Recently I retired my Sandybridge system and replaced all parts but the case and power supply.
My new system is going to be a Dual boot system and I have already installed the first system using an OEM system builders key from the Computer store where I bought the major parts and key at full retail.
When I installed the 1st system I chose "I dont have a key" during setup and also a Local account using a rufus USB. When this installation was finished and arrived at the Desktop windows was Not Activated so I entered 1 of 2 keys I purchased and Windows is activated on the 1st system with an OEM Licence which is perfectly normal and expected.
However when I went to install the 2nd system and used the Exact same steps above Windows activated itself with a digital licence and the generic Windows key for Windows 11 Pro as soon as I connected to the Internet and was not even asked to enter a key although I now have one OEM Key available it seems.
This 2nd system is not currently linked to any Microsoft Account and have logged in to all of my MS accounts to see if the device name was linked to any existing account but isnt.
My question is how Windows activated automatically with the digital licence and did it just use the OEM Key from the 1st system since it is linked to the Motherboard. Also can I leave the activation as is since it activated automatically (Then I have a spare unused licence) or do I need to change the key.


System Specs
Windows 11 Pro 22621.525
ASUS ROG Strix Z690-F GAMING WIFI Motherboard
Intel Core i9 12900 K Processor
Corsair Vengence RGB DDR 5 (16 GB X 4)
ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3070 TI V2 OC
My new system is going to be a Dual boot system and I have already installed the first system using an OEM system builders key from the Computer store where I bought the major parts and key at full retail.
When I installed the 1st system I chose "I dont have a key" during setup and also a Local account using a rufus USB. When this installation was finished and arrived at the Desktop windows was Not Activated so I entered 1 of 2 keys I purchased and Windows is activated on the 1st system with an OEM Licence which is perfectly normal and expected.
However when I went to install the 2nd system and used the Exact same steps above Windows activated itself with a digital licence and the generic Windows key for Windows 11 Pro as soon as I connected to the Internet and was not even asked to enter a key although I now have one OEM Key available it seems.
This 2nd system is not currently linked to any Microsoft Account and have logged in to all of my MS accounts to see if the device name was linked to any existing account but isnt.
My question is how Windows activated automatically with the digital licence and did it just use the OEM Key from the 1st system since it is linked to the Motherboard. Also can I leave the activation as is since it activated automatically (Then I have a spare unused licence) or do I need to change the key.


System Specs
Windows 11 Pro 22621.525
ASUS ROG Strix Z690-F GAMING WIFI Motherboard
Intel Core i9 12900 K Processor
Corsair Vengence RGB DDR 5 (16 GB X 4)
ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 3070 TI V2 OC
- Windows Build/Version
- Windows 11 Pro 22621.525
My Computers
System One System Two
-
- OS
- Windows 11 Pro x 2 + Insider Dev
- Computer type
- PC/Desktop
- Manufacturer/Model
- My first abomination, I call it the Money Pit One
- CPU
- Intel Core i9 12900K @ 5.2 GHz
- Motherboard
- ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO
- Memory
- 2 x Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB (4x16GB Total) DDR5-6200 CL36 Dual Channel Kit
- Graphics Card(s)
- EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 XC3 ULTRA GAMING 10GB GDDR6X
- Sound Card
- ROG SupremeFX ALC4082 with ESS® ES9018Q2C DAC for pinpoint positioning and dynamics
- Monitor(s) Displays
- 2 x Samsung 43" HDR Neo QLED Mini-LED Tizen Smart TV (QN43QN90DAFXZC) 2024
- Screen Resolution
- 1920 x 1080 @ 150 DPI & 120Hz
- Hard Drives
- 2 x Samsung 980 Series - 250GB PCIe Gen3. X4 NVMe 1.4 - M.2 Internal SSD (Windows 11 Pro Dual boot)
- PSU
- Corsair HX1000i 80+ Platinum Modular Power Supply 1000W
- Case
- Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Tempered Glass Full Tower Case - Black
- Cooling
- CORSAIR iCUE H150i RGB Elite 360mm Liquid CPU Cooler
- Keyboard
- Perixx PERIBOARD-732B Wireless Mini Backlit USB Keyboard with Low Profile Keys - US Layout
- Mouse
- Logitech MX Anywhere 2S Wireless Mouse
- Internet Speed
- 1000 Mbps
- Browser
- Latest Version Of Firefox & Microsoft Edge Chromium Stable
- Antivirus
- ESET Internet Security
- Other Info
- LG Electronics 14x Sata Blu-ray Disk Rewriter - WH14NS4O
2 x OREI 4K 4x2 HDMI Matrix Switch With ARC Audio Extraction, HDR & Downscaling (UHD-402D) so I can send the output of my Cable Box, Roku, or any of my 4 computers to either of my TV's separately or simultaneously.
-
- Operating System
- Windows 11 Pro x 2
- Computer type
- PC/Desktop
- Manufacturer/Model
- My second abomination, I call it the Money Pit Two
- CPU
- Intel Core i9 12900K @ 5.2 GHz
- Motherboard
- ASUS ROG STRIX Z690-F GAMING WIFI
- Memory
- 2 x Vengeance RGB 32GB DDR5 6400MHz CL32 Dual Channel Kit (4x16GB Total) Black
- Graphics card(s)
- ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 Ti OC Edition 8 GB GDDR6X
- Sound Card
- ROG SupremeFX ALC4082 with ESS® ES9018Q2C DAC for pinpoint positioning and dynamics
- Monitor(s) Displays
- 2 x Samsung 43" HDR Neo QLED Mini-LED Tizen Smart TV (QN43QN90DAFXZC) 2024
- Screen Resolution
- 1920 x 1080 @ 150 DPI & 120Hz
- Hard Drives
- 2 x Samsung 980 Series - 250GB PCIe Gen3. X4 NVMe 1.4 - M.2 Internal SSD (Windows 11 Pro Dual boot)
- PSU
- Corsair AX860 - 860W Modular Power Supply
- Case
- Phanteks Enthoo Pro Tempered Glass Full Tower Case - Black
- Cooling
- CORSAIR iCUE H150i RGB Elite 360mm Liquid CPU Cooler
- Mouse
- Logitech MX Anywhere 2S Wireless Mouse
- Keyboard
- Perixx PERIBOARD-326 Wired Mini Backlit USB Keyboard with Low Profile Keys - US Layout
- Internet Speed
- 1000 Mbps
- Browser
- Latest Version Of Firefox & EDGE Chromium Stable
- Antivirus
- ESET Internet Security
- Other Info
- LG Electronics 14x Sata Blu-ray Disk Rewriter - WH14NS4O
2 x OREI 4K 4x2 HDMI Matrix Switch With ARC Audio Extraction, HDR & Downscaling (UHD-402D) so I can send the output of my Cable Box, Roku, or any of my 4 computers to either of my TV's separately or simultaneously.