Does dual boot need two Windows 10 licenses

If I install Windows 10 two times on my computer and make it dual
bootable do I need two Windows 10 licenses? Obviously am running only
one Windows 10 at a time.


Another more to the point in my situation is, that can I use
hyperossystems ( http://www.hyperossystems.co.uk/ ) with only one
license? It makes like 10 copies of Windows 10 and I can run different
versions of Win10 plus backup copies. but each Win10 runs alone so there
is never 2 Win10 running simultaneusly.

On 07/28/2017 04:56 PM, JiiPee wrote:
If I install Windows 10 two times on my computer and make it dual
bootable do I need two Windows 10 licenses? Obviously am running only
one Windows 10 at a time.

I have no fricken idea, but if I had to vote I'd say it would work.
Especially if you logged in with the same user ID like
. You'd have the same hardware, same login, same OS,
so why not.
Please let us know. I'm following this. It would be interesting to say
the least.

On 28/07/2017 22:35, Big Al wrote:
On 07/28/2017 04:56 PM, JiiPee wrote:
If I install Windows 10 two times on my computer and make it dual
bootable do I need two Windows 10 licenses? Obviously am running only
one Windows 10 at a time.

I have no fricken idea, but if I had to vote I'd say it would work.
Especially if you logged in with the same user ID like
. You'd have the same hardware, same login, same
OS, so why not.
Please let us know. I'm following this. It would be interesting to
say the least.


My question was more like that is it legal. Am I doing illagal thing not
to have multiple licenses.

On 07/28/2017 05:57 PM, JiiPee wrote:
On 28/07/2017 22:35, Big Al wrote:
On 07/28/2017 04:56 PM, JiiPee wrote:
If I install Windows 10 two times on my computer and make it dual
bootable do I need two Windows 10 licenses? Obviously am running only
one Windows 10 at a time.

I have no fricken idea, but if I had to vote I'd say it would work.
Especially if you logged in with the same user ID like
. You'd have the same hardware, same login, same
OS, so why not.
Please let us know. I'm following this. It would be interesting to
say the least.


My question was more like that is it legal. Am I doing illagal thing not
to have multiple licenses.

Well, you're not running two at a time, it's more like you're reloading
from fresh or reloading an old image backup. I'm not a lawyer so I
can't say. But it sounds like there would be no way for MS to tell.
Especially add in 'if you name them both the same name computer'.

Boy it is a gray area isn't it!! :-)

On Fri, 28 Jul 2017 21:56:05 +0100, JiiPee wrote:

If I install Windows 10 two times on my computer and make it dual
bootable do I need two Windows 10 licenses? Obviously am running only
one Windows 10 at a time.


Yes, you need two licenses. How many you are running at a time is
irrelevant. You need one license for each installation.

Just curious, why do you want to do this?

JiiPee wrote:

If I install Windows 10 two times on my computer and make it dual
bootable do I need two Windows 10 licenses? Obviously am running only
one Windows 10 at a time.

Another more to the point in my situation is, that can I use
hyperossystems ( http://www.hyperossystems.co.uk/ ) with only one
license? It makes like 10 copies of Windows 10 and I can run different
versions of Win10 plus backup copies. but each Win10 runs alone so there
is never 2 Win10 running simultaneusly.

Multiple install instances used on only one computer at a time ceased a
possibility back in Windows XP whose license allowed what you're trying
to do. Back then, it was regulating the count of active instances of a
license that Microsoft cared about; i.e., one license running on one
computer. That's gone. Now the license count is based on installation
count.

You also never mentioned if the license is for a retail or OEM version.
Retails you can migrate to another host (after wiping from the prior
host). OEMs cannot be installed anywhere after their first
installation. An OEM license is like a glue trap: permanently stuck to
the first host on which it is installed.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Uset...10_English.htm
Sections 2.a and 2.b.

Multiboot means you have 2 installs on the same device.

JiiPee wrote:
If I install Windows 10 two times on my computer and make it dual bootable
do I need two Windows 10 licenses? Obviously am running only one Windows 10
at a time.


Another more to the point in my situation is, that can I use hyperossystems
( http://www.hyperossystems.co.uk/ ) with only one license? It makes like 10
copies of Windows 10 and I can run different versions of Win10 plus backup
copies. but each Win10 runs alone so there is never 2 Win10 running
simultaneusly.

Retail and OEM Windows 10 Licensing are identical for installation and
use(rights).
- One instance on your device
- A hardware partition or blade is considered to be a device.
i.e. a dual boot requires is a different partition on the same device

qp
2. Installation and Use Rights.
a.License. The software is licensed, not sold. Under this agreement, we
grant you the right to install and run one instance of the software on your
device (the licensed device), for use by one person at a time, so long as
you comply with all the terms of this agreement. Updating or upgrading from
non-genuine software with software from Microsoft or authorized sources does
not make your original version or the updated/upgraded version genuine, and
in that situation, you do not have a license to use the software.
b. Device. In this agreement, “device” means a hardware system (whether
physical or virtual) with an internal storage device capable of running the
software. A hardware partition or blade is considered to be a device.
/qp

OEM Win10
qp
2.Installation and Use Rights.
a.License. The software is licensed, not sold. Under this agreement, we
grant you the right to install and run one instance of the software on your
device (the licensed device), for use by one person at a time, so long as
you comply with all the terms of this agreement. Updating or upgrading from
non-genuine software with software from Microsoft or authorized sources does
not make your original version or the updated/upgraded version genuine, and
in that situation, you do not have a license to use the software.
b. Device. In this agreement, “device” means a hardware system (whether
physical or virtual) with an internal storage device capable of running the
software. A hardware partition or blade is considered to be a device.


--
...winston
msft mvp windows experience 2007-2016, insider mvp 2016-2018

Big Al wrote:
Boy it is a gray area isn't it!! :-)


The licensing is quite clear, one instance on one device.

Licensing and technical feasibility though are two different things.

--
...winston
msft mvp windows experience 2007-2016, insider mvp 2016-2018

There is the indefinitely long-term use of the trial version, though, if
you don't mind a few gotchas (some with workarounds). Used to be
Windows gave you a 30-day trial window before it self-crippled unless
you activated before the trial expired. Windows 10 doesn't do that: no
expiration of the trial. You can continue using the trial past 30 days.
The trial version is free.

I think the trial has a watermark on the desktop at the bottom right
corner of the screen. Supposedly you cannot change the desktop
wallpaper but that's only via the wizards. You can make registry edits
to change the wallpaper and, I think, you could select an image as the
wallpaper (so create an image of a solid color in an image editor if you
want just a solid background). You cannot use the sync services to get
settings synchronized between separate installs of Windows 10 - but has
that ever been important to you?

I haven't tried this. I remember reading an article noting the trial
continued to be usable past the month albeit with some loss in
personalization (of which some had workarounds). Until tested again, I
don't know if this is still true. Microsoft could figure out a way to
pull the plug and cripple all those long-overdue pending activations.

On 28/07/2017 23:55, Ken Blake wrote:
On Fri, 28 Jul 2017 21:56:05 +0100, JiiPee wrote:

If I install Windows 10 two times on my computer and make it dual
bootable do I need two Windows 10 licenses? Obviously am running only
one Windows 10 at a time.

Yes, you need two licenses. How many you are running at a time is
irrelevant. You need one license for each installation.

Just curious, why do you want to do this?


I am a computer programmer, so I need to run "dangerous" and risky
programs at times. I dont want to run them on my home-Windows10 because
if something goes wrong i get messed up Win10 and viruses etc.

I develop softwares and clients send me all kind of stuff to run. Also I
need to sometimes use their screen sharing programs which i dont trust,
so would not like to run them on my home Windows10.

For this reason I actually need multiple Wind10 settings for different
scenarios.

I also need a quick way to replace the infected Win10 (like if ite get
messed up after some testing).

On 29/07/2017 00:33, VanguardLH wrote:
JiiPee wrote:

If I install Windows 10 two times on my computer and make it dual
bootable do I need two Windows 10 licenses? Obviously am running only
one Windows 10 at a time.

Another more to the point in my situation is, that can I use
hyperossystems ( http://www.hyperossystems.co.uk/ ) with only one
license? It makes like 10 copies of Windows 10 and I can run different
versions of Win10 plus backup copies. but each Win10 runs alone so there
is never 2 Win10 running simultaneusly.
Multiple install instances used on only one computer at a time ceased a
possibility back in Windows XP whose license allowed what you're trying
to do. Back then, it was regulating the count of active instances of a
license that Microsoft cared about; i.e., one license running on one
computer. That's gone. Now the license count is based on installation
count.

thanks good to know. Although for me sounds illogical rule, but who am I
to argue . If I created a software I would let them to run as many
instances as they want per person. I would make it one license per
person. why not?


You also never mentioned if the license is for a retail or OEM version.

OEM

Retails you can migrate to another host (after wiping from the prior
host). OEMs cannot be installed anywhere after their first
installation.

but this does not help. I need easily to run many different Win10 , one
at a time. I am a computer programmer. i need to test things..

An OEM license is like a glue trap: permanently stuck to
the first host on which it is installed.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Uset...10_English.htm
Sections 2.a and 2.b.

Multiboot means you have 2 installs on the same device.

ok thanks

On 29/07/2017 04:45, VanguardLH wrote:
There is the indefinitely long-term use of the trial version, though, if
you don't mind a few gotchas (some with workarounds). Used to be
Windows gave you a 30-day trial window before it self-crippled unless
you activated before the trial expired. Windows 10 doesn't do that: no
expiration of the trial. You can continue using the trial past 30 days.
The trial version is free.

ok this might help. Is this still available? do you have the link
please? i have tried to find but cannot.


I think the trial has a watermark on the desktop at the bottom right
corner of the screen. Supposedly you cannot change the desktop
wallpaper but that's only via the wizards. You can make registry edits
to change the wallpaper and, I think, you could select an image as the
wallpaper (so create an image of a solid color in an image editor if you
want just a solid background). You cannot use the sync services to get
settings synchronized between separate installs of Windows 10 - but has
that ever been important to you?

I haven't tried this. I remember reading an article noting the trial
continued to be usable past the month albeit with some loss in
personalization (of which some had workarounds). Until tested again, I
don't know if this is still true. Microsoft could figure out a way to
pull the plug and cripple all those long-overdue pending activations.

On Sat, 29 Jul 2017 15:47:35 +0100, JiiPee wrote:

On 28/07/2017 23:55, Ken Blake wrote:
On Fri, 28 Jul 2017 21:56:05 +0100, JiiPee wrote:

If I install Windows 10 two times on my computer and make it dual
bootable do I need two Windows 10 licenses? Obviously am running only
one Windows 10 at a time.

Yes, you need two licenses. How many you are running at a time is
irrelevant. You need one license for each installation.

Just curious, why do you want to do this?


I am a computer programmer, so I need to run "dangerous" and risky
programs at times. I dont want to run them on my home-Windows10 because
if something goes wrong i get messed up Win10 and viruses etc.

I develop softwares and clients send me all kind of stuff to run. Also I
need to sometimes use their screen sharing programs which i dont trust,
so would not like to run them on my home Windows10.

For this reason I actually need multiple Wind10 settings for different
scenarios.

I also need a quick way to replace the infected Win10 (like if ite get
messed up after some testing).


OK, but if were me, I would use two separate computers; it would be
safer.

"JiiPee" wrote

| thanks good to know. Although for me sounds illogical rule, but who am I
| to argue . If I created a software I would let them to run as many
| instances as they want per person. I would make it one license per
| person. why not?
|

Some software is like that. Some is by "seat". In corporate
settings it's often that way. You get 100 copies of XYZ, for
use by whatever employees need to use them. Some software
is more flexible. Paint Shop Pro 16 license says we can have
3 installs in our household. I though that was a very civilized
approach. They're being realistic and fair rather than exploitive.
They're basically saying, "You, and of course your immediate
family or housemates, can use this software. Just don't give
out copies."

I wonder what it matters on Win10, since the upgrades
are free and it calls home. If it works after calling home,
isn't that implicit acceptance? And Win10 can see easily
enough whether it's already installed.

I can't imagine MS would mind, and in practice it's only
one install. As Big Al said, it's no different than keeping
a clone backup. The MS license says you can make one
copy of the software, but as far as I know they don't
say you can't keep clone images or disk images for backup.
That would be absurd and would render the entire backup
industry a "pirate" operation.

|
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Uset...10_English.htm
| Sections 2.a and 2.b.
|
| Multiboot means you have 2 installs on the same device.
|

There's no reference to multi-boot in that license.
The whole point is to prevent multi-use. MS specifically
says 2 people can't use it at once, for instance. So
technically it's "illegal" for Grandpa to help Junior on
the computer. And they say you can't put it on 2
computers. But a second install is only a variant
of a single install. There's no way to use both at once.

On the other hand, Microsoft licenses are deliberately
vague. I remember when ME came out they added a
warning saying that it was licensed to the computer.
Yet the license text addressed you, the user. And they
can't have a contract with a piece of hardware. Especially
with a piece of hardware that doesn't technically exist.
Since a computer is only a package of separate parts,
there's no computer per se. If there were then
wouldn't it be a different computer when the hard disk
or graphics card were replaced? Microsoft tried to
remedy that problem later by claiming the license
is with the motherboard. But how can they legally
enter into a contract with a piece of plastic? Moreover,
why should you be responsible for a contract hashed
out between Microsoft, Inc and Mr. Plastic?

The point being that any license they come up with
is to some extent mickey mouse. But since the copyrighted
material is not inherently limited to a physical medium
(as with a book) it's difficult to protect. To some extent
it's a Wild West scenario. Microsoft, Adobe and others
make the rules because they have the money, lawyers
and lobbyists.

In the famous case with Macy's in 1909,
Macy's dept store was selling used books. Publishers
took them to court, claiming it was illegal to resell a
book. That resulted in first sale doctrine, which says
that once you buy a copy the author has no power over
what you do with it. You bought it. It's your property.
You can resell it. The only thing you can't
do is distribute copies. Microsoft are technically breaking
the law in even claiming such a thing as an OEM license
that can't be resold. They can make a case that the PC is
like a book and thus you can only pass on the PC itself,
but that cheats the customer. In the case of a book,
the paper package *is* the book. In the case of
Windows, the software is the product and you should
be free to do as you like as long as you don't make
illegal copies. But it's very difficult, on both sides, to
be sure it's a fair deal. That's what the case of 1909
was about: Litigating the wiggle room.

JiiPee wrote:
On 28/07/2017 23:55, Ken Blake wrote:
On Fri, 28 Jul 2017 21:56:05 +0100, JiiPee wrote:

If I install Windows 10 two times on my computer and make it dual
bootable do I need two Windows 10 licenses? Obviously am running only
one Windows 10 at a time.

Yes, you need two licenses. How many you are running at a time is
irrelevant. You need one license for each installation.

Just curious, why do you want to do this?


I am a computer programmer, so I need to run "dangerous" and risky
programs at times. I dont want to run them on my home-Windows10 because
if something goes wrong i get messed up Win10 and viruses etc.

I develop softwares and clients send me all kind of stuff to run. Also I
need to sometimes use their screen sharing programs which i dont trust,
so would not like to run them on my home Windows10.

For this reason I actually need multiple Wind10 settings for different
scenarios.

I also need a quick way to replace the infected Win10 (like if ite get
messed up after some testing).


OK, then this is easy to solve.

1) Install Win10 as your base OS, as you wish.

2) Install Win10 in VirtualBox or HyperV. Don't enter a license
key. You have 30 days grace until the OS will no longer work.
Reinstall the OS as needed, to start a fresh 30 day grace
period.

This is a nasty way to do it, if you have significant libraries
to install or something, to "prep" the test OS. However, if your
"dangerous" programs are supposed to work on a vanilla OS, this
is a perfect way to test.

Note that, a VM environment is not perfect, because some programs can
"sniff" that they're in a VM and not install or run. The program
"Neat Video", a plugin for de-noise of video, the installer will
not install the plugin if it senses it is inside a VM. That's
a disadvantage to this method. The "Neat Video" program is the
only one I know of at the moment, which successfully detects
it is in a VM. The author of that program, put more effort into
"arming" the installer, than he put into making the actual
de-noise filter work properly :-(

And if you were thinking there was something unethical about
using virtual machines, Microsoft offers prepared VMs (without
a license key) for download, for this very purpose.

https://developer.microsoft.com/en-u...dge/tools/vms/

Note that, previously downloadable VMs were available for
WinXP SP2, Vista, Win7, Win8.1, Win10. As the OSes go out of
support, the older VMs have been removed from download.

On that page, you will find a 15063 VM. That's the current
release OS. If you run Winver, it will likely report it is
15063.0 and it will need the latest Cumulative to bring
it up to date (you can get that from the Catalog server
if you want). Not a problem. But, on some of the Win10 VMs,
they have an "expiry date" on the image, unlike previous VMs.
My WinXP virtual machine I downloaded, I can still unpack
fresh copies from my ZIP download, and I can run 30 days grace
each time. The Win10 VMs, some of them "expire" and if you
unpack and load an appliance into your virtual machine host,
it will "conk out" on you. Necessitating a fresh download.
This is a new twist, intended to irritate.

*******

I also have a dual boot Win10Insider/Win10Insider, and at least
initially, the second OS was "confused". But they've settled
down and have behaved nicely since. But that's not exactly
the same situation you are in (as an Insider license was free
when you could sign up for the Insider program).

*******

You can also clone your existing one-OS disk drive, to
a second drive, boot that and test your dangerous software.
I use that technique on occasion. A side effect with Win10,
is the Search Indexer may decide to rebuild the index, or
maybe Windows Defender goes on a scanning spree. But it's
nothing you cannot handle.

For example, right now, my Win10 Release disk is a clone,
and has Visual Studio 2015 installed in it. So I could
do a Chromium build. I didn't get any complaints while
doing so.

Since all these clones are running on the same hardware
box, no practical rules are being broken.

Paul