Whether you can reuse your product key depends on your Windows license. Here’s how to find out.
Enlarge
Some product keys are transferrable to other devices.
© FellowNeko / Shutterstock.com
The type of Windows license you have determines whether or not you can transfer your product key to other PCs. A distinction is made between three licenses:
Retail, OEM and volume license.
We explain what distinguishes the three licenses and how you can find out which of them is used on your computer.
Reading tip: Buy a Windows 10 license legally for 10 euros
Windows licenses: what you need to know
Product keys are used to activate versions of Windows. Depending on the license type, such a key is either tied to a specific device (or its hardware) or freely transferable to other devices as long as it is not activated multiple times – because that is not possible. Microsoft grants three types of licenses:
Retail License:
Retail keys are the most flexible type of license. You may reuse such a key on different computers (but not use it at the same time). So if you build a completely new PC, you can transfer the license to it without any problems.
OEM license:
OEM key (OEM =
Original Equipment Manufacturer
) are used by manufacturers to activate a new PC. They are only intended for a single computer and are therefore tied to the hardware of the system (usually the motherboard) on which the key is used.
Volume license:
Volume keys are licenses purchased by entities such as government, schools, and businesses. An IT administrator determines which computers have an active license.
To read your Windows license, there is an onboard
Software Licensing Management Tool (SLMGR).
You have two options to run the tool:
Open the Run function with [WIN+R] and give the command
slmgr.vbs /dlv
a. Then click OK.
Open command prompt as administrator and run the command there
slmgr.vbs /dlv
out.
In both cases, a opens after a few seconds
Windows script host window
with the appropriate license information for your Windows system. You can see the type of license you have at the top under “Description” and a little further down under “Product Key Channel”.
Enlarge
The SLMGR command gives you information about the license you are using.
By the way:
Despite the limitations of OEM licenses, you can reactivate an OEM key on changed hardware. This option is primarily intended for people whose hardware unexpectedly gave up the ghost and who received a replacement. After major hardware changes, reactivation may be necessary. However, if the hardware of the PC is fundamentally changed, Microsoft can refuse reactivation. You can find more information on this in this PC-WELT article.
This article is based on the
English original
our colleagues from PC-World.