What If Systems Are Not Activated?

Activation is designed to provide a transparent activation experience for users. If activation does not occur immediately after the operating system is installed, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 still provide the full functionality of the operating system for a limited amount of time (a grace period). The length of the grace period is 30 days for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. After the grace period expires, both operating systems remind the user through notifications to activate the computer.

Grace Period

During the initial grace period, there are periodic notifications that the computer requires activation. Computers in this grace period have a set period of time to activate the operating system. Once per day, during the logon process, a notification bubble reminds the user to activate the operating system. This behavior continues until there are three days left in the grace period. For the first two of the final three days of the grace period, the notification bubble appears every four hours. During the final day of the grace period, the notification bubble appears every hour on the hour.

Grace Period Expiration

After the initial grace period expires or activation fails, Windows 7 continues to notify users that the operating system requires activation. Until the operating system is activated, reminders that the computer must be activated appear in several places throughout the product:

• Notification dialog boxes appear during logon after users enter their credentials.
• Notifications appear at the bottom of the screen above the notification area.
• A persistent desktop notification will be shown on a black desktop background.
• A reminder might appear when users open certain Windows applications.