Licensing Windows 7 to Run on Macs

Organizations can license Apple Mac computers to run Windows 7 with retail full licenses or with upgrade licenses and Software Assurance (SA) bought in volume licensing.

Mac users often need to run Windows 7 locally to employ client applications that are not available on the Mac. Most will run Windows 7 in virtual machines (VMs) using hardware virtualization software, such as VMware or Parallels products. A few might run Windows 7 on the physical computer alongside the Mac OS in a dual-boot configuration. (It’s possible to run Windows 7 as the sole OS of a Mac, but very few users will want it.)

There are two licensing options for Windows 7 on Macs:

Windows 7 Professional upgrade license with SA. Mac OS X is a qualifying OS for the Windows 7 Professional Upgrade license in volume licensing programs, so organizations may buy these licenses with SA and assign them to Macs. This combination permits up to four VMs at a time, or a dual-boot OSE. The right to run VMs is not perpetual; it expires with SA coverage. SA is required, because without it, the terms of the upgrade license demand that the Mac OS be uninstalled.