Can't find a Windows 7 Family Pack (3 licenses) non-upgrade on Amazon?

[Ant]

Hello.

I have an Amazon.com gift card and would like to buy 64-bit Windows 7
with multiple licenses. Is it me or I can't find a non-upgrade 64-bit
Windows 7 family pack on Amazon? I only found its Home Premium on
http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Windows-Premium-Upgrade-Family/dp/B002MV2MG0/
.... I assume I need the non-upgrade retail if I want to install cleanly
on computers (one for now, but will plan to install on other machines)
that didn't have previous Windows.

Thank you in advance.
--
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Mortis; Sylva Sylvarum, Cent. i. Exper. 100.
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[Percival P. Cassidy]

Hello.

I have an Amazon.com gift card and would like to buy 64-bit Windows 7
with multiple licenses. Is it me or I can't find a non-upgrade 64-bit
Windows 7 family pack on Amazon? I only found its Home Premium on
http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Windows-Premium-Upgrade-Family/dp/B002MV2MG0/
... I assume I need the non-upgrade retail if I want to install cleanly
on computers (one for now, but will plan to install on other machines)
that didn't have previous Windows.

Thank you in advance.

http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows-7/clean-install-windows-7-with-upgrade-media

Perce

 

[Paul]

Hello.

I have an Amazon.com gift card and would like to buy 64-bit Windows 7
with multiple licenses. Is it me or I can't find a non-upgrade 64-bit
Windows 7 family pack on Amazon? I only found its Home Premium on
http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Windows-Premium-Upgrade-Family/dp/B002MV2MG0/
... I assume I need the non-upgrade retail if I want to install cleanly
on computers (one for now, but will plan to install on other machines)
that didn't have previous Windows.

Thank you in advance.

That's what I see here as well though. The Family pack is for upgrade, not
original install.

http://www.microsoft.com/uk/windows/offers/windows-7-family-pack.aspx

"Family pack explained

Windows 7 Family Pack allows you to upgrade up to three PCs running
Windows XP or Windows Vista to Windows 7 Home Premium."

Paul

 

[Ant]

I have an Amazon.com gift card and would like to buy 64-bit Windows 7

http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows-7/clean-install-windows-7-with-upgrade-media

Hmm, this is confusing and long. If I do a clean install with 64-bit W7
HPE Family Pack upgrade DVD onto PCs that don't have older Windows
installed (PCs are custom built), I have to use the two installations
trick?
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[Ant]

I have an Amazon.com gift card and would like to buy 64-bit Windows 7

That's what I see here as well though. The Family pack is for upgrade, not
original install.

"Family pack explained

Windows 7 Family Pack allows you to upgrade up to three PCs running
Windows XP or Windows Vista to Windows 7 Home Premium."

Dang, so I can't buy Family Pack for clean install one three PCs with
new/formatted HDDs (not going to upgrade over install old Windows).
Sheesh, MS made this complicated! It sounds like they want us to buy
individual copies of Windows for each PC. Ugh.
--
Quote of the Week: "Although you're a little ant, I won't bully you."
--Sai Yuk from The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk movie (English subtitles)
/\___/\ Ant @ http://antfarm.home.dhs.org (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail. If crediting,
( ) then please kindly use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.

 

[arnold]

Sheesh, MS made this complicated! It sounds like they want us to buy
individual copies of Windows for each PC. Ugh.

Do ya think!!!

 

[misanthrope]

Hmm, this is confusing and long.
quite

If I do a clean install with 64-bit W7
HPE Family Pack upgrade DVD onto PCs that don't have older Windows
installed (PCs are custom built), I have to use the two installations
trick?

Bingo!

 

[Percival P. Cassidy]

Hmm, this is confusing and long. If I do a clean install with 64-bit W7
HPE Family Pack upgrade DVD onto PCs that don't have older Windows
installed (PCs are custom built), I have to use the two installations
trick?

Scroll down to method #2: only one install needed, then edit the
registry and enter your activation code. It's much quicker and worked
for me.

Perce

 

[Paul]

Dang, so I can't buy Family Pack for clean install one three PCs with
new/formatted HDDs (not going to upgrade over install old Windows).
Sheesh, MS made this complicated! It sounds like they want us to buy
individual copies of Windows for each PC. Ugh.

Well, I didn't find an MS page with that option offered.

I don't really know the history of "family packs", to know
what they offered in the past, and whether the scheme was
any different at one time.

And it sounds like the answers from the other people in the
thread, have this covered anyway. As long as those methods continue
to work, then no problem. If you buy a "pack" today, it's likely
to have SP1 in it (so do some Googling to see if the tricks still
work at the SP1 level). I expect they do, but find a review of the
product, to see if it's still true.

OK, I found another option, but it's not nearly as cheap. It
doesn't have the word "Family" in it. OEM products stay with
the PC they're installed on. There would be no need to prove
WinXP or Vista was previously on the machine, as these are for
install on a bare computer.

"Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - 3 Pack - OEM" $288

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116987

That is the equivalent of three of these at $100 a piece. So $12 cheaper.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Might as well stick with your Family Pack and the install trick.
At least, as long as it works the same on SP1.

*******

When I look at Amazon, I don't see the Family Pack offered for an SP1
version of OS. So perhaps in a sense, it's a promotional offer ?

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Win...2MG0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1320965988&sr=8-2

"It seems that a lot of upgraders have been complaining about
the upgrade process, especially from XP. Most of us expected
to be able to format our hard disks and be prompted for either
the XP disc or product key. Alas, this is not the case. The
upgrade is much more complicated than it should be and some
workarounds have been discovered

Method A (simplest)

If you already have an older version of Windows on the hard drive,
finish the Custom Install, without entering the product key. After
installation, go to your System Properties and click the link to
activate Windows. Enter your product key and it should activate.
This has worked for me twice.

Method B (hardest)

If Method A doesn't work, try the registry hack.

1. Finish the custom install without entering the product key
then click Start and type regedit.exe into the "Search programs
and files" box.
2. In the registry, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/
Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup/OOBE/. In the pane on the right, you'll
see an entry for MediaBootInstall. Double-click on it and change the
value from "1" to "0" and click OK.
3. Close regedit and go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories then
right-click on Command Prompt and select "Run as administrator."
You'll get a UAC alert, click Yes.
4. At the command prompt, type: slmgr /rearm and hit Enter. Reboot.
5. Now try to activate. If it fails, make sure there are no pending
Windows Updates to install. If there is, install them, reboot and start
over from Step 4.

Method C (most time consuming)

Perform the Custom Install and skip the product key. Once completed,
run the upgrade again from within Windows 7 but this time, enter the
Windows 7 upgrade key and then activate Windows.

That's from one of the reviews for that product. But it's not SP1. And
I can't seem to find something that combines "SP1" and "Upgrade" as a
product offering, that has reviews.

Paul

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Paul.

That's from one of the reviews for that product. But it's not SP1. And I
can't seem to find something that combines "SP1" and Upgrade" as a product
offering, that has reviews.

No, the Family Pack "limited time offer" was ended 2 years ago, soon after
Win7 debuted and long before Win7 SP1 became available in February 2011.
See this Computerworld story from December 2009:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9141858/Microsoft_kills_150_Windows_7_Family_Pack_deal

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-2010)
Windows Live Mail 2011 (Build 15.4.3538.0513) in Win7 Ultimate x64 SP1


"Paul" wrote in message

Dang, so I can't buy Family Pack for clean install one three PCs with
new/formatted HDDs (not going to upgrade over install old Windows).
Sheesh, MS made this complicated! It sounds like they want us to buy
individual copies of Windows for each PC. Ugh.

Well, I didn't find an MS page with that option offered.

I don't really know the history of "family packs", to know
what they offered in the past, and whether the scheme was
any different at one time.

And it sounds like the answers from the other people in the
thread, have this covered anyway. As long as those methods continue
to work, then no problem. If you buy a "pack" today, it's likely
to have SP1 in it (so do some Googling to see if the tricks still
work at the SP1 level). I expect they do, but find a review of the
product, to see if it's still true.

OK, I found another option, but it's not nearly as cheap. It
doesn't have the word "Family" in it. OEM products stay with
the PC they're installed on. There would be no need to prove
WinXP or Vista was previously on the machine, as these are for
install on a bare computer.

"Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - 3 Pack - OEM" $288

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116987

That is the equivalent of three of these at $100 a piece. So $12 cheaper.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Might as well stick with your Family Pack and the install trick.
At least, as long as it works the same on SP1.

*******

When I look at Amazon, I don't see the Family Pack offered for an SP1
version of OS. So perhaps in a sense, it's a promotional offer ?

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Win...2MG0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1320965988&sr=8-2

"It seems that a lot of upgraders have been complaining about
the upgrade process, especially from XP. Most of us expected
to be able to format our hard disks and be prompted for either
the XP disc or product key. Alas, this is not the case. The
upgrade is much more complicated than it should be and some
workarounds have been discovered

Method A (simplest)

If you already have an older version of Windows on the hard drive,
finish the Custom Install, without entering the product key. After
installation, go to your System Properties and click the link to
activate Windows. Enter your product key and it should activate.
This has worked for me twice.

Method B (hardest)

If Method A doesn't work, try the registry hack.

1. Finish the custom install without entering the product key
then click Start and type regedit.exe into the "Search programs
and files" box.
2. In the registry, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/
Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup/OOBE/. In the pane on the right, you'll
see an entry for MediaBootInstall. Double-click on it and change the
value from "1" to "0" and click OK.
3. Close regedit and go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories then
right-click on Command Prompt and select "Run as administrator."
You'll get a UAC alert, click Yes.
4. At the command prompt, type: slmgr /rearm and hit Enter. Reboot.
5. Now try to activate. If it fails, make sure there are no pending
Windows Updates to install. If there is, install them, reboot and
start
over from Step 4.

Method C (most time consuming)

Perform the Custom Install and skip the product key. Once completed,
run the upgrade again from within Windows 7 but this time, enter the
Windows 7 upgrade key and then activate Windows.

That's from one of the reviews for that product. But it's not SP1. And
I can't seem to find something that combines "SP1" and "Upgrade" as a
product offering, that has reviews.

Paul

 

[Leon Manfredi]

Well, I didn't find an MS page with that option offered.

I don't really know the history of "family packs", to know
what they offered in the past, and whether the scheme was
any different at one time.

And it sounds like the answers from the other people in the
thread, have this covered anyway. As long as those methods continue
to work, then no problem. If you buy a "pack" today, it's likely
to have SP1 in it (so do some Googling to see if the tricks still
work at the SP1 level). I expect they do, but find a review of the
product, to see if it's still true.

OK, I found another option, but it's not nearly as cheap. It
doesn't have the word "Family" in it. OEM products stay with
the PC they're installed on. There would be no need to prove
WinXP or Vista was previously on the machine, as these are for
install on a bare computer.

"Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - 3 Pack - OEM" $288

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116987

That is the equivalent of three of these at $100 a piece. So $12 cheaper.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Might as well stick with your Family Pack and the install trick.
At least, as long as it works the same on SP1.

*******

When I look at Amazon, I don't see the Family Pack offered for an SP1
version of OS. So perhaps in a sense, it's a promotional offer ?

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Win...2MG0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1320965988&sr=8-2


"It seems that a lot of upgraders have been complaining about
the upgrade process, especially from XP. Most of us expected
to be able to format our hard disks and be prompted for either
the XP disc or product key. Alas, this is not the case. The
upgrade is much more complicated than it should be and some
workarounds have been discovered

Method A (simplest)

If you already have an older version of Windows on the hard drive,
finish the Custom Install, without entering the product key. After
installation, go to your System Properties and click the link to
activate Windows. Enter your product key and it should activate.
This has worked for me twice.

Method B (hardest)

If Method A doesn't work, try the registry hack.

1. Finish the custom install without entering the product key
then click Start and type regedit.exe into the "Search programs
and files" box.
2. In the registry, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/
Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup/OOBE/. In the pane on the right, you'll
see an entry for MediaBootInstall. Double-click on it and change the
value from "1" to "0" and click OK.
3. Close regedit and go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories then
right-click on Command Prompt and select "Run as administrator."
You'll get a UAC alert, click Yes.
4. At the command prompt, type: slmgr /rearm and hit Enter. Reboot.
5. Now try to activate. If it fails, make sure there are no pending
Windows Updates to install. If there is, install them, reboot and start
over from Step 4.

Method C (most time consuming)

Perform the Custom Install and skip the product key. Once completed,
run the upgrade again from within Windows 7 but this time, enter the
Windows 7 upgrade key and then activate Windows.

That's from one of the reviews for that product. But it's not SP1. And
I can't seem to find something that combines "SP1" and "Upgrade" as a
product offering, that has reviews.

Paul

Do Not Be Misled By Amazon, When They Report An Item As New.
They in a sense are outsource rs, who just relay orders of products,
ordered thru them, to vendor, who can choose, not only to be not
accountable for products sent by them,
OR BY VENDORS WHO REPORT, THAT A PRODUCT REPORTEDLY SENT BY THEM,
ACCORDING TO AMAZON, WAS NOT THEIRS....!!!! I have emails to this effect.
In other words, I feel that i was sent a product, that an individual or
the such, needed to get rid of FAST.... A SWITCH AND BAIT....

 

[Ant]

I have an Amazon.com gift card and would like to buy 64-bit Windows 7

Scroll down to method #2: only one install needed, then edit the
registry and enter your activation code. It's much quicker and worked
for me.

Ooh. Does it still work today with SP1? It says it isn't supported by
MS, supposedly works 100%, and the article is over a year old. I don't
want to buy it and it fails, and I can't return it.
--
Quote of the Week: "Trivial hurts, tiny human accidents," said Firenze,
as his hooves thudded over the mossy floor. "These are of no more
significance than the scurryings of ants to the wide universe, and are
unaffected by planetary movements." --Harry Potter book
/\___/\ Ant @ http://antfarm.home.dhs.org (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail. If crediting,
( ) then please kindly use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.

 

[Ant]

That's from one of the reviews for that product. But it's not SP1. And I

No, the Family Pack "limited time offer" was ended 2 years ago, soon after
Win7 debuted and long before Win7 SP1 became available in February 2011.
See this Computerworld story from December 2009:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9141858/Microsoft_kills_150_Windows_7_Family_Pack_deal

Ahh. I didn't know it was time limited. I thought it was another way to
give buyers more licenses for the family with multiple Windows 7 PCs.
Darn it, I am way too late.
--
Quote of the Week: "Trivial hurts, tiny human accidents," said Firenze,
as his hooves thudded over the mossy floor. "These are of no more
significance than the scurryings of ants to the wide universe, and are
unaffected by planetary movements." --Harry Potter book
/\___/\ Ant @ http://antfarm.home.dhs.org (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail. If crediting,
( ) then please kindly use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.

 

[Ant]

Do Not Be Misled By Amazon, When They Report An Item As New.

They in a sense are outsource rs, who just relay orders of products,
ordered thru them, to vendor, who can choose, not only to be not
accountable for products sent by them,
OR BY VENDORS WHO REPORT, THAT A PRODUCT REPORTEDLY SENT BY THEM,
ACCORDING TO AMAZON, WAS NOT THEIRS....!!!! I have emails to this effect.
In other words, I feel that i was sent a product, that an individual or
the such, needed to get rid of FAST.... A SWITCH AND BAIT....

So how can we tell if the items are new and authentic?
--
Quote of the Week: "Trivial hurts, tiny human accidents," said Firenze,
as his hooves thudded over the mossy floor. "These are of no more
significance than the scurryings of ants to the wide universe, and are
unaffected by planetary movements." --Harry Potter book
/\___/\ Ant @ http://antfarm.home.dhs.org (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail. If crediting,
( ) then please kindly use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.

 

[Percival P. Cassidy]

Ooh. Does it still work today with SP1? It says it isn't supported by
MS, supposedly works 100%, and the article is over a year old. I don't
want to buy it and it fails, and I can't return it.

I don't know whether it works with SP1.

Perce

 

[Percival P. Cassidy]

Ahh. I didn't know it was time limited. I thought it was another way to
give buyers more licenses for the family with multiple Windows 7 PCs.
Darn it, I am way too late.

I'm sure I saw a Family Pack somewhere not long ago, but it might have
been old stock. Or the promotion might have been revived.

I just checked on Amazon, and it says:

"In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available."

So this is not one of those sales by an outfit for which Amazon serves
merely as a conduit. I assume that this is kosher.

Perce

 

[Percival P. Cassidy]

I'm sure I saw a Family Pack somewhere not long ago, but it might have
been old stock. Or the promotion might have been revived.

I just checked on Amazon, and it says:

"In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available."

So this is not one of those sales by an outfit for which Amazon serves
merely as a conduit. I assume that this is kosher.

Ooops! Sorry: I just realized I was looking at the wrong item.

Perce