W10 purchased from Microsoft store = OEM or 'Retail'?
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W10 purchased from Microsoft store = OEM or 'Retail'?
It's not entirely crystal clear, I have an OEM install of W7 upgraded to W10 at the moment so my W10 is OEM. I'm looking at changing motherboard in the near future so I'd end up having to buy another copy of W10.
Now, I could buy an OEM copy from a UK retailer for £79. Or I can got to the Microsoft Store and pay £99 for a W10 Home 'download' version. What it doesn't say is whether this is an OEM copy tied to one device or a 'retail' that can be installed as many times as I like if I change motherboard/PC.
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If you have W7 OEM version and you change motherboards, just call MS and tell them you had a system failure. MS is pretty lenient and they will probably reactivate your OEM key.
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But to answer your question, the only version MS sells through their site is the Full Retail version. They come in USB drives, not DVDs. (Stupid idea, IMO)
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But to answer your question, the only version MS sells through their site is the Full Retail version. They come in USB drives, not DVDs. (Stupid idea, IMO)
USB drives are faster and less prone to breaking than DVDs, and you don't need to have a disc drive in order to install Windows 10 (this is useful for netbooks or some laptops).
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If you can find a USB to ISO program I'd do that just so I can have the ISO saved somewhere in case the flash drive dies.
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But to answer your question, the only version MS sells through their site is the Full Retail version. They come in USB drives, not DVDs. (Stupid idea, IMO)
When I built my system (originally with a 3570K & Z77 MB) I put in a DVD drive so I could install Win 7, but that's the only time I've ever used the drive.
It would have made more sense for it to be on USB, so I could have bypassed the purchase of the DVD drive altogether.
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If you have W7 OEM version and you change motherboards, just call MS and tell them you had a system failure. MS is pretty lenient and they will probably reactivate your OEM key.
Whether or not that actually works, it's still illegal to do so.
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Let's call it a challenge to the provisions of the End User License Agreement. Illegal seems a bit strong. And if the company representative reauthorizes it then all is good.
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