Then...

Congratulations.

(Assuming that its not a 'genuine beta - such as the RC')

Hi,all,I won this key on a site I vist it very frequently,and have now downloaded windows 7 ultimate dont worry the hashes matched,and activated with the key I won and the reply i got was congratulations this is now a genuine copy of windows.Very happy I am to,so to test I downloaded some windows updates and it passed all that.Also a lot of others won keys and all them have been fine too.Thanks for all your concern and replies.Judy.

Some bloggers try to attract many users with superficial so called "reviews" and free downloads from fishy sources or sweepstakes with reg-keys, just to get more traffic to their valueless site.
For users, especially for inexperienced users, it is often hard to realise if a site is kosher or rogue.
Judidog, I hope you are not too disappointed.
This really looks very much like one of those typical efforts some bloggers or forums make to get more traffic.I'm pretty sure that this is a scam. Like BuBBy said, this is not the way Microsoft is distributing win7.

graylox

I could be wrong, but on a certain site there has suddenly been a rash of Microsoft product keys being given away, these seem to be for just about any product that you can think of,funnily enough that site also made it aware some time back about the infamous Microsoft Technet fiasco and i recall that certain individuals were giving away keys,could these keys be now resurfacing??, i would treat this with some suspicion.As i say, i could be wrong.

I agree with BuBBY on this one; that is, torrent downloads are usually (though not always) suspect. What sort of competition was it; and I hope the above isn't too disappointing for you?

regards

WR

...and if it was an ad...you definitely didn't win Windows 7 :P

You should probably start getting in touch with the person who provided you with the key. It is very unusual for a company like Microsoft to give away a key, and leave the user to work out for themselves where to get the software. You should be entitled to receive an original Windows7 media kit (including the DVD-rom in the Official packaging, or at least a download location from a legitimate source).

You definitely shouldn't have to resort to P2P. There are lots of versions of windows floating around from such places - and some have been modified or hacked for whatever reason. It would be safe to assume that going via p2p would result in you getting a copy of windows that is not legit or has been modified in some fashion (probably an attempt to circumvent licensing), but possibly for more sinister reasons.

Finally, discussion of the wherefores or how-tos of downloading Commercial software from p2p sites is outside what is permitted by the forum rules.

Hi all,I have just won a key for windows 7 ultimate,which I am very happy about as I never win anything,the problem I have now Is,where do I download It from,I am no good at things like this and dont like/understand torrents,but willing to try If someone could point me In the right direction.Thanks Judy