Installing OEM Windows 10 on new system

[KyleWM1989]

Hi,

So I am building a brand new system on Monday, and the only area where I'm a little confused on is my operating system. My current system had an OEM Windows 7, which I upgraded to Windows 10 for free. I know I cannot transfer this to a new motherboard.

So I plan to buy a new copy of Windows 10 to install on my new system, but the sheer differences in prices is so confusing. I won't have a disk drive on my new system, so it will have to be a bootable usb.

So I can buy the retail version at around £100, or another OEM version for between 30 and 60. My concern is, is this an easy install? My plan is to create a Windows 10 ISO image USB, using the tool on microsofts webpage. Once this has booted, if I enter a licence key that I obtain for an OEM version, will this work? I'm happy to use an OEM version, as the cost saving is significant and I can't see me changing from this new system for a long long time.

Is installing an OEM version essentially the same as installing a retail copy? I know the differences between the 2, but it's the installation process that doesn't seem to be too clear.

Does anyone have any experience with this where they have installed a new OEM copy onto a brand new empty SSD drive into a new system?

Any assistance would really be appreciated!
Thanks in advance
Kyle

 

[basroil]

Retail lets you transfer the license to another computer if you decide to upgrade later. , OEM ties your key to your motherboard. That is literally the only difference.

Also, 30GBP for OEM sounds like it's likely not fully legitimate. Don't buy licenses from ebay or other sketchy places, make sure it's an authorized reseller.

As for install process, it's 100% identical between OEM and retail.

 

[KyleWM1989]

Thanks for your reply, yeah I know the difference between the 2, the main bit that was confusing me was the varying prices.

Do you know any reputable sellers? You mention eBay as sketchy, the few I've seen on there say they sell official Microsoft keys with 100% feedback. What actually makes a seller reputable? Amazon for example have some OEM copies, but with a wide amount of sellers. Just seems a little complicated.

My current plan is to set up the bootable USB and try and find an OEM key to activate it

 

[basroil]

Do you know any reputable sellers? You mention eBay as sketchy, the few I've seen on there say they sell official Microsoft keys with 100% feedback. What actually makes a seller reputable? Amazon for example have some OEM copies, but with a wide amount of sellers. Just seems a little complicated.

"Official keys" and legitimate keys are different. Most ebay sellers are spamming volume license controlled keys, OEM keys used in factory but not activated, etc. They are still quite illegal to sell.

Try newegg/tigerdirect first amazon second, they usually have specials on OEM and retail versions.

 

[MagnaFarta]

My current plan is to set up the bootable USB and try and find an OEM key to activate it

Hi,

Did this work for you? I am considering the same, albeit 2 years later

 

[USAFRet]

Hi,

Did this work for you? I am considering the same, albeit 2 years later

The original participants in this thread are long gone, never to read this.

Win 10 licensing and activation has changed significantly since this was written.
Read here:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/20530/windows-10-reactivating-after-hardware-change
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3164428/windows-build-1607-activation.html