Make sure you don't use illegal software

So you have a computer with Windows 7 installed, but you're not sure if you're running a genuine version of the operating system? You might have this problem if you downloaded a copy of Windows 7 or if someone else installed it for you.

Anyway, there are a number of different ways to check if your Windows 7 copy is authentic.

The first way to check if Windows 7 is genuine is to click Start and then type Activate Windows in the search box.