Q:

Windows 7 Activation

I sent a Windows 7 Pro x64 system to a colleague that I thought was completely configured but it turns out it wasn't yet activated. When he booted the first time it came up with a registration screen that he just hit "cancel" on and then sent me an email asking about it.
The product key is on the box but I expect I may need to walk him through the process of typing it the code and submitting. As a further complication, the system has been configured with explorer.exe disabled and only limited functionality available with the keyboard-----so I need that registration window to popup in order to talk him through registration.
My question is, how often should I expect that registration/activation window to popup on boot? Every time, or in several days? I'm trying to figure out how to schedule fixing his issue.

A:

Answering just the question you asked:
Usually windows prompts for activation/validation of key every 72 hours post initial login. After 30 days your windows OS session will become inaccessible if you haven't validated it. 

