i am confused how windows licences work

[Indian pc builder]

ok so i know how to buy a licence and use it but i am confused as per the advantage of linking it to my Microsoft account, does that mean i can swap out components and as long as my Microsoft account is on the pc, the licence will be active, also does this mean i can log on to un-activated windows on a new rig with my Microsoft account and still get windows on it without have to buy another licence? what if i remove my old computer with activated windows on it from my Microsoft account then log in to a new one, will i be able to transfer the windows licence?

[Wh0_Am_1]

Okay  a license only applies to one PC at a time. The advantage of linking your license to your account is if you ever switch MOBO or build another computer and don't need a full win license on the old system/MOBO you can move that license to the new system.

[methodG]

There are two kinds of Windows licenses (at least as far as my knowledge goes).

 

1. Retail license.

2. OEM license (OEM = Original equipment manufacturer)

 

With a Retail license, you pay the full box price (usually) and it's your license forever. Retail licenses are basically tied to your Microsoft account and anytime you assemble a new PC, or buy a pre-built PC, or buy any Windows device and you want to install a fresh instance of a genuine copy of Windows, you will be able to do so without worrying about the licensing issue. Once you start installing it will prompt you to enter the key that came with your purchase, or if you have already used it on another device, you can click on 'I don't have a key' and use the same Microsoft account that contains the key, to complete the process and start using it.  

 

With an OEM license, they are generally distributed to people who sell a fully-built PC (Like Dell, Lenovo, HP etc.). These are activated only once, and they are tied to the device you purchase. If in the future, you wish to buy a new device and want to install a genuine copy of Windows, the key that was part of your previous device cannot be used for your new device. For this reason, OEM keys are significantly cheaper compared to a retail copy. 

 

I hope whatever I have written is correct, but in case if it's not, please feel free to correct me.

[Indian pc builder]

1 minute ago, methodG said:

There are two kinds of Windows licenses (at least as far as my knowledge goes).

 

1. Retail license.

2. OEM license (OEM = Original equipment manufacturer)

 

With a Retail license, you pay the full box price (usually) and it's your license forever. Retail licenses are basically tied to your Microsoft account and anytime you assemble a new PC, or buy a pre-built PC, or buy any Windows device and you want to install a fresh instance of a genuine copy of Windows, you will be able to do so without worrying about the licensing issue. Once you start installing it will prompt you to enter the key that came with your purchase, or if you have already used it on another device, you can click on 'I don't have a key' and use the same Microsoft account that contains the key, to complete the process and start using it.  

 

With an OEM license, they are generally distributed to people who sell a fully-built PC (Like Dell, Lenovo, HP etc.). These are activated only once, and they are tied to the device you purchase. If in the future, you wish to buy a new device and want to install a genuine copy of Windows, the key that was part of your previous device cannot be used for your new device. For this reason, OEM keys are significantly cheaper compared to a retail copy. 

 

I hope whatever I have written is correct, but in case if it's not, please feel free to correct me.

i am just trying to figure out if after linking the licence to my Microsoft account, after i bought it, will allow me to use it on 2 devices at once

[Indian pc builder]

because i did buy my own copy of windows and linked it to my Microsoft account and am trying to figure out if i need to buy one more for my new rig or can i use the same one in both places or can i transfer the old one to the new pc

[Indian pc builder]

that is the scenario i am trying to figure out

[Alex Atkin UK]

7 minutes ago, Indian pc builder said:

because i did buy my own copy of windows and linked it to my Microsoft account and am trying to figure out if i need to buy one more for my new rig or can i use the same one in both places or can i transfer the old one to the new pc

They already answered that, if it was a retail license then yes you can transfer it to the other device but no you cannot use it on both at the same time, the old PC will become deactivated after activating the new one.

 

I'm not aware of any specific benefit of linking it to your Microsoft account, although I do know when I ran out of reactivations they could see I had been a long time user migrating from PC to PC and were happy to re-issue a new license.

[Indian pc builder]

ok thx