PC Purchase

Buying a new or used PC? Learn what to bank check for before making a purchase.
There are a few quick things you can look for to make sure that yous're getting what yous are paying for when shopping for a new or used PC:

Genuine Microsoft Labels

A Genuine Microsoft Characterization (GML) should be found on new devices that:

  • Have been preinstalled with or licensed for Pro editions of Windows 8, Windows 8.one, Windows x, Windows 11.
  • Accept been preinstalled with or licensed for Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11 shipping into China (with the exception of Hong Kong and Macau).
  • Are licensed for a Windows Pro production, but have been pre-installed with a Windows 7 Professional person downgrade. These devices are licensed for Windows 8 Pro merely non pre-installed with Windows eight Pro. These devices would include a GML.

Software is intellectual belongings, and licenses provide the right to use the software and ascertain the weather of employ. But "Qualified Educational Users" are eligible to acquire Microsoft Academic Edition Products, those "Qualified Educational Users" are listed here:

  • Educational Institutions
  • Administrative Offices & Boards of Education
  • Teachers, Faculty and Staff
  • Students
  • Public Libraries
  • Public Museums
  • Home-School Programs

Users that are non members of one of the eligible groups above should not have access to Academic Editions of production and are not eligible for the license terms offered to these groups of educational users.

The GML label is used to help users place the edition of Windows preinstalled on a device and is also an indicator of whether the device is preinstalled with or licensed for genuine Windows. Virtually commonly the label is constitute on the dorsum or lesser of the device.

Surface Power Supply Label

For some first party Microsoft devices or device accessories Microsoft applies a security label to help consumers identify genuine Microsoft products. An case of the security label is listed below along with a clarification of the security label features:

For Microsoft 102w Power Supplies sold separately from Surface devices the Surface Security Label (SSL) should be fastened as shown below.

Surface Power Supply Label

Surface Power Supply Characterization

Certificate of Authenticity (COA)

The COA is a sticker or a label that is often attached to the trunk of a reckoner for some versions of Windows or Windows Server. You lot tin typically observe the COA sticker on the body of the computer or, for some newer laptops, inside the bombardment compartment.

COAs and/or production keys should never be purchased separately from the product.

Standalone COAs

Definition: Standalone COAs are COAs that are sold by themselves, without the accompanying software they authenticate. They are frequently branded equally "backlog inventory" or "unused labels" and are ofttimes counterfeit COAs. Purchasing standalone COAs and passing them off to unsuspecting customers is a class of piracy.

How to Avert: COAs should never be sold, shipped, or purchased on their ain, without being affixed to a PC or sold with related Microsoft software (either full packaged product or Microsoft OEM software acquired by arrangement builders). Do not autumn victim to standalone COAs.

Microsoft Certificates of Actuality, for all products where software is pre-installed

Effective Feb of 2021, Microsoft is releasing version of the COA label with revised anti-counterfeit features.  For COAs affixed to computers preinstalled with or licensed for Windows 10 after February 1, the COA may characteristic the production name printed on the label and too contain anti-apocryphal security features shown in the video link hither

A simple glance can allow a consumer to notice whether a COA label may take been tampered with. The removable silver fabric should be fully intact and covering a portion of the 25-characters' of the product central. If upon receipt, a sufficient amount of the roofing silver material has been removed and the entire 25-character production key is exposed, this could indicate that the COA label has been tampered with and at that place is a potential that the product cardinal has been compromised or used in an unintended manner. If y'all experience any difficulty using the key for activation, delight contact the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) for support.

If the removable argent material is not present on the concealment panel at all, there may exist a clear motion-picture show label retained in this surface area, which is evidence that the darkening characteristic was present and the scratch off material has been removed.

This darkening protection characteristic has been added to the COA with the Microsoft'southward consumer in mind. Microsoft is taking this additional step to protect against unauthorized utilise of a product key. Consumers should as well be enlightened that product keys are valuable targets for piracy, and it is prudent that precautions be taken to avoid unauthorized admission or use of product keys wherever possible.