[SOLVED] Transfering Win 10 from Old Computer to New OEM and vice-versa

[nevica]

Hello,

I have an old computer with WIN 10 booted from an SSD.

I've transfered this SSD to a new prebuilt computer and had the new prebuilt boot from this SSD.

The new prebuilt already had Win 10 installed on a nvme m.2 on its MOBO. Therefore I'm not booting from this on the prebuilt but it's new SSD from the old computer.

Lastly, I have transfered a 1TB HDD which came with the prebuilt to my old PC. This is the only ROM the old computer has.

So I would like to transfer the new Win 10 licence to run Win 10 on the old computer booted from the 1TB HDD.

As with prebuilt computers Win 10 was preinstaled and I have not been given a Windows licence key for it. How do I transfer this key to run on the old computer please?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Wolfshadw]

You don't. OEM Windows 10 licenses are not transferable to other computers.

-Wolf sends

 

[ex_bubblehead]

As with prebuilt computers Win 10 was preinstaled and I have not been given a Windows licence key for it. How do I transfer this key to run on the old computer please?

You don't. That OEM license is tied to the PC in which the drive was originally installed and cannot be transferred.

 

[nevica]

So does this mean........ the SSD I have installed on the new OEM macine is running the new licence despite it running from the old SSD? I say this becasue when I transferred the SSD from the old to new machine it is definitely running from this disc becasue it has all the programs and changes and desktop set up from the old machine. Therefore the new machine must be booting from the old SSD which was added to it.

By corollary, the old machine has a licence tied to it (because it was prebuilt) therefore the Win 10 run on that machine will run the Old licence despite the drive it is run from?

I don't quite understand how MS manages it's licences. Does this mean MS licences are tied to machines and not to discs? Or perhaps licences are tied to motherboards? I'm not certain?

 

[Wolfshadw]

License does not equal Windows software. Having a license just means you have a legal right to use the software. Your old Windows license is still tied to your old machine. Your new Windows license is tied to your new pre-built system.

Transferring storage drives means nothing to Windows licensing.

-Wolf sends

 

[nevica]

Ok, I see. But what does "machine" mean? I presume you mean the motherboard or even the bios? How does MS identify a machine?

The licence is definitely not tied to a person!!!!

 

[Wolfshadw]

In years past, the license was tied to the motherboard. In the case of OEM Pre-installed Windows, I believe it still is. For home-built systems, the license can still be tied to the motherboard, but MS would prefer that you tie it to your MS Account.

-Wolf sends

 

[nevica]

Ok, how about this question.

Say I bought an OEM machine which had a MS licence. Then I decided to swop out the motherboard (and only the motherboard) for a new one. I then booted the machine. Would I need to re-install MS Win 10. Or would it run without identifying he MS account.

I would have thought you would have transfer the MS licence via your MS account to the new motherboard.

I think MS identifies machines from names of machines which are attached to the motherboard in an individual MS account. Although having said that it is possible to change the name of a machine so it can't be that. MS must attach a number identifier to a machine (motherboard) and therefore MS account.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

The OEM license is tied to the motherboard. If you change the motherboard in an OEM machine then you lose the license, unless you transfer that copy of Windows with the old motherboard.

 

[nevica]

I presume the transfer takes place by informing Microsoft or doing this within your MS ID.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Microsoft maintains this information on their servers. You cannot manipulate this for OEM equipment.

 

[nevica]

So a licence is attached to a motherboard!!!

 

[ex_bubblehead]

So a licence is attached to a motherboard!!!

Correct. That's what we've been trying to tell you. The motherboard is the PC in Microsoft's eyes. And, manufacturer (Dell, HP etc.) OEM images are not transferable to another PC as they use a key that's embedded in the firmware and assigned to that specific manufacturer. Thus no key sticker pasted to the case as was the norm in the past.

 

[kerberos_20]

what they talk about are SLP keys (system locked keys)
if you have nonbranded OEM licence, then it should be transferable, theres limited count on how many times you can transfer it (change hardware)