![]() ![]() Chris has personally written over 2,000 articles that have been read more than one billion times-and that's just here at How-To Geek. Don't count on this working! But we've heard enough real-world reports to know that this is a possibility.Ĭhris Hoffman is the former Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. This isn't technically allowed according to the license agreement, so it's not guaranteed. We've seen reports that this system will often activate the Windows installation for you where a normal product key fails. ![]() While your System Builder license will likely fail to activate when you enter the product key on a second computer, there may be a way around this.Īfter your product key fails, you can choose to activate via other methods and use Microsoft's automated phone system. Specifically, this license becomes associated with that particular motherboard.Īccording to the license agreement, you aren't supposed to install that System Builder license on a new computer. But that's just what the license says. If you built your own computer and purchased a "system builder" or "OEM" license of Windows-which is slightly cheaper than the full retail license-that OEM license is supposed to become tied to the first computer you install it on. Related: What's the Difference Between the "System Builder" and "Full Version" Editions of Windows? You've installed Windows in a virtual machine and you want to move it to a different virtual machine on another computer.You've installed Windows in Boot Camp on a Mac and you want to move your Windows installation to another Mac.Your computer died and you want to use its license to upgrade another computer running an older version of Windows.Windows activation considers a PC with a new motherboard to be an entirely new PC. Your computer's motherboard failed and you needed to replace it.You're building a new computer from scratch and want to use your existing Windows license rather than paying $120 for a new one.Here are a few examples of situations where you might want to move a your license to a new computer: That's a lot harder to do, and it's usually better to just perform a fresh install on the new computer if that's what you need. Note that transferring a Windows license is different from actually moving an entire Windows installation to a new computer. When they upgrade to a new computer, the new computer comes with its own Windows license. Most people will purchase a computer with a Windows license preinstalled. Transferring a Windows license (aka product key) isn't something the average PC user will ever need to do. Related: Can You Move a Windows Installation to Another Computer? Windows Activation has unclear rules to make piracy harder, while the System Builder license agreement forbids things real users do every day. Microsoft makes this stuff confusing on purpose. ![]()
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