Licensing Question - Before I Buy

Gary · 29 Oct 2015

H55 said:

My mistake, you went off topic and I gave an incorrect reply.

You still haven't clearly answered my original questioning.

If I buy windows 10 and install+activate, then decide to upgrade to next gen hardware by building a new pc (not purchasing a pre built and installed), will I have to repurchase Windows 10?

No, sorry I did not go off topic.

Brink · 29 Oct 2015

H55 said:

So if I decide to do the right thing, and legally purchase at great expense, I'm unable to upgrade hardware or change devices?

This appears highly unusable and uninviting as someone who upgrades their hardware often and is building new desktops.

You will be able to reinstall if you upgrade the hardware since you would only have it activated on one PC.

Word Man · 29 Oct 2015

H55 said:

So if I decide to do the right thing, and legally purchase at great expense, I'm unable to upgrade hardware or change devices?

This appears highly unusable and uninviting as someone who upgrades their hardware often and is building new desktops.

NO, if you purchase a retail license (as you've proposed), you are free to use that license on only one machine at a time, regardless of how you may change or upgrade that ONE machine or whether you uninstall from one machine and install it on another. You're talking about buying a retial single use license - single means single. It's more flexible and valuable than a manufacturer's installed OEM license which is only good for the life of that one machine the manufacturer assembled and installed an OEM license on as part of the assembly.

EDIT - my answer was a little longwinded, hence Brink's summary answer beat me to it.

NavyLCDR · 29 Oct 2015

H55 said:

It's unclear to me exactly how the licensing works with my product key if I purchase Windows 10.

1: Will I be able to install and use my product key on both my desktop and laptop without restriction?

No. The restriction on the license is that it can only be installed and activated on one computer at a time.

H55 said:

2: Will I have to purchase another product key when I decide or have to build a new pc?

No. But you do have to uninstall/remove it from the previous computer first before installing it on the new PC.

H55 · 30 Oct 2015

Thanks for clearing this up for me guys.

I've got one laptop upgraded successfully. However the licensing agreement doesn't work for me so unfortunately for MS I will be hanging on to my money this time around.

NavyLCDR · 30 Oct 2015

H55 said:

Thanks for clearing this up for me guys.

I've got one laptop upgraded successfully. However the licensing agreement doesn't work for me so unfortunately for MS I will be hanging on to my money this time around.

The license agreement is the same as it always has been. Except in the past in order to have a legally licensed upgrade a user had to actually pay for each one.

H55 · 30 Oct 2015

NavyLCDR said:

The license agreement is the same as it always has been.

That may be true but in the past nothing ever actually stopped me from using my keys multiple times.

I'm simply not willing to buy it more than once for me individually, it's insane.

NavyLCDR · 30 Oct 2015

H55 said:

That may be true but in the past nothing ever actually stopped me from using my keys multiple times.

I'm simply not willing to buy it more than once for me individually, it's insane.

If you are going to use two copies of software on two different computers at the same time, why do you think it is insane to actually have to pay for two copies? Or are you just upset that Microsoft has put measures in place to keep people from illegally pirating their software?

pparks1 · 30 Oct 2015

H55 said:

That may be true but in the past nothing ever actually stopped me from using my keys multiple times.

I'm simply not willing to buy it more than once for me individually, it's insane.

Insane or not, its the way it works. If you bought 2 laptops brand new, you would be paying for the OS license twice. If you own and drive 2 cars, you need 2 license plates and 2 registrations.

Consider running a different OS on your 2nd computer. It's a great opportunity to learn something new. Maybe paying for Windows a 2nd time would seem more reasonable if you didn't enjoy the free options.