine provided that site doesn’t sell the same PAC to multiple customers.- I’m still not sure if its a legitimate license you have and have reported the site to Microsoft Support.

      Reply

  6. Fine by me. I KNOW there’s quite a few that need to be reported on Ebay.
    When starting the phone activation procedure how is the, I think, 36 digit code that you read off to Microsoft derived? Does it come from the PAC I tried to use to activate it or the embedded OEM PAC that was not working to begin with?

    Reply

  8. Philip – great site. Thank you for putting this together.

    Unfortunately I am stuck. I feel like I have been going in circles trying to activate Windows 7 on this Machine.

    Inspiron 545s Desktop came with Vista Home Premium with a free Upgrade to Windows 7. This worked well for years. After heavy use I was advised to reinstall Windows.

    I have gone through reinstalling several times and always find Windows 7 needs to be activated with a product key. No product key given with the Dell upgrade disks. I am back at this same spot now.

    I installed Vista first which showed as authentic and activated. Then I used the Dell upgrade disks that were provided originally to upgrade, then installed all of the Windows updates. The machine is working great. But I am stuck with 29 days left and I can not figure out how to activate. I am going nuts. I considered staying with Vista but cant use Office 365, ++

    Can you point me in the right direction?

    Reply

    1. If you have BIOS A12 and it still doesn’t activate then Dell hasn’t added the SLP activation mechanism to this machine. Usually if Dell have Windows 7 drivers the latest BIOS should work with the Dell Windows 7 SLP activation.

      Upgrade discs should have came with a retail upgrade product key.

      Reply

  11. Hi Philip,

    I have a Dell latitude laptop on which I fully erased the Windows 7 with an Arch Linux for two years.

    I now want to switch back to Windows 7 but I have nothing backed up from the original Dell install. I also could have flashed the BIOS before even if I don’t remember doing it (does it erase the OEM license?).
    Do you think it could be a problem for reactivation? Should I prefer the dell installation media over the retail one when following your “clean install of windows” guide?

    By the way, thanks for these awesome guides.

    Reply

    1. The Dell Windows Reinstallation DVD applies the Activation Mechanism automatically. For retail media you need to use the ABR program to apply the same activation.

      The ABR program will work on any Dell BIOS which came with a system shipped by Dell with Windows 7 (including any legitimately updated Dell BIOS). It’ll also work on any Dell systems shipped with Windows 8.0/8.1 Professional.

      You should have no problems using either for activation.

      Reply

  12. How will this work on Dell Vostro 220s factory installed VBus OEM COA label with downgraded rights to XP Pro? Never obtained Dell’s FREE Win 7 Pro upgrade disk…..

    huskyone

    Reply

    1. For that model, Dell never released Windows 7 drivers which is why I made an unofficial set:
      http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/driver-sets/vostro-desktops/vostro-220s-windows-7-64-bit/
      This means the latest BIOS for that model only has markers to accept the Dell Windows Vista Business SLP key and Windows XP Professional SLP key. i.e. was not upgraded to have Windows 7 Professional markers so a Dell Windows 7 Professional Reinstallation DVD or the ABR program with Dell cert files on a Windows 7 Professional install will be rejected and hence fail to activate.

      If you want to run Windows 7 on it you will need a retail license (these are quite pricey as Windows 7 has stopped being sold). It will work with the Windows Vista Business.

      My advice is to install Windows 10 Technical Preview and use it to evaluate Windows 10 64 Bit until its finally released. At which point you should be able to purchase Windows 10 at a promotional price.

      Reply

      1. Thank you Philip. I have purchased a Win 7 Pro OEM from BestBuys. I will try to activate the OS with that OEM Disk Key. Will post results at later time.

        It’s a shame Dell doesn’t always appreciate your valuable assistance to us ‘untechies’ at large…

      2. The OEM disc from Best Buy will be a generic OEM disc and not a Dell OEM disc. It therefore won’t require the SLP markers in the BIOS and will activate with its own 25 digit product key. The generic OEM is similar to the retail license however has 2 limitations; once installed on the desktop it is non-transferable (forever tied to the desktops motherboard). The second is that the product key will not work with Microsoft’s Software Recovery Tool (which is pretty non-functional anyway).

        The Windows 7 Generic OEM license will be eligible for the free upgrade to Windows 10 in Late Summer.

  13. I recently purchased a new Dell Inspiron 3847 from Amazon. It came with Windows 7 Professional installed, and included a Windows 8.1 disc in the box. The listing said something about a downgrade package. Before I mess up a perfectly functioning Windows 7 system, how do I go about installing 8.1 from the disc? It has no COA numbers anywhere that I have found.

    Also, I have no Windows 7 disc, but assume the restore partition currently holds that info. I have never had one of these two OS ‘downgrade’ deals before so I am more than a bit confused.
    Thanks for any info.

    Reply

    1. For Windows 7 Professional the OEM SLP activation is used and if you need to download Windows 7 Professional Media follow the instructions here:
      http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/download-microsoft-windows-and-office/download-microsoft-windows/windows-7-sp1-iso-download/
      You need the ABR program and cert files aswell as the .iso as you have no unique Windows 7 Professional product key and must use the OEM SLP. I explain whats going on in the tutorial video. Media made from Dell Backup and Recovery will also work but it depends if you want a clean install or factory settings. If your factory settings are working well theres no need to clean install.

      The system should be licensed for Windows 8.1 Professional and the Windows 8.1 Professional product key resides within the system BIOS. A utility like RWEverything can readout the MSDM tab from ACPI tables to get the product key. I explain this in great detail in the tutorial video I made here:
      http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/download-microsoft-windows-and-office/download-microsoft-windows/download-windows-8-1-retail-and-oem-iso/
      In general the key should be automatically input and there should be no need for the end user to know it. There are the few (very rare) cases where the BIOS loses the product key so I advise taking a note of it just in case.

      Reply

  14. Philip Trying to re-activate a Windows 7 Home Premuim install following the installation of SSD on a Studio 1555. Although I installed the Product Key that I recovered Using Belarc I did not notice that it had not been accepted as a valid Product ID. When I was re-installing the machine I used the Windows 7 iso image linked to from this site, but for some reason did not see the instructions for backing up the BIOS Certs. Now when I attempt to re-install I get the error 0xC004F063 Computer BIOS missing required licence. I have attempted to follow the instructions over the ABRBeta but the program failed to run windows reporting that it was not a valid Windows 32 program. (McAfee also wared me that the site was not trusted, but I continued with your directions). I no longer seem to have the COA KEY. I do though still have the orginal OS re-installation CD. Do I have any options that to go and buy another Retail copy of Windows 7? Is there an alternative ABR program available now? Or do I risk it and go on the Windows 10 beta. (but this my wifes machine not mine….)

    When I upgraded the same way another Dell machine ealier this year I dont recall such issues.

    Reply

    1. I advise staying clear from McAfee, it is usually problematic for legitimate things and doesn’t detect actual treats in many cases. You can see negative McAfee reviews all over:
      http://download.cnet.com/McAfee-Total-Protection/3000-2239_4-10763479.html
      http://www.amazon.com/McAfee-Total-Protection-3PC-2014/product-reviews/B00E6OPDUS
      I prefer Malwarebytes’ AntiMalware. McAfee has likely caused some issue with the ABR program hence it not working.

      Update your BIOS to the latest version A13. I advise removal of McAfee before updating the BIOS:
      http://downloads.dell.com/published/pages/studio-1555.html
      Then reattempt using the ABR program with the cert files I list. This will re-apply the OEM SLP. Redownload the files once McAfee has been removed as McAfee has likely corrupted the ABR.exe.

      Reinstallation with the Dell OEM Reinstallation DVD will automatically apply the OEM SLP activation mechanism, so thats your alternative to the ABR program.

      Also your COA should be under your battery in that model. Dell put it there to prevent it from fading. You can input that key and call Microsoft to activate but I prefer the OEM SLP activation.

      Reply

  15. I have a Dell Latitude E4300 laptop that came preinstalled with windows 7 32 bit professional. I plan to do a clean install of windows 7 64 bit professional. I already have the retail media. Will this method work to properly activate the 64 bit version of windows or will it only work for the 32 bit version the computer originally came with? I plan to back up the cert and key files first before reformatting the drive but those backups will be from the 32 bit version. How do you suggest I proceed?

    Reply

      1. Thank you so much for your work and this very informative website!

  16. I have a HP dv9620us. does it have bios markers for both Vista and Windows 7? I had lost my recovery disks sometime ago and found a vista install disk from a Toshiba machine and it workded but now would like to see if could go reinstall all HP original configurations. I noticed on another page that Microsoft broke all Digital River ISO. Does that effect this fix?

    Reply

    1. I am not as familiar with HP systems as I am with Dell systems. Did it ship with Windows Vista or Windows 7? If it shipped with Windows 7 then it has the BIOS markers for Windows 7.

      The Digital River .isos highly influence this fix because they are the only downloadable source of installation media. However if you have the .iso downloaded in advance or a retail Windows 7 Installation DVD to hand it may be used instead.

      Reply

  17. I just used this to put 64-bit Vista Business on a Dell Latitude E5500 that only shipped with 32-bit media, and it worked! I’m preparing several of these laptops for a client for surplussing and eventual sale and wanted an image that would look as much like the original OOBE as possible, including factory activation. This will be extremely handy!

    Unfortunately, the links to the backed up HP certificates have gone dead.

    Reply

    1. Great glad it helped and glad you had the generic installation media to install with. The OneDrive link to the HP certificates worked just there when I attempted to download them.

      For the Latitude E5500 perhaps even Windows 7 64 Bit Professional and the ABR files would work (most these systems were out in Late 2008 and would have been eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 7 Professional) providing the BIOS is updated to the latest version. If you had Windows 7 64 Bit installed then you could even install Dell Backup and Recovery after the system drivers and after applying the Dell OEM logos to make a near identical factory install.

      Reply

      1. I was able to download and use a Vista Business x64 SP2 ISO from Volume Licensing and apply the methods you described. Microsoft had once said that VLK media can be used to reload a system with an OEM license, you just needed to use the OEM keys and activate. Fortunately, I’ve hoarded several of the Dell Windows 7 x64 restore disks. All my hoarded Vista disks are x86 with SP1.

        The Latitudes were purchased in batches, and all with the XP Downgrade option enabled. Some came with Vista Business licenses (and attached COA) and some later units came with 7 Pro licenses (and attached COA), just depending on which phase of the rollout they were purchased. Some of the line of business software applications weren’t qualified for Vista or 7 until XP support was nearly expired. Hell, some of the web-based applications still don’t work with IE 10. If these were going back into service, I’d probably use the Windows 7 disk, claim the licenses were under the Windows 7 Volume License, send them on. But these will be surplussed, so I figured it would just be easier in the long run to load it with the OS indicated on the COA and send them off to their new homes. No support calls for activation issues down the line and such.

        I may go looking for the Dell logos and branding information. Getting a proper OOBE was my main concern, including licensing and activation. I do have plenty of the Dell Vista x86 disks, so obtaining the OEM images shouldn’t be difficult. I haven’t had to apply branding since we stopped getting unbranded Dell Optiplex GX series desktops, back when they had the CPS program. Going to have to brush up on that again!

        As for the links for the HP certs, I was somehow in an older version of Opera (I keep it around for getting into older routers and such that don’t play well with newer IE or other browsers) which no longer plays nice with OneDrive. When I switched over to IE, I was able to get them. I’ll squirrel those away for the occasional HP that comes through depot.

  18. Amazing, was scratching my head after reformatting the disk of my HP/COMPAQ CQ61 and realising the key on the underneath had worn off.. Now restored with key same as prior to formatting according to Belarc. Saved time and worries, thankyou.

    Reply

  19. Hi, I have a few Dell Optiplex with SLIC/SLP 2.1 BIOS, and also the Windows 7 reinstallation DVD that came with Optiplex. Should I use ABR-beta and backup-cert.XrML and backup-key.txt ? Can I use the same DVD to reinstall all PCs? I will need to change the key? I would like to do a fresh clean install before upgrading to WIndows 10… Thanks!

    Reply

    1. The Dell Windows 7 Reinstallation DVD will work with all Optiplex systems newer than 2009 including the OptiPlex 360/760 (if they have the latest BIOS present).

      No need to use ABR as the activation mechanism will automatically be applied from the Reinstallation DVD. Don’t change key.

      Reply

  20. My factory purchased Dell XPS-8100 hard drive died – replaced it with an SSD and reinstalled using Dell supplied OS disc. Windows not auto-activated. I spent over 3 hours with 3 calls EACH to Microsoft AND Dell and had them each pointing the finger at one another (and with most of the tech support reps clueless). I also spent hours searching Google. I finally stumbled across your site. After reading your article, I was up and activated in less than 10 minutes. THANK YOU!!

    Reply

    1. You’re welcome, I’ve been in that situation before hence the reason I looked for and wrote up these workarounds hopefully things will be better with Windows 10. 🙂

      Reply

  21. thanks so much for being active on the dell forums & posting this info! my laptop has an SSD, but silly Dell installed the OS onto the HDD… your keys did not work for me, but I still have windows running on the HDD as I slowly migrate (I’ve had the computer 2 years) and so was able to backup my own keys and restore them without a problem 🙂

    Reply

    1. XPS 8700? Its a known problem with Dell Backup and Recovery and we have made Dell aware of it.

      Dell Backup and Recovery by default installs on the largest drive. For a 256 GB SSD and a 2 TB drive if both are installed during the time Dell load the factory image it goes onto the wrong drive.

      Follow the instructions here to migrate the factory settings to the correct drive:
      http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/dell-backup-and-recovery-1-8-1-71/
      My guide has instructions on multiple drive configurations.

      Reply

  22. hello im sanoop, recently i formatted my dell latitude e 6410 laptop.. actually i dont have oem dvd disk and windows product key.. i already noted my windows product key with using a third party software called magical jellybean keyfinder before formatting.. then i installed the same version of windows but later i tried to activate windows but unfortunately it is getting an error.. is there any hope to activate windows on my laptop without purchasing a new windows??

    Reply

    1. Without Windows 7 Reinstallation/Installation Media there is no way to reload Windows 7. Microsoft have removed the Digital River Downloads and replaced them with a non-functional Microsoft Software Recovery Tool which blocks Dell Windows 7 OEM licenses.

      At this stage the only important thing is getting the free upgrade to Windows 10. This can be done via the Windows 10 Insider 10130 .iso:
      http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/a-clean-install-of-windows/a-clean-install-of-windows-10/windows-xpvista-%e2%86%92-windows-10-free-upgrade/
      However you may need to find this .iso in an unofficial location as Microsoft no longer facilitate its download.

      Reply

  23. Thank you so much! I wasted so much time on the phone and got nowhere, and this tool totally saved me! Now I can stay on the best looking system MS has ever made with no cloud crap from MS.

    Reply

    1. Hi, I have a Dell Inspiron Mini 10 (1018) that I am attempting to re-install Windows 7 Starter edition on. I have installed Windows with no issues. I am now tripping over the activation process. I have noticed a couple of thing that I am unclear about. When I run the ABR executable it changes OEM product ID to a non OEM product ID and the Dell OEM SLP keys listed above are the same for Windows 7 Starter and Windows 7 Home Basic. Is this behaviour expected? Thanks

      Reply

      1. Whoops looks like I’ve made a couple of mistakes here…

        Open up the backup-key.txt file in notepad and change 36T88-RT7C6-R38TQ-RV8M9-WWTCY (the key for Home Basic) to 36Q3Y-BBT84-MGJ3H-FT7VD-FG72J (the key for Starter). The cert file is the same for all Dell Windows 7 OEM (so can remain unchanged).

        Can you let me know if the Product ID becomes XXXXX-OEM-8992707-00082 I think I made a second mistake calling it XXXXX-OEM-8992702-00082.

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