Windows 10: I sell my PC and make a new one from parts. Can I keep my license ?

Man ... That's what happens when you post a question before going to sleep ... 3 pages of responses. It wasn't even close to that during the Technical Preview period. It was mainly Brick who answered everything. But here it goes, to clear all stuff.

First of all, it's not a driver's license, it's a windows 10 license.

I've been using TP from February until the moment it got upgraded to Win10 PRO. And it's not exactly a 'upgrade' to my PC, it's a new PC and I'm selling the old one (all parts are different). I will format the hard drive of the PC before selling, so in the end I still will have only 1 PC, so I thought it should be possible to keep my license.

Sorry if the question wasn't clear. This forum used to be populated with only insiders ...

 

Your question has been answered, if you sell the PC with your key, then no you can`t keep it and use it again.

But if it were a retail Windows 7 key, you would be a fool to let it go.

Tell us exactly what type of license it is, and we`ll let you know if you can keep it, simple as that *Smile

Refer back to post #3

And if the PC you are selling has been upgraded to Windows 10, then guess what, there is no more key to keep.

You loose it when you upgrade to 10, someone correct me if I`m wrong.

It`s all about what type of key is on the PC you are going to sell, that determines whether you can keep it and use it again.

There is no such thing as a Windows 10 license, unless you bought retail, which you didn`t. Someone correct me if I`m wrong.

 

I don't know if I have a key or not, but I guess I don't. The license I have is the license Microsoft gave me for being an insider. I used Windows TP for a few months and then it got upgraded to Windows 10 PRO. That's the license I have. Can I keep it ? (I never stated that I want to keep a 'key', only the 'license'). And I'll format the hard drive regardless of the fact that I can keep the license or not.

 

The license is the key, the key is the license, you are confused.

No clue why you are using the term license.

No you can`t keep it, there`s nothing to keep'

You have to install 7 SP1, 8 or 8.1 and upgrade to 10 for free from that on the new hardware or just buy Windows 10 Retail, end of story.

Make sure you tell a potential customer how you arrived at Windows 10 when you sell the PC, it`s just good etiquette *Smile

If you don`t have an Operating System to put on the PC you want to sell, then just leave Windows 10 on it.

Your new PC will come with Windows, if you are building your own PC, then of course you will have to buy Windows if you don`t already own 7 or 8 or 8.1.

 

I'm somewhat surprised about the incorrect things that have been said in this thread.

"There is no license": That's of course completely wrong. Microsoft is the holder of the intellectual property of Windows 10. They are the only ones that are allowed to use Windows 10. Everybody who want's to use Windows 10 needs permission from MS to use it and what's the name for such a permission? Exactly, it's a license. So in order to use Windows 10 you definitely need a license, even if you upgraded from a predecessor like Windows 8.1. The only difference are the conditions that license comes with. Permission to use software (either protected or open source) = license.

"There is no license key": Wrong again, there is definitely a license key for Windows 10, even if you upgraded from an older Windows version. That key is needed if you want to install Windows 10 again (so called clean install). It can be acquired using tools like License Crawler or ProduKey by Nirsoft (which belongs to MS I think). Take a look at the following print screen which shows my license key of Windows 10 after upgrading from 8.1 (obfuscated of course).



Now back to the question of the op: I highly doubt it's possible to transfer the license of an upgraded Windows 10 to another machine. But I'd still try it. First make sure the hdds in the pc pc you want to sell are completely clean meaning Windows 10 is not installed anymore. Then I'd call MS and ask them to manually activate Windows 10 telling them something about a broken mainboard that had to be replaced. It might work but probably it wont. According to the EULA of Windows 10 upgrade it shouldn't but who knows *Wink

 

Trying to run it in a VM on a Laptop I felt like a kid on a trike with the little bell and balloons on the handlebars. *Smile

 

That'd just make me feel bad, lying about a 'broken motherboard' is just the same as pirating it, so I'll skip.

 

vk7jg-nphtm-c97jm-9mpgt-3v66t *Smile

 

Returning to the original question:

If your old Windows license (7 or 8) was retail, then you could use it again on a new homebuilt PC if:

you removed the OS from the PC that you sold (or gave away)

Installed the old OS on the new PC and upgraded that to Win 10.

What happens after 29 July, 2016, when the free Win 10 upgrade offer expires, I don't know.

Incidentally, no license key is retained on a PC that has the Win 10 upgrade. Once it is installed and activated, you can scrub the hard drive, eliminating all partitions, and clean install Win 10 on the machine and have it activate online. I believe that you could use a virgin hard drive and still activate it. The "same hardware" requirement isn't that strict.

 

It might be a generic key but of that I wasn't sure so I obfuscated it. Still there is a license key you need to clean install Windows 10 again.

 

That of course is your choice. I'd try it without feeling bad. MS also does not feel bad about spying on it's users or about advertising "free" upgrades to Windows 10 that actually transfer a very expensive retail version into a cheap, hardware bound upgrade version.

 

It's well known you don't need a license key to clean install unless it's a retail version.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/how-get-win...vation-1514845

 

It is also well known (or should be) that a clean install of Windows 10 will only activate without a product key if it is on the same computer that an upgrade from Windows 7/8/8.1 was successfully completed and activated on previously - or on which which Microsoft has granted a permanent activation for a previous Insider.

So, question to the OP:
You have a new computer. If it is homebuilt and did not come with an operating system installed by the manufacturer, how do you plan on obtaining an activation of Windows 10 clean install on it? No product key (skip entering) means no activation. The generic product key that everyone gets when they upgrade won't work to activate a clean install. You might get an activation that expires if you enter an Insider preview product key.

If the new computer is manufactured, then it should have the factory OS installed and come with it's own license for Windows.

 

Snip!!

My mobo has NO UEFI.. Yet W10 installed.. It's not a requirement at all.

 

You know Marron if you would of asked the question correctly you probably wouldn't of had all these responds . So you were using Windows 10 Technical Preview which Microsoft gave you license key for, then you upgraded to 10 pro . Now you want to re-use 10 Technical Preview key again on your new system. I don't believe you can but I'm not 100% sure since its a test version but I would of thought their an expiry date for those Technical Preview versions . Think about it whats to stop you from giving your key to anyone to use . I doubt very much if you can re use that license key again