Before I get into changing the product key on Windows 7 using the command prompt, I wanted to share an excellent method for technology departments on small budgets to save time and money when it comes to the dreaded process of imaging.
We recently purchased (18) Dell 2120 netbooks, running Windows 7, for our third and fourth grade cart. The Dell 2120 is a sturdy, easy to use netbook, that is perfect for running the basics in an educational environment. When I order a batch of Dell’s, whether is be 18 or 100, I love to use a free and wonderful product called CloneZilla.
Using ClonzeZilla allows me to create a single clone of a hard drive and then duplicate this exact hard drive image to all of the other netbooks. (Trying not to get to techie, but I think I might have failed!) For those that tackle this process, you know the many pitfalls that can take place setting up a common image in a lab or cart environment.
Using a Linux based laptop that acts like a server running CloneZilla, the PXE interface built into most laptops, as well as a simple networking switch, the process of getting ready for the school year and imaging is reduced to 20-minutes. Please check out Clonezilla.org for more information!
After the initial setup of the CloneZilla server, the process of imaging is seamless and depending on the laptop you select as your Clonezilla server, you could have every variation loaded and ready to clone at a moments notice! No more troubleshooting for an hour (or more), if you can re-image in 20-minutes.
With every machine getting cloned exactly the same, product keys are duplicated as well, leading to some minor post-imaging tweaks. Our Microsoft Office suite is purchased using the Microsoft Volume licensing, so I am in good shape there, however, I need to rebind to our school server and change the Windows 7 product key on every machine. Changing the product key can be done fast and simply using the Windows Command Prompt and a couple lines of code.
Changing the Product Key on Windows 7:
First right-click on the cmd.exe program and you will need to run the command prompt as an administrator. Next, type in:
slmgr.vbs -ipk (product key)
After typing that line of code and the product key, without the parenthesis, to activate Windows 7 type in:
slmgr.vbs -ato
After a few moments, a couple of pop-up windows will appear, notifying you have you have changed the product key. Pretty quick and simple.