09-01-2017, 05:21 AM
> but it would be easier to re-load Win 7, however, that of course kicks the counter and makes my current version no longer authorized, even if I could do it.
A little off topic but I once talked with MS's anti-piracy group about some bootleg copies of Windows Server something a client bought. The most memorable part of the conversation is when he mentioned that re-activating Windows ON THE EXACT SAME HARDWARE doesn't increment the counter unless it's a VLK, which yours is not (OEM from your post).
Secondly, rather than a VM route, why not just throw a second hard drive in there and but Ubuntu on that? Hard drives are cheap and it doesn't have to be a big one, or a new one. This would leave your existing Windows install un-touched.
A little off topic but I once talked with MS's anti-piracy group about some bootleg copies of Windows Server something a client bought. The most memorable part of the conversation is when he mentioned that re-activating Windows ON THE EXACT SAME HARDWARE doesn't increment the counter unless it's a VLK, which yours is not (OEM from your post).
Secondly, rather than a VM route, why not just throw a second hard drive in there and but Ubuntu on that? Hard drives are cheap and it doesn't have to be a big one, or a new one. This would leave your existing Windows install un-touched.