Windows keys

[JoHeJo06]

Hello

 

There are these windows licenses that you can buy for like 15$. Are those real?   Because a regular windows 11 PRO key is 160$. 

O and there are also those OEM keys, that are like 30$ cheaper. Are those any different from a regular key?

 

im confused…

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/6zLJxs

[Middcore]

They exist in a legal gray area. They generally work but it isn't guaranteed your copy of Windows won't get deactivated someday. 

[aDoomGuy]

Grey market keys are not recommended. All morality aside you risk to have it suddenly deactivated at any moment because they may sell the same key to other people.

 

Don't you have an old Windows licence you maybe can carry over to the new system?

[Eigenvektor]

It's a gray market. You might get lucky and the key works, or it might not. Some of these resellers have been sued in the past and occasionally Microsoft might lock some of these keys if they are obviously stolen.

 

OEM keys are typically bound to the hardware they came with. In some countries it's not legal to bind keys to hardware in this way, so they can actually be resold, even if MS doesn't like it. Though that depends on where you live in what your country's courts have to say.

[Syfter]

12 minutes ago, JoHeJo06 said:

Hello

 

There are these windows licenses that you can buy for like 15$. Are those real?   Because a regular windows 11 PRO key is 160$. 

O and there are also those OEM keys, that are like 30$ cheaper. Are those any different from a regular key?

 

im confused…

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/6zLJxs

While everything else here has mentioned is absolutely true. I have used gray market keys for my stuff and I've never had an issue... Lucky? probably. 

[aDoomGuy]

3 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

OEM keys are typically bound to the hardware they came with. In some countries it's not legal to bind keys to hardware in this way, so they can actually be resold, even if MS doesn't like it. Though that depends on where you live in what your country's courts have to say.

Interestingly enough my Windows 7 OEM key from HP got converted to retail during a Windows upgrade so it may be well worth checking.

[JoHeJo06]

1 hour ago, aDoomGuy said:

Grey market keys are not recommended. All morality aside you risk to have it suddenly deactivated at any moment because they may sell the same key to other people.

 

Don't you have an old Windows licence you maybe can carry over to the new system?

Yes I have a q6600 system with a working copy.   I have heard and seen in an ltt video (I don’t know which one) that if you mess around to munch with your hardware, it will get deactivated and it will have that watermark in the bottom right corner. 
whatsup with that?

[aDoomGuy]

46 minutes ago, JoHeJo06 said:

Yes I have a q6600 system with a working copy.   I have heard and seen in an ltt video (I don’t know which one) that if you mess around to munch with your hardware, it will get deactivated and it will have that watermark in the bottom right corner. 
whatsup with that?

if it is Windows 10/11 retail licence no it doesn't. I simply built an entire new pc and used my old licence on that.

[johnt]

You know what... the question of morality is very interesting. I am not sure how moral it is to require customers to pay $120 to $200 for a LICENSE to install an operating system on a computer. And then you can load that operating system with advertisements for your other paid products and subscription services. You barely get a say in what appears in your start menu. I hate to say the Windows 8 start menu was more customizable, but it really was compared to Windows 11. Let's not even get started on data mining and selling your information without your consent or knowledge.

 

No, Microsoft is not the only company who engages in these immoral behaviors. But the argument of morality here is a joke.

[QuantumSingularity]

Not all cheap OEM keys are illegal. Back when i tried to start my own service shop, i could purchase OEM licenses for Windows 7 completely legally for $2 a piece even from Microsoft and motherboard/laptop distributors. I still see some of my former colleagues buying OEM licenses in bulk. And with the nature of this business sector, sooner or later some of those shops/service centers run out of business and the batch of licenses end up on the market (often by some "thoughtful" former employee). I've purchased close to 100 now in total, ranging from $3 to $7 and haven't had a single issue. Used official Microsoft support a couple of times without a hustle as well. And once even managed to move it over to a new system. The whole PC suffered a housefire, but had insurance. Replaced and upgraded everything, except for the motherboard, which was one of the most popular ones and we had it in stock, so we replaced it with the same model; just a new one. Everythingelse, the CPU, GPU, SSD, RAM.. everything was different and had no trouble using the same license. 

[Montana One-Six]

I honestly always buy a windows license at an electronics store that comes with the install USB. It is easy, quick and you don't have to think about it ever again. Also if you built a PC that is worth 1000 bucks or more and cannot afford to buy a license for 100 bucks you shouldn't be building that PC in the first place from a financial perspective imo.

[RankedSixth]

On 6/21/2022 at 2:12 PM, aDoomGuy said:

if it is Windows 10/11 retail licence no it doesn't. I simply built an entire new pc and used my old licence on that.

How do you do that?

[aDoomGuy]

On 7/28/2022 at 6:27 AM, RankedSixth said:

How do you do that?

I installed Windows 10 and logged in to my MS account.