What Defines a "New PC"?

[7heBoss]

Sorry, confusing title/question...

What i mean is how does software differentiate between different PCs? Like if I were to buy a new PC and attempt to install a used copy of Microsoft Office, it wouldn't let me because I had already installed it on a different computer.

What individual part determines a new computer? If I were to put together a completely new build swapping out all parts, New OS but kept the same Motherboard and CPU, would Office recognize it as being the same computer?

 

[Cerb]

This is really more of a software question. Your motherboard, CPU, video card, HDD/SSD, etc. are of some given model, and most have some unique serial code, or a MAC, to uniquely ID them. They have it documented somewhere, but MS uses a combination of them to ID your PC. Too many changes, and it'll fuss. Officially, for MS' licensing, the motherboard is THE critical part, however.

In the case of Office, there's not even that. When you activate it, you get an install key, which is stored on your PC. Another installation gets another key. The key uniquely IDs that install. The product key is not stored on your PC at all. MS' servers link the activation keys to the product key or Live ID. If you activate too many, you'll have to call up and talk to them.

In your case, I think Windows would be a problem, but Office would likely be fine, so long as you could take care of Windows.

 

[7heBoss]

Thanks for the response. Windows doesn't matter to me because I am going to go from 7 to 8 with my new build but I was curious about Office. Again, thanks

 

[lehtv]

I would skip win 8. Continue using win 7 if at all possible, upgrade to win 10 when it's out in 1 year

 

[OlyAR15]

I would skip win 8. Continue using win 7 if at all possible, upgrade to win 10 when it's out in 1 year

Why? Win 8 is a perfectly fine OS. Win 7 is nearing the end of its life.

As long as you are not using office on 2 computers, you can re-activate it on the new computer. Might need to make a phone call, but it is doable.

 

[lehtv]

Why? Win 8 is a perfectly fine OS. Win 7 is nearing the end of its life.

Win 7 will start to be obsolete when DX12 is out, but the release of DX12 will coincide with the release of Win 10, so you can make the transition from Win 7 directly to Win 10 and not suffer from using an obsolete OS.

Win 8 is fine, true, but why bother with it? It's just not necessary. Win 8 will need upgrading sooner than Win 10, so why not go straight for Win 10?

 

[OlyAR15]

Because the main draw for win 10 can already be gotten with win 8. Just get Start8+ModernMix and you have most of the benefits of Win10. Not to mention that I find Win8 snappier than Win 7, boots faster, and I like the improvements with file copying, better task manager, and I love the Netflix app.

Now, these improvements aren't worth upgrading from 7 to 8, but for a new computer, since you would have to buy an OS anyways, I would get win 8 over 7.

 

[7heBoss]

I'm definitely excited for Windows 10, it looks awesome. I'll definitely get it when it is out. I even looked into the idea of a Windows 10 Preview as a daily driver but I don't think it is ready for that. I'm not a huge fan of windows 8 but I kind of have to because I'll have dual touch screens and I guess 7 has problems with that.

 

[7heBoss]

Because the main draw for win 10 can already be gotten with win 8. Just get Start8+ModernMix and you have most of the benefits of Win10. Not to mention that I find Win8 snappier than Win 7, boots faster, and I like the improvements with file copying, better task manager, and I love the Netflix app.

Now, these improvements aren't worth upgrading from 7 to 8, but for a new computer, since you would have to buy an OS anyways, I would get win 8 over 7.

I was confident that I would get used to Windows 8, but I think it will be even easier with these. I just look into them and they look like good improvements.

 

[lehtv]

Because the main draw for win 10 can already be gotten with win 8. Just get Start8+ModernMix and you have most of the benefits of Win10. Not to mention that I find Win8 snappier than Win 7, boots faster, and I like the improvements with file copying, better task manager, and I love the Netflix app.

Now, these improvements aren't worth upgrading from 7 to 8, but for a new computer, since you would have to buy an OS anyways, I would get win 8 over 7.

I agree that if you have to pay for a new OS, then Win 8 is the one to get. That's why I said in my first post: "Continue using win 7 if at all possible", not "Buy Windows 7 instead of Windows 8". Just because you're getting a new motherboard doesn't mean you can't reuse your OS license. I reactivated my Win 7 OEM license with a simple phone activation after changing the motherboard.

 

[Charlie98]

Back to the OP...

I rebuilt my rig 2 weeks ago with a new mobo, my W7 activated automatically, but I had to do the robocall activation for Outlook'03, Office'10 and, of all things, Streets & Trips. It was easy enough, took about 5 minutes each.

 

[piasabird]

Don't purchase win7 Home Premium for $99. Should be able to find it at a discount by now. I think Microsoft quit selling win 7 home so if you see if for sale anywhere buy it fast. So is there a target date for Win 10?

I would not try to install win 8 on an older PC.

 

[lehtv]

So is there a target date for Win 10?

Late 2015. They probably want to get it out for the holiday computer sales along with DX12

 

[mfenn]

Thanks for the response. Windows doesn't matter to me because I am going to go from 7 to 8 with my new build but I was curious about Office. Again, thanks

If you have a retail or subscription version of Office, you are perfectly within your rights to move it to a different PC. To abide by the agreement, you just have to remove it from the previous PC first. On a technical level, it may not automatically activate, but there is an automated phone activation process that it will prompt you to use if it doesn't.