Windows 7 Trial Period Can Run For Four Months

By Geoff Duncan Published September 29, 2009

Four months of Windows 7 free? It sounds unlikely, but those are the claims being made. Reports on the Windows Secrets say that the initial 30-day free trial can be extended three more times, much as what happened with Vista.

If you install Windows 7 after it’s shipped on October 22, but don’t enter the installation key, the 30-day clock begins running. As your time almost runs out, Windows Secrets says, you can “click Start, All Programs, Accessories. Right-click Command Prompt and choose Run As Administrator. Enter your administrator password.” After that type the command “slmgr –rearm” and restart the OS. Bingo, you have another 30 days.

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“You can run the -rearm trick a total of three times,” the site claims. “If you perform a -rearm at the end of each 30-day period, you end up with 120 days of full, unfettered Windows 7 use without having to supply an activation key in the interim.”

However, the trick evidently only works with that command on Windows 7 Home Premium, so be warned.

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Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

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