If you are a PC enthusiast, then you must have heard of various versions of Windows available in the market. There you might have seen or heard about two Windows available i. You might have wondered what is the difference between those two. Well, we did too, and so we did some research to find it out.

In this article, we are going to explain and compare both the OEM and Retail Windows and see what are the basic differences and which one you should opt for while purchasing a new Windows for your PC.

OEM companies are those which manufacture products that are used by other companies in their products. While the Retail also has the original version of Windows, it is meant for end users to install on their PC for personal use. Well if you look from the usage point of view, both the versions are different.

As mentioned earlier, OEM is for the system builders or manufacturers who assemble or build the PC for the consumers. While the Retail version is for those people who are looking to install Windows on their existing PC or desktops to be used personally. If you buy a new PC or desktop then you will definitely get the OEM version of the Windows preinstalled on the system.

On the other hand, the retail version can be installed manually on any PC by anyone with the media files in the package. Additionally, if OEM version requires an update, for instance from Windows 7 to 8 then a fresh install will be required. Unlike in retail version where you can simply upgrade it to another version.

This means that it can be installed only in a single PC and is embedded to its hardware and cannot be transferred further. While the retail version is also limited to 1 PC, but it can be transferred to another computer. Microsoft does not provide support for OEM Windows as they are for system builders, the additional support is provided by the PC manufacturer to the users directly.

And in the Retail version, the support for the software to the users is directly provided by Microsoft. Same goes for the licensing, in OEM the license support is provided by the computer maker to the end users. In Retail windows, the same is provided by Microsoft to the end users. Well in terms of pricing, the OEM version is cheaper than most Retail ones as it has no service or software support. Both of them can either be downloaded online and activated with a license key, or purchased from any computer shop.

If you are an end user looking to get Windows for personal use then you should go for Windows retail version as OEM is basically meant for system builders and manufacturers for reselling purposes.

Apart from this, they are almost the same. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of follow-up comments via e-mail. Leave this field empty.

Windows 10 oem retail difference free download. Windows 10 License Retail vs OEM

Do I have this right: OEM: 1. Microsoft owns your copy of Windows not you. Tech support. Can only be installed 1x. Cannot be installed on a latter date on a different computer. Retail: 1. You are considered the builder of the computer and own the copy of Windows not Microsoft.

No tech support. Can be installed on a diffferent computer if needed in the future. Do I have that all correct? Is this correct? It will still have all the original components and the same MOBO. I would need to purchase anther copy of Windows to reinstall on. Microsoft isn’t precisely clear on the Windows 10 Activation Help Page , either, with regard to the replacement of a motherboard.

It’s quite clear that you can do this and be able to reactivate your Windows 10 Digital License formerly Digital Entitlement but not whether that replacement must be a strict replacement with like kind or an upgrade. Which virtually never happens for complex “machinery” except in thought experiments.

Posted 12 August – PM. Yeah, I suppose you are correct. I thought, since the OS license is tied to just one computer, would it be still considered the same computer by the OS if you changed the motherboard for a new, but the same model, one?

That’s why I thought of this paradox. Not too sure if you’d be able to install Windows OEM on it again, as it would view the computer as a different one. I guess, it’s all speculation until someone contacts Microsoft and asks them about it.

Well, based on what Microsoft does say on the activation page it is possible to replace the motherboard and reactivate Windows 10 afterward, but it’s also clear that it won’t be automatic since, as you note, the automated process won’t recognize this as a computer with a digital entitlement.

What’s interesting, and somewhat indirectly related, is I went through precisely the same thing recently on a computer that was purchased with Windows 10 Pro pre-installed. For some bizarre reason it would not activate. However, when I went through the phone activation process, which involves talking to a live person, after a number of gyrations we were able to activate it with little problem.

Why two humans can recognized that this machine is legally licensed but the automated activation process is not remains a mystery. I just hope that now that it’s been activated this issue does not recur when the next major update is applied.

I’m not too sure when did Microsoft start selling so many different versions with different activation processes of Windows or whether this is a new thing. My guess would be that they haven’t fully cleansed the Windows activation process of some of those small, but painful, issues, judging by the somewhat high amount of people that I’ve seen, including you, having encountered such problems with their Windows activation.

I was pretty surprised, by the way, when I saw about a year ago or so that Windows is being sold digitally on-line. In my mind an OS is still this huge fundamental piece of software that cannot be obtained any other way besides through a disk from the store. Given the ubiquity of high-speed internet, that amount of data can be downloaded in a time period ranging from mere minutes to overnight.

I can recall when Windows came on over 30 if memory serves 3. Ah, those were the days! Over 30!? I think Windows 3. Don’t have a floppy disc drive though!

But you are both right, Windows activation can be very vague when it comes to replacing a mobo when it is an OEM licence. After four years any replacement mobo or CPU is going is not going to be a ‘direct replacement’ and I was fully expecting I was going to have to get at least a new licence if not a completely new OS. Much to my surprise more or less all I had to do, apart from putting it all together, was install the chipset drivers.

Authentication went through automatically and that was with Win 7. Don’t ask me why I didn’t even have to make a pnone call, but I am not complaining. I seem to remember either 35 or 36 disks, and I misspoke last time in that it should have been 1. I know it was for later than Windows 3.

Even though I’m of an age where it is conceivably possible that I could have dealt with an OS on either 5. Of course, my early career was far more mainframe and similar focused than PC-focused. But here you can get the support from the notebook manufacturer customer service. Keywords: windows, 10, 11, ten, oem, full, version, difference, main, suspected, limitations, functions, programs.

Find the windows in the virtual desktop of. Help, my Windows 10 taskbar is getting full quickly, what can I do? If the Windows taskbar gets busy quickly, you can take some precautions, which makes working with the taskbar easier This task bar solution is not for Windows.

Windows 10 Edge on the desktop and quick launch bar as a shortcut? The solution for Windows 10 is simple to add Edge to the desktop and quick launch bar as shortcut or start at Windows Login Is not for Windows 11 Content:. Windows trial version full version differences? I always hear OEM versions of Windows, what is that please, it is cheaper than copies?

OEM or full version? Difference between full version and license in Windows 10 or per difference oem? Although not at the same time, an OEM version is locked to the hardware on which it was first, is that the difference between Windows OEM 10?

What is oem, Windows 10 oem difference, what does Windows 10 full version mean? What does oem mean in Windows 10, is there a difference between oem and full version? Windows 10 OEM version difference? Microsoft’s price for a download version of Windows 10 is to match? Windows 10 full version and oem key? Windows 10 home vs home oem? Windows oem?

[Windows 10 oem retail difference free download

 
 
replace.me › Clone Disk. A few key things that the Terms and Conditions for an OEM key states that: OEM versions do not offer any free Microsoft direct support from. An additional rule of thumb is that you may need a retail product key if you’re doing a clean install of Windows 10 on a new computer. OEM.