MarkW :
As soon as you take the free offer to upgrade to Windows 10, the previous license (Win 7, or 8.1) is terminated. You paid for one license. Even with the upgrade, you will end up with one license. And that one license will be for Windows 10.
iChip :
USAFRet :
Windows 10 will start rolling out on July 29.
If you upgrade that existing Windows 8 to Windows 10, you don't get to use that same Windows 8 license in a different PC. You can't use both at the same time. They are not giving you a whole second OS (Windows 10) for free. You are upgrading your existing Windows 8.
One or the other...not both.
After July 29 2016, you will not be able to upgrade anything to Windows 10 for free.
And if you upgrade your current Windows 8 to WIndows 10, it will remain running, theoretically forever (for the life of that device). It does not time out after one year.
I know I cannot use 2 at same time, I believe you misread the whole post. I would be having Windows 8 RETAIL version (meaning I can install it to new machine but deleting it from the old one OR when doing major upgrade (mobo etc.) to the system I would be already using it for. Basically I want to know if I do the switch to 10 for free NOW, and in example 2 years after the 'free' switch is over I do the reinstall with the installation disc of Windows 8, would I be still able to make the free switch & use the Windows 10 or this time I would have to actually buy Windows 10 because of the reinstall.
Currently, Windows 8
After July 29, you upgrade to Windows 10
The free upgrade ceases on July 29 2016
Feb 1 2017 (for instance), you install Windows 8 on a new PC.
You will not be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. That runs out on July 29 2016. No matter what you did before.
Starting from a Retail Windows 8, you may,
possibly, be able to install that Windows 10 clean on a new PC. Maybe.
Yes, a retail license can be moved to a different PC, but most of the comments and documentation I've seen for Windows 10 speaks of "for the life of this device", or "on this device". I've not seen anything about "install on a whole different device".
Let us wait and see what the exact licensing terms are after the actual release.