Discover the various kinds of Windows activation licenses and which one is best for you
Most people in the world who have computers, in return, have an operating system, and perhaps the most famous of them is OS Windows, despite the different versions, it must be purchased from Microsoft, and then the company provides you with the ability to activate or activate Windows by displaying various licenses such as OEM, Retail, Volume, and others, and then asking you to choose one of these licenses, in return we find many people resorting to activating Windows with a crack, and this poses a risk of installing viruses, and perhaps spying from third parties, so one of these licenses should be purchased for more security, and the following is an explanation of these licenses, and helping you choose the best of them, with a way to know your Windows license and much more in this post.
1. Types of Windows licenses
Volume licenseThis license is originally intended for large establishments, such as schools, Internet cafes, etc., that have a large number of devices, and it is unreasonable to activate each device with its own serial, which results in a high cost, so the Volume license provides a single serial used to activate all devices, and one of the conditions for its use is not to activate devices that are not included in the establishment.
MSDN license
is an abbreviation for Microsoft Developer Network, which is a platform dedicated to developers. By subscribing to this service, you have access to many advanced features, including the ability to install and activate copies of Windows through the MSDN license, while committing to using these copies in designing, developing, testing, and displaying programs as well. This license is intended for developers, and it is illegal to trade in it.
OEM license
is one of the most famous licenses, and it is an abbreviation for Original Equipment Manufacturer, and it is directed to computer manufacturers in order to activate Windows, as some companies or local stores can buy OEM copies of Windows and install them on some devices, and you cannot use this license to activate any other Windows on another computer, as it is designed to be linked to a specific device.
Retail License
This license is also known as FPP, which is an abbreviation for Full Packaged Product, and is the license that the Microsoft Store gives you when you buy Windows, and unlike the OEM license, this license provides you with a serial number, which you can use to activate Windows on another device, but you must first deactivate Windows from the old device, and it can be used on any device, while you cannot activate two copies of Windows on two different devices at the same time.
2. The difference between OEM or Retail license
After talking about the types of licenses, it is clear that a large number of users tend to choose the OEM or retail license, as the volume license is intended for large companies and institutions and the MSDN license is intended for developers, and both types do not represent a large category of users, so here is the difference between the OEM license and the retail license.
In terms of support and features,
Retail is superior to OEM in this regard, as although they are full versions and contain all the features and functions, Microsoft provides full support for the Retail version, and with the OEM license you will have to contact the technical support of the manufacturer.
In terms of the possibility of switching
We talked about this above, as we said that the OEM license cannot be used on any other device even if we erase it from the previous device, while the retail license allows the license to be transferred to any other device provided that Windows is deactivated from the old device.
In terms of updates and changing hardware parts,
Both licenses allow you to get existing updates to fix errors and support the system. However, if you change a damaged hardware part, the retail license allows you to do so freely so that you can reactivate Windows at any time, unlike the OEM license, which restricts you so that you cannot activate Windows if important parts such as the motherboard are replaced, as this is like a new device. It is known that the internal code for the system license "SLIC" is stored in the BIOS of your device.
3. Knowing the license that your device contains
If you do not know the license that Windows is running on your system, or you did not previously know the definitions, and now you have forgotten it, well, you can find out at any time through the command prompt cmd, then type Slmgr /dli or Slmgr /dlv and press Enter, and the Windows Script Manager window will appear with all the information about the license, including its type.