Scenario: I have 10 workstations with Windows 7 pro, however quite some time one of my machine have hardware problems. The option we have is to reinstall windows 7 pro into another spare machine. However, it wouldn't allow me to activate windows using the product key that I used in my first installation. Do I need to do a fone activation here in my case?

Do I need to do a fone activation here in my case? If you use Retail keys, yes. If you use MAK/KMS activate them with the VAMT again."A programmer is just a tool which converts caffeine into code" CLIP- Stellvertreter http://www.winvistaside.de/

OEM licenses are not transferrable. If you bought this as a full packaged product however, you can transfer that license. Though your best bet is to call MSFT and explain the situation.

Maybe someone would like to ask glenntoy what he saw when the activation was refused, and what instructions it then offered to resolve it? I know I would.

You shouldn’t have to… if you know about licensing at all you don’t need to know the exact error message. You should be able to extrapolate it from the scenario

Ah, but I do have to... I don't know as much about licensing as you. But I'll just make an educated guess the message mentioned something about phone activation.