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Windows 10 professional retail vs oem free.How to tell if your Windows 10 license type is OEM, Retail, or Volume

 

Most people never buy a copy of Windows itself. But those who do want to purchase the operating system often opt to pick up a retail version. These are either sold in standard software packaging in shops, and thus called boxed copies, or are available online from Microsoft as a download and licence key. In use, there is no difference at all between OEM or retail versions. Both are full versions of the operating system, and as such include all the features, updates, and functionality that you would expect from Windows.

This means that if you run into problems with hardware compatibility or encounter activation issues, calling Microsoft for help will probably end up with you being told to contact the manufacturer of your device. Which of course, in this case, is you! The second major difference is that whereas when you buy a retail copy of Windows you can use it on more than one machine, although not at the same time, an OEM version is locked to the hardware on which it was first activated.

To see how you can reuse your retail Windows licence read our How to install Windows on more than one PC feature. If you install that software on your own PC, you don't have a "genuine" copy of Windows.

But how are you supposed to know? Microsoft allows any online retailer to sell OEM System Builder software with no indication of its terms and conditions. A consumer is expected to read the license agreement printed in tiny type on the outside of the OEM System Builder software package and then translate its dense legalese into plain English PDF here :.

Last year, in a post titled OEM licensing confusion starts at Microsoft. A document containing this graphic was available just last year, in fact: [Update: Some people reading this article seem a bit confused. The following language was not actually part of the Windows license agreement. Instead it was contained in official documents Microsoft distributed to help explain the license terms for its partners. But that document is now gone.

In fact, over the past two years, someone at Microsoft has deliberately and methodically scrubbed all traces of those documents from the web. Only a few traces of that language have survived, as in this blog post from the Microsoft Small Business Community blog. They've been replaced with a single page at Microsoft's OEM Partner Center, which tries to stomp out the idea that end users can purchase and use this software. What is Microsoft doing to clarify these terms to resellers and end-users?

In addition to announcing this clarification to the System Builder channel, Microsoft is working with online retailers to post language on their websites explaining the licensing rules for OEM System Builder channel software.

Whoever was in charge of that effort has some 'splainin' to do, because no such language is available on any of the online retail sites I checked. I used Microsoft's own "decision engine" to shop for a single copy of Windows 7 Ultimate, bit edition. When I tried to search for a fully licensed copy of Windows 7 Ultimate using Bing, I couldn't find it anywhere. Following the links from those Bing results led to pages at ZipZoomfly.

None of those pages contained any licensing information not even a link to the Microsoft OEM license and none of them showed the actual product package. The listing page at Newegg. This software is intended for pre-installation on a new personal computer for resale That scenario was repeated on every site I visited. If you're confused by all this information or lack thereof , you might do what several would-be buyers did and visit Microsoft's Windows 7 forums, where you can get your questions answered by Microsoft support engineers and MVPs.

These Microsoft Answers forums generally do a good job on technical questions. But there's no guarantee you'll get a consistent or accurate answer on licensing issues. Q: I have a small company and one of my clients has asked if I could upgrade several of their computers hardware and have inquired about me updating their computers to Windows 7.

In researching pricing for Windows 7 to give an estimate on cost for their requested computer work, I see that several places offer for purchase "OEM System Builder" software. The OEM versions of Windows have been available to the general public for many, many years and have worked without problems.

Q: I build my own computers--mainly so I'll know what's in them and dont have to fool with the manufacturers' alleged "tech support" while I'm in warranty. So, to recap: A PC hobbyist or enthusiast who wants to buy a legal copy of Windows 7 at a discount gets confusing and conflicting information from Microsoft's web site. Microsoft's own "decision engine" leads him to software he isn't supposed to use, and even offers extra discounts if he buys through those links.

He gets no information from online retailers who will happily take his money for a product he technically isn't allowed to install.

 

Windows 10 Professional OEM vs Retail - Super User - Windows Licenses: OEM, Retail, Volume, and MSDN

 

If so, you may need the help of MiniTool Partition Wizard, with which you can back up your computer for free. Please refer to the following steps:. Free Download. Launch MiniTool Partition Wizard and get to its main interface. Then, click Copy Disk Wizard. Step 3: Select a disk you want to copy and then click Next button.

I recommend you to choose the system disk in case your computer can't boot after hardware replacement. Step 4: Select the external drive as the target disk and then click the Next button. After that, a warning window pops up and tells you " all the data on the disk will be destroyed ". If it's OK, please click Yes to continue. Otherwise, click No to cancel this operation. Step 5: Review the changes you have made. If all is OK, click the Next button. Step 6: Click the Apply button to execute the pending operations.

After backing up your computer, you can replace the hardware. If the Windows 10 cooperate well with the new hardware, then you can activate it with the license. The annoying Windows activation error is a common problem that could happen to anyone when running a Windows OS. If you don't know differences between them or how to transfer and activate Windows 10 license, you can read it.

Click to Tweet. Do you have other ideas about them? Please leave a comment below and I will appreciate that. Besides, if you have any difficulty in backing up computer, you can send an email at [email protected] for help.

We will reply to you as soon as possible. Author Linda has been working as an editor at MiniTool for 1 year.

As a fresh man in IT field, she is curious about computer knowledge and learns it crazily. Maybe due to this point, her articles are simple and easy to understand. Even people who do not understand computer can gain something. By the way, her special focuses are data recovery, partition management, disk clone, and OS migration.

Partition Wizard. Download Partition Wizard. These licenses are sold to system builders who sell assembled computers or to users who build PCs by themselves. Reactivating Windows 10 after a Hardware Change [with Pictures]. OEM Windows 10 refers to the Windows 10 system preinstalled in computers made by original equipment manufacturers. This kind of Windows is genuine and you can enjoy all the features from Windows.

What is difference between Windows 10 OEM and retail? As for the Windows 10 Retail license, it will not be affected by any hardware replacement. Users who buy a Windows 10 Retail license can get support from Microsoft. However, users who have a Windows 10 OEM license can only get support from the manufacturer of their devices.

You can reinstall and reactivate Windows 10 either full retail or OEM System Builder as many times as you like on the same computer.

When you upgraded from a previous version of Windows or receive a new computer preinstalled with Windows 10, what happened is the hardware your PC will get a digital entitlement, where a unique signature of the computer will be stored on Microsoft Activation Servers. The Windows 7 or Windows 8 genuine license you were previously running will be exchanged for a diagnostics key.

Anytime you need to reinstall Windows 10 on that machine, just proceed to reinstall Windows It will automatically reactivate. If you are prompted to enter a product key, click 'I don't have a key' and 'Do this later'. Was this reply helpful? Yes No. Sorry this didn't help. Choose where you want to search below Search Search the Community. Search the community and support articles Windows Windows 10 Search Community member.

Hi, I want to purchase genuine Windows 10 professional OS for my new system. This thread is locked. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread.