kinguin.net legit or scam? - Win 10

frldyz

Member
Looking to add Win 10. to a build.

Paul on newegg recommends and uses kinguin.net for his O.S needs.
Price seems to good to be true.

Legit or scam?
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
I do believe our member @C4C buys them from there, with no issues. Not sure I would trust them though.
 

beers

Moderator
Staff member
You'll probably receive a key that's been used multiple times and is had by other parties.

Whether it begins presenting problems activating just depends on how many.
 

Jiniix

Well-Known Member
I've bought two Win10 keys there. It's an OEM key usually, which means decreased support and you supposedly can't use it more than once. I'm pretty sure it just means you can't have two activated at the same time, as I've never had issues with reinstalls. Microsofts wording is terrible though.
But if you change motherboard, you might not be able to use the key again.
Opposed to a retail-type key, which just means you have the right to use this OS as you please and get better support.
 

Darren

Moderator
Staff member
For the record I've used an "OEM" Win 7 Home Premium key across 3 different motherboards, 3 different HDD installs, and probably 10 clean installs of Windows. Several of which were on 7 and now onto 10. It ties your activation to your microsoft account anyway and I haven't had to input a product key since I installed 10, including 2 motherboard swaps throughout.

Microsoft is way more liberal with licensing than a lot people realize I think. I work in a shop that does hundreds of refurbs and it's amazing how easy it is to get stuff to activate. We had one machine under our bench with a Win 7 Home OEM key that we activated like 3-4 10 machines with before it finally quit working. Also if you have a 7 machine that's been upgraded to 10 you can reinstall 7 and it'll activate automatically even though in theory that shouldn't work according to Microsoft. Also any install of 10 will activate with a 7 or 8(.1) key of the same version. Frequently if it's been used before.
 

Agent Smith

Well-Known Member
With huge risk comes the possibility of a huge reward. Just like playing the stock market. You can win big or... throw yo ass out a window. LOL!
 
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frldyz

Member
I'm doing 2 builds right now.
1 w/ Linux the other Win 10.

I purchased Win 10 OEM from a seller on ebay.
I did not know the difference @ the time vs OEM vs retail.

Do I have this right:
OEM:
1. Microsoft owns your copy of Windows not you.
2. Tech support.
3. 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.
2. No tech support.
3. Can be installed on a diffferent computer if needed in the future.

Do I have that all correct?

*With this build I am doing with Windows 10 OEM once installed is that it? I thought I read the MOBO I originally install it with is the only MOBO it an be installed on. Therefore if upgrading/building a computer in the future with a differant MOBO will NOT work. Is this correct? If I upgrade my MOBO or do a complete different build in the future I would need to use Windows retail?

* I want to install a copy of Windows 10 on a laptop.
1. If I install Windows OEM on a laptop that will NEVER have upgraded components in the future can I only install it 1x?
2. In the future what if I wipe/erase the SSD I install Windows 10 OEM on. Can I reinstall Windows 10 OEM back onto this SSD. It will still have all the original components and the same MOBO.
3. Once installed If I wipe/erase the SSD I originally installed on too bad it cannot be reinstalled. I would need to purchase anther copy of Windows to reinstall on.

I just want to know if I should return Windows 10 OEM and buy Windows 10 retail.

thanks everyone
 

Jiniix

Well-Known Member
You should be able to reinstall regardless of key, even if you change motherboard.
And Windows 10 pretty much accepts any excessively used key now, it's very nice :)
 

Intel_man

VIP Member
OEM:
1. Microsoft owns your copy of Windows not you. You purchased the copy as a "manufacturer"
2. Tech support. No tech support because you're a "manufacturer" and will provide own support.
3. Can only be installed 1x. Cannot be installed on a latter date on a different computer. Kind of... in most cases yes, but people have stated that this rule is pretty liberal at times.

Retail:
1. You are considered the builder of the computer and own the copy of Windows not Microsoft. No. You bought it as a customer of Microsoft and follows all retail purchase laws in your country.
2. No tech support. Yes tech support. Also normally costs more than OEM due to this nature.
3. Can be installed on a diffferent computer if needed in the future. Yes that is correct.
See red above for response.
 
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