windows ten for multiple computers | .How to transfer a Windows 10 license to a new PC or hard drive | Windows Central

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Linux is a viable option, but most prefer Windows because it runs all their favorite software, including the latest games. This is profoundly unfair to PC builders, because large OEMs such as Dell and Lenovo likely pay a tiny fraction of that to put Windows on prebuilt systems though these costs are not made public.

No matter how or whether you pay for it, you can download Windows 10 opens in new tab or download Windows 11 opens in new tab for free from Microsoft. And, in fact, you should only download it from Microsoft, as grabbing it from any other site or from a P2P network could give you malware.

Microsoft offers a free media creation tool, which grabs the latest code from the Internet and then burns itself to a USB Flash drive or outputs a Windows 10 or Windows 11 ISO file you can write to a drive yourself. Once that’s done, you can boot from your installation media and start the process. During installation, Microsoft asks you to enter a Windows 10 or 11 product key.

If you are still on Windows 7 or 8, you can upgrade to Windows 10 for free. If you have an old, retail non-OEM copy of Windows 7, 8 or 10 you are no longer using on another PC, you can likely use the product key when you do a fresh install of Windows on your new PC. If you need help finding the product key on your old computer, there are several ways to find it, but using Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder , a free download, is probably the easiest.

Note that if the product key comes from a prebuilt computer that came from the factory with Windows on it, it has an OEM key that may not work on a different new PC. Feel free to try it, though, because if it works you have Windows 10 or 11 for free. The good news is that you only have two serious disadvantages from not activating Windows 10 or However, if you are using a Microsoft account that syncs with another computer on which you have custom wallpaper, that wallpaper will appear on your unactivated Windows.

But come on; does anyone actually do that? Other than those inconveniences, unactivated Windows should work just fine and receive automatic updates too. You can see if your school is eligible and download your free Windows 11 key here. These are all OEM keys and likely can’t be used on another computer after you activate them on the first one.

Now, let’s address the elephant in the room. While we can’t vouch for all of them, websites selling cheap Windows 10 or 11 keys are likely offering legitimate codes. Kinguin has more than three dozen merchants worldwide selling Windows keys. It’s just another marketplace. So we tried calling the number and waited on hold for a few minutes. We thought activating via phone would be an automated process where we just punched in the key and got an approval code, but instead we got a live representative who immediately asked for our Microsoft account ID.

However, both sites play host to a number of third-party sellers whose product keys may or may not be legit. The easiest but most expensive way to get Windows is to buy your key directly from Microsoft. You can get these either as downloads or on USB drives. If you have an old Windows key you can carry over from a previous build, that’s your best option and effectively gives you Windows 10 or Windows 11 for free.

If you don’t have a key on hand, you need to decide whether you’re comfortable using an unactivated version of Windows 10 or 11, which limits your customization options, has an ugly watermark and leaves you ineligible for Microsoft support. Many would argue that downloading Windows without paying for or already owning a product key is ethically wrong. That said, Microsoft has made this process easier over various Windows iterations and lessened the limitations and nagging that happens when you don’t activate.

We’ve even seen well-known vendors and Microsoft partners do press presentations with watermarks on their desktop. Scharon Harding has a special affinity for gaming peripherals especially monitors , laptops and virtual reality. Previously, she covered business technology, including hardware, software, cyber security, cloud and other IT happenings, at Channelnomics, with bylines at CRN UK.

Tom’s Hardware Tom’s Hardware. Scharon Harding opens in new tab. Topics Software. See all comments I bought a key on ebay and it turned out to be a VL key volume. Which works but shouldn’t be sold. I contacted the seller and he refunded me. Very good breakdown of the ways to activate Windows Most people don’t even realize you can still use a windows 7 key to activate, only after you get into windows, and not during the setup process.

I believe this will probably stop working Jan 1, , when Microsoft stops support for windows 7. One thing that I was hoping for some explanation on key activations, I have seen how some Youtuber’s have tied their windows 10 keys to their Microsoft account. Then they only need a handfull of keys, like one for each motherboard vendor, and during setup, then sign into their Microsoft account, and select the key that corresponds to the motherboard their are reviewing.

So they can move the keys around, and as long as it was the same brand of motherboard it would activate for that computer, and no longer be active on the old system. Any thoughts on how this works? Any limitations on how many moves, is this method valid for years so you would never have to buy another key if you stayed with one particular favorite motherboard vendor?

On the forums, we see MANY tales of woe concerning aftermarket, 3rd-party, or otherwise dicey Windows keys. Of course, using an old version’s key essentially amounts to a free upgrade, which once upon a time was often provided by software vendors, so if you can use that method, great. Any attempt to connect to www. Sorry, not getting my business. Thanks for this article.

I’ve been struggling with the idea of buying another copy of Windows 10 for my media machine. It’s a PC built from old parts and is currently running Linux. Has anyone had a good experience with this? Wait a sec TH is legitimizing kinquin?

While they might activate today there is no guarantee they will activate a month from now or whenever you decide to reinstall windows from scratch.

This article is causing multiple conniptions among the Moderation team. There are very good reasons why, although tolerated from a couple of well-known sources like Kinguin, none of us ever encourage people to obtain keys this way.

It isn’t illegal, so we don’t sanction for it, but like I said, the tales of woe are too numerous to go unnoticed. At least the article makes no mention of “activators,” which in most cases do represent outright piracy, not to mention the viruses and malware with which they are often laden. Discussions of those are not allowed and are deleted, and sometimes offenders knuckles get rapped with a hammer.

Yes, doing this definitely constitutes a “Do at your own risk”. If money is tight, run Win 10 unlicensed, until you can a get known legit key from someone like Newegg. Microsoft allows this, so it is perfectly fine to so, and you don’t have to risk losing your hard earned cash. Access to all personalization options; Microsoft support access; Equivalent to Windows 10 Enterprise; Free.

 
 

How many computers can I install one full version of Windows 10 Pro – Microsoft Community

 

If you perform a reinstallation of Windows, Microsoft’s activation servers will recognize the hardware and activate Windows 10 automatically. I have tested this scenario multiple times on hardware that originally shipped with Windows Home and was upgraded to Windows 10 Pro.

After the upgrade was complete, I used a bootable USB flash drive containing Windows 10 setup files to reinstall a clean copy of Windows 10 Pro, skipping the option to enter a product key as part of setup, as shown below.

When prompted, be sure to choose Windows 10 Pro as the edition to install. The system was properly activated, because Microsoft’s servers recognized the hardware and used the digital license. Looking for technical information about Windows 10 releases, new features, known issues, troubleshooting, and tech support?

Start here. The one gotcha in this series of scenarios comes when you have a system that includes digital licenses for both Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro. In that scenario, you can inadvertently restore Windows 10 Home. This happened recently when I used a recovery image to reinstall Windows 10 on a Surface Pro PC that had originally shipped with Windows 10 Home and had been upgraded to Windows 10 Pro. Not surprisingly, using the recovery image gave me an installation of Windows 10 Home.

If that happens to you, don’t bother searching for the product key you used to upgrade. Instead, use Microsoft’s generic product key to force the upgrade. So they come with risk. And that has happened to some people. Customer service is often poor for these kinds of sites too, leaving you high and dry. Fans of this method say many people never run into issues, and in fact urge you to find the keys as cheap as possible usually through eBay to minimize problems.

You can also buy with a credit card for some added protection. If you go this route, you should only get Windows 10 Pro keys. The cost difference is often negligible from Home and you get better features like Bitlocker encryption and other Pro features.

But what we actually recommend is to buy through reputable sources of cheaper keys instead. For example, some professional organizations are able to negotiate deals for their members—we suggest starting there. You can also check to see if your favorite media sites have special pricing for readers. If using a Windows 7 or 8 key works for activation, a digital license will be issued to you.

Click your account name and log into your account with your Microsoft account password. You can click your account name and log in with your Microsoft account password. The account will have its own separate OneDrive storage. Then at the bottom of the next screen, click Add a user without a Microsoft account.

Now you can add a user name and a password. So an administrator will have to be nearby to type in the password in order for them to install desktop applications. You can, of course, also log in from the lock screen, which displays all of the user accounts on the machine. One thing to keep in mind when several people use a PC with separate accounts: Even when someone is not using the PC, they still remain signed into the account unless they sign out or the PC is restarted. So several people might be signed into accounts, even though only one person is actively using the PC.

There can be only one active account at a time; an individual user will still need to re-enter the password to see their account. Look underneath each account. This is useful, but it can be problematic as well, because it can lead to lost work. When a PC is restarted or shut down, all users on it are automatically logged off. The upshot? It only takes a moment: Click your account name at the top of the Start menu and then click Sign out.

Choose Administrator and click OK. You can always change it back to a standard user account later using this same method. Then just follow the prompts to complete the upgrade to Windows All your apps and data files will be available. The digital license is associated with that specific device, which means you can reformat the disk and perform a clean installation of the same edition of Windows 10 anytime.

If you’re thinking of upgrading your old system drive to an SSD, perform the upgrade to Windows 10 on the old hardware; after confirming that the new Windows 10 version is properly activated, install the SSD and then either restore from a backup image or boot from the USB flash drive to do a clean install. You won’t need a product key, and activation is automatic. And now the big question: If you avail yourself of this upgrade to Windows 10, is the resulting license valid?

The entire “free upgrade” offer was always accompanied by language that was, to put it politely, a bit squishy. And the language around the end of that offer was similarly vague. That’s very odd language. The free upgrade through the Get Windows 10 app ended on July 29, Likewise, the discussion of product keys says a key will be necessary “for this tool to work” not true but doesn’t say a word about licensing. And unlike the weaselly “Genuine Windows” label on older upgrades, the activation screens for a Windows 10 upgrade specifically confirm the existence of a “digital license.

Anyway, the free upgrade offer was extended briefly, at least for people who use assistive technologies. The FAQ on a separate page even called it a “free upgrade offer extension” and pointedly noted that it was not limited to specific assistive technologies. I regularly use the Magnifier utility in Windows, which is indisputably an assistive technology. Of course, I’m not a lawyer, and this column isn’t legal advice.

But I will say that I am personally confident in the activation status of any PC upgraded using the tool on that page during the eligibility period.

 

Windows 10 home multiple computers free. How many computers can I install one full version of Windows 10 Pro on?

 

Napsauta ISO-tiedostoa hiiren kakkospainikkeella ja valitse Ominaisuudet. Haluatko asentaa Windows n tietokoneeseesi? Haluat asentaa Windows n uudelleen tietokoneeseen, jossa Windows 10 on jo onnistuneesti aktivoitu. Tallenna ja sulje mahdollisesti avoinna olevat sovellukset ja tiedostot. Kun olet valmis, valitse Asenna. Tarkista seuraavat seikat tietokoneessa, johon haluat asentaa Windows n: tai bittinen suoritin. Windowsin kieli. Windowsin tuoteversio.

Microsoft Office -tuotteet. To set up accounts for family members that let you set age limits, game and app restrictions, etc. After you create an account for someone else, the name appears on the Accounts page.

Click any image in this story to enlarge it. On the screen that appears, enter the email address of the person for whom you want to create a user account, click OK and then Finish. It also appears when you click the icon representing the current user of the PC, midway down on the left side of the Start menu when you click the Start button.

When an account name is clicked in the Start menu, it will show all of the accounts on the machine. You can click the icon representing the account of the current user of the PC, midway down on the left side of the Start menu. That displays all the accounts on the PC.

Click your account name and log into your account with your Microsoft account password. You can click your account name and log in with your Microsoft account password. The account will have its own separate OneDrive storage.

Then at the bottom of the next screen, click Add a user without a Microsoft account. Now you can add a user name and a password.

So an administrator will have to be nearby to type in the password in order for them to install desktop applications.

You can, of course, also log in from the lock screen, which displays all of the user accounts on the machine. One thing to keep in mind when several people use a PC with separate accounts: Even when someone is not using the PC, they still remain signed into the account unless they sign out or the PC is restarted.

So several people might be signed into accounts, even though only one person is actively using the PC. There can be only one active account at a time; an individual user will still need to re-enter the password to see their account. Look underneath each account. This is useful, but it can be problematic as well, because it can lead to lost work. When a PC is restarted or shut down, all users on it are automatically logged off.

The upshot? It only takes a moment: Click your account name at the top of the Start menu and then click Sign out. Choose Administrator and click OK. You can always change it back to a standard user account later using this same method. A screen appears warning you that when you delete the account, you also delete all data associated with it, which include files, desktop setup, apps, music and so on. Also, note that you can only delete an account if the person has signed out of Windows But Windows 10 also sets up a hidden administrator account during installation.

Some people refer to this hidden administrator account as an elevated account, and a normal one as an un-elevated account. That turns on the hidden administrator account. It will appear on the Windows 10 login screen and on the Start menu screen — just click it to use it as you would any other account. This article was originally published in March and most recently updated in January