Microsoft’s Windows 7 is shaping up to be the answer to all our Vista woes, but after such a bad run, you’re forgiven for wanting to try before you buy. Well, one savvy Windows user has found a way of extending the usual 30 day trial license four times over, giving you a full 120 days at the helm. Read on to find out how.
First thing you’ll need to do is get your paws on a copy of Windows 7. That might seem tricky given that it’s not even out till October 22, but there are plenty of copies lurking around in official channels.
Once you’ve installed it, you automatically get a healthy 30 days to learn the ropes and make your mind, but if you are feeling trapped in the clammy grip of indecision, you can enter the Command Prompt and type in ‘slmgr -rearm’ which resets the Software License Manager for another 30 days.
Obviously, you’ll need to leave it until the last possible minute to get the most out of it, but because you can run it three times, in theory you’ll be able to get a good 120 days out of it. That should be plenty of time to decide whether or not to leave XP behind once and for all.
You can use it for any version of Windows 7 you like – so that includes Ultimate, Professional and Home Premium. And if you do decide to cough up for the license fee, nothing will change; you’ll keep using it the same as before.
Out Oct 22 | From £49.99 | Windows 7
