Windows 10: Licensing Windows 10 within VMs

I'm a developer, and I'm sorta paranoid, so all my computers run Linux in work mode. I have a HDD with an official install of W7 for gaming, but some of my customers need me into Windows. So the natural answer is a Virtual Machine.

• Can I buy a license of W10 and then install into a VM?
• Or (better) upgrade one of my test VMs with an official license and begin to work with it?
• Will I be able to run multiple instances of that VM (never simultaneous, just one instance each time, in my laptop when I'm out OR my desktop when I'm home)?

I did my search about it, but I cannot find explicit clear answers, just some ppl (assumed Microsoft staff) saying yes, and some (assumed Ms staff too) saying no.

I also bought TWO "cheap" licenses of W10 in Amazon from a digital store, and the activation center denies them. I can live with it, because they were really cheap and I bought them as a test before spending real cash into an official license to see it not working.

:)

 

Questions on Windows 10 licensing for a Hyper-V VM


I have a Windows 10 Pro machine which supports virtualization.

I want to create a hyper-V VM running Windows 10 as the guest host. I have some questions on licensing and any activation issues that might occur

1. I expect I'll need to buy a 2nd Win 10 license
   • Does it need to be a retail license?
   • Or can I a buy an OEM license? (I’ll always use the 2nd license for a virtual machine on the same PC but never run more then one VM at a time)
2. If i wanted to create multiple VMs (gen-1 and gen-2) could I use that 2nd license each time? Again, assuming i'll never actually having more then one VM running at a time.
3. And just curious: Does anyone know if MS simply recognizes 2 licenses both for the same PC? If I did a fresh reinstall in the future, would it make any difference which license i lthen used for the PC and which for the VM?

 

Windows 10 VM license

Exactly.

When you go to the evaluation site you can download a complete ISO of Windows 10.

Below is a link step by step with screen shots on how to create a VM in Hyper-V using the ISO that you download from the evaluation site.

Link says Windows 8.1 but works the same in Windows 10.

The trial copies are fully functional so it is perfect for testing purposes.

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/canitpro/20...

 

Windows 10 VM license

I bought a PC with Windows 10 home installed and licensed then upgraded the license to Windows 10 Pro. I now have a requirement to run a clean Windows installation for testing software inside a virtual machine.

Can I (legally) re-use (and activate) the original Windows 10 Home license that shipped with my PC on a virtual machine that I run on Windows 10 Pro or do I need another Windows 10 license for the VM?