Possible Duplicate:
When reinstalling Windows 7, does the language, version, architecture (64-bit or 32-bit) or source (OEM, retail, or MSDN) matter?
Is there different license keys for windows 7 Retail and Windows 7 OEM versions?
I've been offered a OEM license but don't have any media and wondering if I can use it?
Cheers
John
You can install Windows 7 from non-OEM upgrade or retail media and activate using the OEM code. You will likely need to call Microsoft and do activation by phone (rather than automatically over the net) when you activate though, because using mismatched media and license forces a phone activation. I've done this before - used retail upgrade media to install, then activated using an HP OEM key from the COA of the computer I was installing on.
To clarify: OEM licenses are permanently restricted to the computer they were sold with. You can buy an OEM license yourself and install it on whatever computer you want (which is what I thought you were doing), but once it's been installed, you cannot transfer it. You can reinstall an OEM copy of windows on that same machine using whatever media you have access to, but you can never transfer it.
Yes, you can use it to install Windows if you can get a Windows 7 DVD from somewhere.
To know more about the difference between OEM and Retail check this answer.
NO! Based on the additional comment to @nhinkle you made, legally the OEM key is tied to the hardware it is sold with. So, the OEM key for the Lenovo lives and dies with that specific machine and can't be transfered to any other machine.
What the owner should do is to use the OEM key for the Lenovo, then transfer ownership of the retail copy to you.
