Win 10 licensing question.

spud17

I didn't want to confuse Nifty/ 50Twuncle's thread.

stockton wrote: »

I have been installing both Windows 10 and Windows 7 (Pro) on the same computer since Win 10 came out. On every installation my original Win 7 product key has always been accepted without question. It does not matter whether I install the 32 bit version or 64 bit version of Win 10; the product key is always accepted.

My experience is that the Win 7 key has never been made null. It allows me to install Win 7 or Win 10, 32 bit or 64 bit, any time, whether upgrading via Win 7 or doing a clean install.

esuhl wrote: »

Not as far as I'm aware. The W7/8 keys aren't cancelled. The only thing you lose 30-days after an in-place upgrade is the ability to do an in-place downgrade to the previous OS.

Thanks for the clarification.
One or two more questions.
My Retail Win 8.1 will convert to an OEM version of Win 10 if I upgrade, therefore stopping me from moving it to another mobo.
(I think this is still correct, initially there was uncertainty, at the time I posted links from MS that showed they were contradicting themselves.)
If my Retail key is not made null, what is there to stop me using it multiple times to upgrade different pcs to Win 10?
Or will my key be changed to OEM, allowing multiple uses, but only on the same pc?

esuhl

spud17 wrote: »

My Retail Win 8.1 will convert to an OEM version of Win 10 if I upgrade, therefore stopping me from moving it to another mobo.
(I think this is still correct, initially there was uncertainty, at the time I posted links from MS that showed they were contradicting themselves.)

No; your Win8.1 retail licence won't convert to a Win10 OEM licence. Your Win8.1 licence will be upgraded to allow a Win10 OEM installation. Essentially the upgraded licence lets you activate one copy of Win8.1 retail OR one copy of Win10 OEM. The OEM version is tied to a particular machine; the retail version is not.

spud17 wrote: »

If my Retail key is not made null, what is there to stop me using it multiple times to upgrade different pcs to Win 10?
Or will my key be changed to OEM, allowing multiple uses, but only on the same pc?

You can't use a retail key to install multiple instances of Win8.1. I don't know what happens, but I imagine that one of the PCs will fail to activate or will be deactivated at some point. Microsoft can see which unique product key you're using. If they see you using it concurrently on different machines, they'll presumably block one.

With the Win10 OEM free upgrade, MS know the Win7/8 key you are upgrading from, and the hardware hash of the PC. Again, I don't know exactly what they would do, but I imagine that if you break the licensing terms like this, they will just refuse to activate (or subsequently deactivate) one or all of your PCs.

I can't remember where I read all this, but I'm pretty sure that's all correct.

spud17

I wasn't meaning multiple installs of Win 8, just use it to upgrade multiple times, as opposed to a clean install.
As you say, MS will probably detect the repeated use of the retail key.

stockton_2

The belief was, as I recollect, that if you upgraded to Windows 10 from Win 7 and kept it going for more than a month, then you would lose the right to revert back to Windows 7.

I was simply pointing out from my own experience that this has not happened to me (yet). I have had Win 10 on for a couple of months at a time but have been able to revert back to Win 7 any time I choose. I am faffing around from one operating system to the other (on three computers) and never have a problem with the license key/s.

I am guessing my computer/s simply pass the MS hash-code test for both 7 and 10.

My licenses are OEM versions of Win 7 Pro, which I purchased in the belief that they would just be valid for a 32 bit install of Win 7. However, as I have pointed out, I have found that they validate regardless of whether I install Win 7 or Win 10 (32 bit or 64 bit).

It was my understanding that MS were hyper-strict when it came to validating their operating systems but I have found this not to be the case at all. I even dared to phone them up one time a couple of weeks ago and validated one computer over the phone. It was quite painless.

I would not dream of trying to put the same license key on to two computers though. MS may be becoming a little more relaxed but they baint daft.

spud17

stockton wrote: »

The belief was, as I recollect, that if you upgraded to Windows 10 from Win 7 and kept it going for more than a month, then you would lose the right to revert back to Windows 7.
That's exactly the same as I believed.

I was simply pointing out from my own experience that this has not happened to me (yet). I have had Win 10 on for a couple of months at a time but have been able to revert back to Win 7 any time I choose. I am faffing around from one operating system to the other (on three computers) and never have a problem with the license key/s.

I am guessing my computer/s simply pass the MS hash-code test for both 7 and 10.

My licenses are OEM versions of Win 7 Pro, which I purchased in the belief that they would just be valid for a 32 bit install of Win 7. However, as I have pointed out, I have found that they validate regardless of whether I install Win 7 or Win 10 (32 bit or 64 bit).

That's correct, when I bought Retail Win 7, it came with 2 disks, 32 bit and 64 bit.

It was my understanding that MS were hyper-strict when it came to validating their operating systems but I have found this not to be the case at all. I even dared to phone them up one time a couple of weeks ago and validated one computer over the phone. It was quite painless.

I would not dream of trying to put the same license key on to two computers though. MS may be becoming a little more relaxed but they baint daft.

'baint', you're not from the South West are you?

I'm just interested in this because what is supposed to happen doesn't always seem to be the reality.

When using the phone activation, you are asked " How many computers in this installed on?" You obviously say "one", I've never had the opportunity to lie and carry on using 2x machines , each with the same Retail key.

stockton_2

spud17 wrote: »

'baint', you're not from the South West are you?

I'm just interested in this because what is supposed to happen doesn't always seem to be the reality.

When using the phone activation, you are asked " How many computers in this installed on?" You obviously say "one", I've never had the opportunity to lie and carry on using 2x machines , each with the same Retail key.

North West actually. Baint was just a figure of speech.:D

I agree that what people think will happen does not always seem to be the reality. That is why I like to try new things and find the facts out for myself.

It would be fun to put the same (genuine) product key on two computers just to see what would happen.

Too risky for me though. My computers pass the MS hash code test and I am very happy to leave it at that.

esuhl

stockton wrote: »

It would be fun to put the same (genuine) product key on two computers just to see what would happen.

I remember, around a decade ago, hearing a number of reports of people using local PC repair companies to reinstall Windows. After a few weeks they would see a message saying, "This copy of Windows is not genuine...". After investigation, it seemed like the PC repair shops had been reinstalling Windows on their customers' machines using their own Product Key.

https://blog.codinghorror.com/you-may-be-a-victim-of-software-counterfeiting/

So... I imagine you have a few weeks grace before Microsoft see that you're using the same key concurrently on different machines and start deactivating the PCs.