On Tue, Apr 17, 2012 at 11:38 AM, Robert P. J. Day <rpjday [ at ] crashcourse [ dot ] ca>wrote: > > > it's not a problem to purchase windows 7 home or pro or whatever > variant i choose from something like staples, but if i do that, i get > one shot at installation, at which point i'm stuck with that install. > I am not sure where you got this idea, but it is not the case. Microsoft does allow you to re install on different hardware. Also you have 60 days IIRC to activate the install. Until you click on "activate" MS doesn't know that you even opened the package. Even if you do need to activate the install on different hardware I think you 5 or 10 before you need to call the support and have them reset the activation count. for now, if i purchase the OS off the shelf, i'll try to install it > in virtualbox on my 64-bit ubuntu 11.10 system, but if that becomes > too much of a pain, I don't see why this would be a problem. I run similar software-that-only-runs-on-windows-and-can't-be-replaced in a vm. If the vm doesn't work out reinstall on the laptop. If you have an OEM copy of windows you can install it in a VM on the on the original hardware. There are settings to expose the real hardware's DMI tables to the vm. Pro Tip: drink heavily while using windows. It helps ease the pain. -- sg