The thing that I cannot wrap my head around is that Windwos activation lets me do this. I don't get that at all. If Microsoft really cared then they would release an update for Windows that would make it where I couldn't activate that key on another key. Also, the key on the side of the pc has NEVER been activated. They used one of those volume license keys.
Technically Its not a volume license key. Volume license keys still have to connect to an activation server. OEM PCs that use SLP with a SLIC table in the BIOS never activate online.
Think of it this way and maybe it will make sense.
If you had 100,000 or even 1,000,000 identical PC's would you rather,
A: Make an image of a custom install one one of them, and then just use that image on all the rest? or
B: Install windows separately on each PC?
A is quick and easy, B is long and expensive.
With regular OEM install media activation is online and each PC has to have its own product code. Making an image of one install and trying to use it on another PC won't work because the product code would be the same on both PCs. Thats why Microsoft lets the Major OEMs use the SLIC BIOS table and custom activation with a master product code. That master product code won't work on a PC that doesn't have the custom BIOS SLIC table and its blocked from the online activation server. If you did a clean install with regular OEM install media and tried to use that code it will fail and Microsoft will not let you activate online with it either. The OEMs buy a license from Microsoft for every PC they install Windows on. For each license they buy they get a COA sticker that matches the version the license is for. The sticker goes on the PC to verify its licensed and authentic. The last thing they want to do is put the master code on the sticker. The code that is there is there so you can, if you have to, reinstall Windows from your own media, on that PC. The only other option is to use the recovery media which will use the master code and SLIC activation. Common sense will tell you you're not supposed to use that code on another PC, you only bought one licensed copy of Windows.
windude,
You have received some very good and very accurate answers.
The logic behind MS licensing defies all normal understanding.
Many have read, read, and read again the EULA and still have trouble understanding. Here I'm referring to people who are far more experienced than you or I at trying to read and understand EULAs.
Even MS support has not been able to get their answers straight on this matter. If you google, this topic area you will find conflicting answers all over the place.
Let us hope that Win 8 is better.
In case you ever need your Product Key and your Product ID (and yes they are different and quite often cause confusion), then I recommend SIW. In the tree on the left of SIW display, then check under Licenses. Link to SIW in my signature.
The thing that I cannot wrap my head around is that Windwos activation lets me do this. I don't get that at all. If Microsoft really cared then they would release an update for Windows that would make it where I couldn't activate that key on another key. Also, the key on the side of the pc has NEVER been activated. They used one of those volume license keys.[/QUOTE]
@Jimbo
Seeing as I specified that I as talking about COA Keys, it's ALWAYS correct :)
Retail packs don't have COA stickers.
@windude99
To put not too fine a point on it, you would appear to be in breach of a number of items in the License - I suggest that you read it some time.
What type of License do you have? - what's the second group of characters in your ProductID, and what verson of Windows are you talking about?
@Jimbo
Seeing as I specified that I as talking about COA Keys, it's ALWAYS correct :)
Retail packs don't have COA stickers.
@windude99
To put not too fine a point on it, you would appear to be in breach of a number of items in the License - I suggest that you read it some time.
What type of License do you have? - what's the second group of characters in your ProductID, and what verson of Windows are you talking about?[/QUOTE]
I'm talking about Vista and XP. This is an OEM license that came with a computer, not a system builder license. The same applies to Windows 7 because I did the same thing one time. I have done this to XP and Windows 7 and both have worked perfectly when I did that, passed Genuine Advantage stuff. I do not currently use Windows 7 or XP like that, but we have a spare llicense for Vista that I want to use on a different pc.
Retail can be transfered from PC to PC but only activated on one PC at a time.
Regular unbranded OEM media that you buy from TigerDirect or NewEgg etc, is tied to the first PC/motherboard its activated on. Microsoft has been know to make exceptions but it's not meant to be transferable. Thats why its cheaper than retail media, it has restrictions.
Branded OEM installs are also tied to the PC they are installed on. In the old days of XP you would sometimes actually get the branded install media. Real install media and a drivers disk, not recovery disks. If you tried to use it on another manufacturers PC or even a different model by the same manufacturer it would fail.
What you are missing is that the COA sticker is your license to use Windows on that PC. One sticker one license. The product code is not the license, its merely a way to verify the license.
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