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I am working with a non-profit organization that just had a pallet of computers donated to them. The computers have had their hard drives wiped so there is no operating system installed. They are a small agency and they do not have an IT department, so I have volunteered to set them all up. Since the new computers will be replacing their existing equipment, my plan is to pre-stage them in my lab and then transfer the activation keys over once I deploy them (this is perfectly legal by the way).

All of the old computers have Windows 7 Pro installed on them. The problem is that they do not know how they acquired their licenses. Windows 7 Pro has both a retail channel (which only accepts retail keys) and a volume license channel (which only accepts KMS/MAK keys). I have access to the install media for both, but if I stage these computers with the wrong one, I will be in for a rude awakening when I go to transfer the licenses over and the keys don't work

Is there a way to tell what kind of key was used to activate a Windows 7 license?

NOTE: This is not a question about proper licensing or product licensing in general. It is a technical issue related to product activation.

Wes Sayeed
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    There is also an OEM channel, which is separate from the "retail" channel. These are the keys on the stickers affixed to new machines when you purchase them. You cannot transfer these to a new computer. – Michael Hampton Jul 31 '15 at 01:22
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    Use magic jellybean https://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/ – Geraint Jones Jul 31 '15 at 01:23
  • possible duplicate of [Can you help me with my software licensing issue?](http://serverfault.com/questions/215405/can-you-help-me-with-my-software-licensing-issue) – Katherine Villyard Jul 31 '15 at 01:52

1 Answers1

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Run slmgr.vbs -dli from a command prompt (cmd.exe). It tells you the OS Version and the activation type (OEM, Retail, Volume license).

magicandre1981
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