Windows 8 coem license

Just tried doing a clean installation on an old PC from XP to windows 8 and found out i cant just buy Windows 8 OEM license and install it on any computer. Called Microsoft support and was told my PC is not part of the registered hardware What does that even mean?

I have about 90 PC which are over years old and still on XP. I got this license from a vendor who told me i can install it on any PC and now i am stuck with useless OEM licenses. Now i had to install XP back to the users i have upgraded so they can continue working.

Really need to sort this out. I need your help on this spiceheads as i have to re-plan my upgrade again. Generally speaking once you are buying more than a handful of licenses it makes sense to go with some sort of VL agreement as it is just easier to budget for and you get added benefits such as being able to use 1 key for everything and image machines using this key.

Startech Business Systems Ltd. You have to look at the drivers for those PCs to see if they have Win 8 drivers as some I have seen do not have any Win 8 support and maybe you should look into Win 7 Pro instead as this maybe a better route to go.

Sorry this didn't help. Thanks for your feedback. This thread is locked. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread.

I have the same question Report abuse. Details required :. All the features of the operating system version are the same for both license types. The difference is that with a retail license, you can transfer the license key to a different PC later on. The process for activating a Windows 10 OEM license is the same as for a retail license. In exchange for a lower price, you get to use the license key on only one PC, period. Microsoft has historically been kind about such situations, however; you can usually call to reactivate the license after replacing a fried mobo.

But it is an extra hassle. Not all student discounts are reserved for the under set. As mentioned above, license types determine what you can do with Windows—and who can use it, as well.

Through the Academic Volume Licensing agreements, schools can purchase access to Windows 10 Education for their students, faculty, and staff. Some make it available only on campus machines. Others will grant a license for use on a home machine. Datacenter edition is ideal for highly virtualized and software-defined datacenter environments.

Standard edition is ideal for customers with low density or non-virtualized environments. Essentials edition is a cloud-connected first server, ideal for small businesses with up to 25 users and 50 devices. Essentials is a good option for customers currently using the Foundation edition, which has been discontinued.

Essentials edition is licensed under the Specialty Servers license model and does not require Windows Server CALs to access the server. Pricing To give you a more consistent licensing experience across multi-cloud environments, we transitioned from processor-based licensing to core-based licensing for Windows Server Datacenter and Standard editions.

Compare Features View the new hybrid, security, infrastructure, and application platform features of Windows Server as compared to previous versions.

Licensing Guide Use this guide to improve your understanding of how to license Microsoft Windows Server. Feature comparison Windows Server offers additional features in Standard and Datacenter editions.

Expand all Collapse all. How are core licenses sold? Can you tell me more about the Azure Hybrid Benefit? Does Software Assurance coverage on Windows Server licenses provide rights to deploy on public clouds other than Azure? Does the price of Windows Server vary based on Service Providers hosters?

Core Windows Server functionality.