Moving a Windows licence to a new PC
Retail licences move. OEM licences do not. Knowing which you have before you rebuild saves an afternoon and, occasionally, the price of a new licence.
SHORT ANSWER
Run slmgr /dli in an admin Command Prompt. If it reports RETAIL, the licence can be moved: remove it from the old PC with slmgr /upk and slmgr /cpky, then enter the key on the new one. If it reports OEM, it is permanently tied to the original motherboard and cannot be transferred.
Find out which licence you have
This determines whether the rest of the article is relevant. Open Command Prompt as administrator and run slmgr /dli. A small window reports the description and partial key.
| Description contains | Licence type | Transferable |
|---|---|---|
| RETAIL channel | Retail (FPP) | Yes |
| OEM_DM channel | OEM, preinstalled | No |
| VOLUME_MAK | Volume | Organisation-managed |
| VOLUME_KMSCLIENT | KMS client | Needs a corporate KMS host |
Moving a retail licence
Do this on the old machine first if it still runs. Skipping the removal step is what produces an "already in use" error on the new machine later.
- 01On the old PC, open Command Prompt as administrator.
- 02Run slmgr /upk — this uninstalls the current product key.
- 03Run slmgr /cpky — this clears the key from the registry so it cannot be recovered by anyone who later gets the machine.
- 04On the new PC, go to Settings, System, Activation, then Change product key, and enter it.
- 05If online activation fails, use slmgr /ipk followed by your key, then slmgr /ato to activate.
If the old machine is already dead or wiped, activate on the new one anyway. Microsoft's servers usually accept a retail key on a new device; where they do not, phone activation resolves it.
Phone activation, when online activation refuses
Still supported and still the reliable fallback for a legitimate retail key that has moved machines several times. Run slui 4, choose your country, and follow the automated system. It asks whether the software is installed on more than one device — answering honestly is what gets the activation approved.
Digital licences and Microsoft accounts
If you linked the licence to a Microsoft account on the old machine, activation can travel with the account rather than the key. On the new PC, sign in with the same account and use Settings, System, Activation, then Troubleshoot, and choose "I changed hardware on this device recently". Your other devices are listed and you pick the one being replaced.
This only works if the licence was linked before the old machine went away, which is a good argument for linking it the day you activate rather than the day you upgrade.
After a hardware change on the same PC
- Motherboard replacement is the change that breaks activation; drives, memory and graphics cards generally do not.
- A retail key reactivates after a motherboard swap, occasionally needing phone activation.
- An OEM key does not, because the licence belonged to the original board.
- Run the activation troubleshooter first — it resolves the majority of same-machine cases without any key handling at all.
Common questions
Can I move my Windows licence to a new computer?
Only if it is a retail licence. Run slmgr /dli to check: RETAIL can be transferred, OEM cannot. OEM licences are permanently bound to the motherboard they first activated on.
Do I have to remove Windows from the old PC first?
You should. Running slmgr /upk then slmgr /cpky releases the key cleanly and avoids an "already in use" error later. If the old machine is gone, activate on the new one anyway and fall back to phone activation if it refuses.
Why did activation break after I changed my motherboard?
Windows treats the motherboard as the machine's identity. A retail licence can be reactivated afterwards, sometimes by phone. An OEM licence generally cannot, because it was tied to the original board.