Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit (OEM) System Builder DVD 1 Pack

by Microsoft

Product Features

• Make the things you do every day easier with improved desktop navigation.
• Start programs faster and more easily, and quickly find the documents you use most often.
• Make your web experience faster, easier and safer than ever with Internet Explorer 8.
• Watch, pause, rewind, and record TV.
• Easily create a home network and connect your PCs to a printer with HomeGroup.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B004Q0PT3I
• Item model number: GFC-02050
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 28, 2011
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (528 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #1 in Software > Operating Systems > Microsoft Windows
  • #7 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Computer Components
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Use of this OEM System Builder Channel software is subject to the terms of the Microsoft OEM System Builder License. This software is intended for pre-installation on a new personal computer for resale. This OEM System Builder Channel software requires the assembler to provide end user support for the Windows software and cannot be transferred to another computer once it is installed. To acquire Windows software with support provided by Microsoft please see our full package "Retail" product offerings.

Windows 7 Home Premium makes it easy to create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music. You can even watch, pause, rewind, and record TV (a broadcast TV tuner may be required). Get the best entertainment experience with Windows 7 Home Premium. Do you use your PC for work, run Windows XP programs, or require enhanced security? Consider Windows 7 Professional.

More work, more play, and more of everything in between. Click to enlarge.

Manage lots of open programs, documents, and browser windows easily with thumbnail and full-screen previews of open windows. Click to enlarge.

With Snap you can arrange two windows side-by-side just by dragging them to opposite sides of your screen. Click to enlarge.

Open files you use regularly in just two clicks with Jump Lists on the improved taskbar and Start menu.

The best entertainment experience on your PC

Easiest Windows to use ever

• Simplify your PC with new navigation features like Aero Shake, Jump Lists, and Snap.
• Customize Windows to look and feel the way you like by changing themes and taskbar programs.
• Setting up a home network and connecting to printers and devices is easier than ever.
• Windows 7 Home Premium supports the latest hardware and software.

It's faster

• Designed to make your PC sleep and resume quicker.
• Takes full advantage of 64-bit PC hardware and memory.
• Connecting to wireless networks is fast and easy.

Best PC entertainment experience

• Watch, pause, rewind, and record TV with Windows Media Center.
• Blu-ray read/write support for data files.
• Includes integrated video and Dolby audio codecs.

Simplifies Everyday Tasks

Simple to use

Preview
Manage lots of open programs, documents, and browser windows easily with thumbnail and full-screen previews of open windows.

Pin
Open files and get around your PC faster with the improved taskbar. You can easily pin programs you use often to the taskbar and launch them in just one click.

Windows 7 lets you peek behind open windows to get a quick look at your desktop. Click to enlarge.

Instantly locate and open virtually any file on your PC right from the Start menu with Windows Search. Click to enlarge.

Turn your PC into a TV with Windows Media Center, and enjoy your favorite videos and music with Windows Media Player. Click to enlarge.

Jump Lists
Open files you use regularly in just two clicks with Jump Lists on the improved taskbar and Start menu.

Snap
Windows 7 has simple new ways to manage open windows. For example, with Snap you can arrange two windows side-by-side just by dragging them to opposite sides of your screen.

Peek and Shake
Windows 7 lets you peek behind open windows to get a quick look at your desktop.

Windows Search
Instantly locate and open virtually any file on your PC, from documents to emails to songs, right from the Start menu, with Windows Search.

Easy to connect

Setting up wireless connections is easier with consistent, one-click connections to available networks. Click to enlarge.

Enjoy the photos, music, and videos on your home PC when you're away from home with remote media streaming. Click to enlarge.

Windows Touch makes PCs with touch screens easier and more intuitive to use. Click to enlarge.

Manage Backup and Restore and other features through Action Center. Click to enlarge.

Search, organize, and edit files across a network in the same way you would a single folder.Click to enlarge.

Wireless setup
With Windows 7, setting up wireless connections is easier with consistent, one-click connections to available networks, whether those networks are based on Wi-Fi, mobile broadband, dial-up, or corporate VPN.

HomeGroup
Connect Windows 7 PCs on a home network in just four clicks and easily get to the photos, music, and files on each one--even share printers--with HomeGroup.

Easy to browse the web

Internet Explorer 8
Visual search helps you quickly find the information you want by adding visual cues and previews to search results from top search providers including Live Search, Wikipedia, Yahoo, Amazon, and others.

Internet Explorer 8
Use Web slices to conveniently keep up with changes on frequently updated websites, like eBay auctions or traffic sites, directly from the IE8 toolbar.

Easy to communicate and share

Windows Live Photo Gallery
Windows Live Photo Gallery makes share your photos to your favorite photo site easy.

Windows Live Mail
Windows Live Mail makes managing multiple email accounts easy.

Windows Live Family Safety
Keep your child safe by managing what sites they can visit and who they can send/receive emails and im communications from.

Note: Windows Live components need to be downloaded separately.

Works The Way You Want

Faster and More Reliable

Windows 7 will help your PC sleep and resume more quickly. It is designed to respond to commands more quickly and will help your PC to be more reliable.

Fewer clicks and less interruptions

Makes New Things Possible

Media on your terms

Windows Media Center
Turn your PC into a TV with Windows Media Center.

Windows Media Center
Watch shows for free when and where you want with Internet TV.

DirectX 11
DirectX 11 technology delivers breathtaking game graphics so real, it's unreal.

New ways to engage

Windows Touch
Windows Touch makes PCs with touch screens easier and more intuitive to use.

Media on your terms

Windows Media Player
More and more consumer electronics, from TVs to digital photo frames, can be connected to home networks. With Play To in Windows 7, you'll be able to easily send music, photos, videos from your PC to a networked device throughout your home.

You can enjoy the photos, music, and videos on your home PC when you're away from home with remote media streaming.

Work anywhere

Location Aware Printing
Windows 7 will automatically pick the right printer for you when you move from home to work networks.

Work anywhere with less effort.

• Instantly locate virtually any file, email, or document on your PC just by typing a word or two.
• Get around your PC faster with the improved taskbar.
• Open programs you use regularly in one click and files you use regularly in just two.
• Manage lots of open programs, documents, and browser windows easily with thumbnail and full-screen previews of open windows.
• Manage multiple email accounts, including Hotmail, Gmail, AOL, and Yahoo! Mail Plus, all in one place with one simple program.
• Get to the files, photos, and music on any PC with Windows 7 in the house from any other.
• Print to any printer in the house from any PC with Windows 7 in the house.

Safeguard your hard work.

• Windows Internet Explorer 8 helps keep your PC safer from malware and you safer from fraudulent websites designed to fool you into divulging private information.

Choose the Windows 7 Edition That Is Best For You

Features	Windows 7 Home Premium	Windows 7 Professional	Windows 7 Ultimate
Make the things you do every day easier with improved desktop navigation.
Start programs faster and more easily, and quickly find the documents you use most often.
Make your web experience faster, easier and safer than ever with Internet Explorer 8.
Watch, pause, rewind, and record TV on your PC.
Easily create a home network and connect your PCs to a printer with HomeGroup.
Run many Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode.
Connect to company networks easily and more securely with Domain Join.
In addition to full-system Backup and Restore found in all editions, you can back up to a home or business network.
Help protect data on your PC and portable storage devices against loss or theft with BitLocker.
Work in the language of your choice and switch between any of 35 languages.

Product Description

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit (1-Pack)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

509 of 556 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Just make sure you understand... June 7, 2011

By clem

This is OEM which means the difference is that this version locks itself to a single motherboard. As long as you run the same system your golden, but when you upgrade you will have to purchase another copy.

260 of 282 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Works with Macbook Pro & Parallels April 21, 2011

By Jeff Aski

Amazon Verified Purchase

This was the most affordable Windows 7 that I found that I can use to install on my Macbook Pro through Parallels 6. At first I was debating on going with the 64bit or the 32bit, because some software do not work on 64bit. I ended up going with 64bit -- those non-compatible software should update, not me.

Using Windows 7 on a Mac is awesome. Best of both worlds.

1,261 of 1,391 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars CAUTION! December 9, 2011

By EvilOzzness

This is the exact same version of Operating Systems that come pre-installed by all system manufacturers and I am writing this review to both caution and make everyone aware about an apparent change to the Microsoft EULA (End-User License Agreement) concerning the Activation process of these "System Builder" or "OEM pre-installed" versions of the Windows 7 Operating Systems (the capped portion was never a condition for previous versions of Windows Operating Systems, which USED TO be tied ONLY to the system's motherboard through the BIOS) and which states:

"Activation associates the use of the software with a specific computer. During activation, the software will send information about the software and the computer to Microsoft. This information includes the version, language and product key of the software, the Internet protocol address of the computer, and INFORMATION DERIVED FROM THE HARDWARE CONFIGURATION OF THE COMPUTER." - Section 4, Mandatory Validation.

This means that it is NO LONGER just tied to the system's motherboard (BIOS) as is still popularly believed, but now to ALL hardware components and their exact configuration (including unique serial numbers where applicable) of the target computer on which all OEM or "System Builder" versions of the Windows Operating System in question that is to be tied to them.

Just recently, my Acer Notebook's IDE 0 (Master) hard disk decided to fail on me after just 1 year and 8 months, and of course outside of the warranty period. So I replaced it not knowing of the aforementioned condition of the pre-installed EULA of this product which would BREAK my completely legal and fully purchased version of the pre-installed Operating System the very second I swapped the failing and the new functioning hard drives.... Lo and behold, after the change of the hard drive model, serial number and capacity, my pre-installed Windows 7 Home Premium recovery disks (both a freshly ordered set and also a self-made image set) kept returning: "Windows Setup could not configure Windows on this computer's hardware" and kept restarting on the "Setup" screen and would go no further, no matter what I tried (on ALL six installation attempts). Curious, I perused the EULA to see if it could give me any information for why this was happening and discovered the reason for this to be the replacement of a faulty hard drive and because the pre-installed OEM version had remembered the original hardware configuration, and would not permit it's use just because of the new hard drive installation! And again, to remind you, on previous Windows versions, this was NEVER the case UNLESS the motherboard was changed!

If I had not been given a legal retail license key by a friend who owns their own computer repair business along with access to the .ISO bootable disk, I would have wound up with a fully functional $800 (+ $134.99 for the hard drive replacement) paperweight because of this problem. This is yet another prime example of how these monopoly software corporations are scheming up new and more devious ways to force us all to re-purchase again and again their products should misfortune strike (as it did for me with my original hard drive on this system)... or so it sure seems to me!

So for all of you system builders out there who love to tinker around or else upgrade their computer's hardware components, do yourself a huge favor right now to avoid financial heartache and just get the full retail version of your chosen Windows Operating System for a slightly larger cost... otherwise you will wind up spending TWICE or even more than what the full and transferable Operating System would have cost you in the first place! It happened to me, and it WILL happen to you somewhere down the line. And I must state that Linux Ubuntu is looking more and more attractive to me (a life-time Microsoft Windows user) with every new "Windows" OS and all of their new "conditions" intended to only cause misery for your support of them and their software...

Bottom line: a purchased and legitimate "OEM" Operating System being broken after a simple hard drive replacement ON THE SAME COMPUTER IT CAME WITH is absolutely and unequivocally UNACCEPTABLE, Microsoft! Read more ›

61 of 65 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Same OEM Version as the Big Vendors, Very Easy, Just with Scary Warnings February 20, 2012

By Tiger TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Amazon Verified Purchase

This couldn't be easier for a new system build. This is the same version & license that you get from any computer manufacturer or the local computer shop if anyone builds your PC. You are no more or less limited in functionality, hardware flexibility, or anything except who supports you compared to a computer bought from anyone else. For a new system build, you can ignore all the language about using a special machine prep tool (for vendors to customize the Windows install such as with links for support and their own software add-ons). Just put the disk in, start the new computer, and it should install. After all, this is the backup disc a local shop would just give the user for them in case they ever have to reinstall after a system failure. It should automatically register the next time it gets an internet connection. I had no problems at all.

SCARY WORDS ON PACKAGE
When the package arrives, you will notice some scary wording on it that says this is for system builders only for machines to be sold to another party. It also says you must use some other tool to do the install. But I had no issue just installing directly without doing anything but popping this disc in. So be aware of what the license means and decide if you want to proceed or not. Basically, Microsoft is factoring in supports costs if they have to help you at all. So they offer two versions, one with support (retail) and one without (OEM). Computer vendors have their own separate support contract with Microsoft and can buy the OEM versions without support and instead offer their own support. Microsoft is just making sure you are going to be happy and using strong language to ensure someone is going to cover you if you have a software problem.... There is nothing preventing you from just installing the OEM and things *should* go just fine. But if it doesn't, you have to call the vendor building your PC. Probably for legal reasons, they are saying you cannot be your own vendor which you have no separate support contract with Microsoft. Personally, I think it is ridiculous that if I have a major vendor or a local corner shop build my PC that Windows would cost me about half, but if I build myself I am punished with having to pay double. So you have to understand Microsoft's motivation here. If you have a problem MS will just tell you to call the vendor. I seriously doubt MS is trying to extort home enthusiast system builders from spending more money because it is such a small portion of the market compared to the 99% of PCs bought from major vendors. So you must consider if you are going to just build it anyway without support and probably be just fine, but risk if something unusual happens that you have nobody to call. But there are always online forums and tech posts and articles for self support.

EASY INSTALL FROM OEM DISC
All you need to do is finish building the computer, turn it on, put the disk in, and it should detect it and start to install. You might need to go into your BIOS and change the boot order to set optical drives first if it isn't detecting it by default. If your hard drives are not formatted, it will let you select and format your hard drives very easily. On my i7 with SSD, Windows installed and was up in only a few minutes. Without antivirus, my new computer booted Windows 7 in about 3 seconds. Once with antivirus security installed, it boots in about 10 seconds with SSD. It couldn't have been any easier. I don't know when it ever did the registering, because it does it in the background. But I've been running for almost 2 months no with a flawless experience.

LOCKED TO SYSTEM
Once registered, it becomes locked to your computer system, just like the 99% of computers bought from any other vendor. They don't intend OEM to be transferred between systems. The intention is to sell with any new computer. Any upgrade or migration implies a consumer (or retail) action that might need support, which again goes back to understanding of somehow keeping you covered. And you bought OEM at a discount to get Windows in the door on new systems, which they don't factor in longer term use. So it tries to do its best to understand what is a "system" and protect it from being transferred. You should be fine to fix or replace broken parts, or do upgrades. But you cannot upgrade your way to a completely new system. You should be able to handle hard drive failures, video card upgrades, memory upgrades, misc cards, etc. It should even tolerate a motherboard upgrade, but with some questioning. Basically it gifts you so many differences that it can detect, or it might have you go through some sort of online confirmation, or maybe make you call Microsoft to explain yourself. If you research around, most people don't have a problem at all. The automated online inquiry seems to approve many things. For others, many have called the number it directs them to call and been approved without a problem. But there are some who are not approved. At least with the OEM copy here, you get a good backup disc. There are some reports where the problem from some vendors were the backup discs didn't support file formats of some newer hard disks and couldn't be replaced when out of vendor support. But those were the backup discs, not this OEM DVD. Of course, it is always a risk. Do you trust Microsoft to approve reasonable changes you might do? Is Microsoft really out to get the rare consumer building their own I really doubt it.

FINAL THOUGHTS
I think Windows 7 is a welcome upgrade from Windows XP. It takes a little getting used to if you've used Windows XP for 10 years like me. But I think it is really nice. The OEM looks and acts the same in every respect. But if all this makes you uncomfortable, or if you are not a technical person willing to scour the internet for free support articles if needed, then you should buy the retail or buy the computer from a vendor like 99% of all computers. Read more ›

85 of 95 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Working great with MacBook Pro April 24, 2011

By ronvanr

Amazon Verified Purchase

I've been using this with Parallel 6 on my MacBook Pro (2.3 i7 with 8gb ram), and so far so good. Installed without a glitch. None of my window programs are processor demanding, so the ones I'm using with this and parallels 6 run fast and smooth.

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bark is worse than the Bite August 17, 2011

By G. O'Connor

Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm not reviewing Windows 7 here, but going to mention the warnings from Microsoft on the package you will get could be scary. They were scary enough to me that I brought the package into my Network people at work prior to opening it. Basically this OEM version is for one machine, and one machine alone. That is generally all the average person asks of an operating system, so it should work for the average user. In my case I was doing a new installation and it formatted my new hard drive; in a word it worked perfectly.

Windows 7 is an improvement over Vista for sure.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Economical solution for Mac users who want Windows September 4, 2011

By Dennis Moore

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review addresses the questions I had as an Apple Mac user considering this product. The 5-star rating is not my evaluation of Windows 7 Home Premium as an operating system (it's not my first-choice OS or even my second) but simply means that the System Builder DVD fulfilled its intended purpose of installing Windows 7 on a single computer in an easy, hassle-free way.

You can ignore the technobabble about OPK on the box and just do a straightforward installation in the emulation environment of your choice. Instead of Apple Boot Camp (which requires rebooting the machine to switch between operating systems), I prefer Oracle VM VirtualBox, which lets Windows run within OS X, rather as products like Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion do. Those commercial products arguably have more features and better integration with OS X, but virtualbox.org offers an elegant open-source solution that does everything I need.

As other reviewers have stressed, this System Builder version installs on one and only one computer; if you get a new machine, you'll need a new copy of Windows. On the other hand, it's worth noting that I was able to install both in Boot Camp and in VirtualBox on the same iMac without any authorization problems.