How do I buy Microsoft Windows?

You have the following options for purchasing Microsoft Windows:

A. Directly from Microsoft.
B. From a retail store.
C. From a computer manufacturer.
D. Purchasing Volume License Keys.
E. Getting Microsoft Windows when you purchase a used computer.

A. Purchasing directly from Microsoft
Referred as retail copy of Microsoft Windows. Microsoft sells the copies of Windows that are in mainstream support phase. If the copy of Microsoft Windows is in extended support phase or in obsolete phase then you may not be able to purchase Microsoft Windows. The reason is that Microsoft offers no-charge support (conditions apply) for products that are in mainstream support phase and there will be a support fee if the product is in extended support phase and Microsoft does not support products that are in obsolete phase.

To see a list of products that are in mainstream support phase or in extended support phase or in obsolete support phase, you may visit the following web page:

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifeselectindex

If you are located outside North America and want to purchase a copy of Microsoft Windows then you have to contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. You may contact your local Microsoft subsidiary by selecting your country from the following web page:

http://www.microsoft.com/worldwide/

B. Purchasing from a retail store
Referred as retail copy of Microsoft Windows. For purchasing Microsoft Windows from a retail store, you may contact Microsoft to know the available retail stores from where you can obtain Microsoft Windows.

C. From a computer manufacturer
When you purchase a new computer from a computer manufacturer (like Acer, Dell, HP, Toshiba, Sony, or other) then the computer manufacturer will install a copy of Microsoft Windows. You have to contact your computer manufacturer for knowing the edition of Microsoft Windows that they will install. The copy of Microsoft Windows that is provided by computer manufacturers is referred to as OEM copy of Microsoft Windows.

D. Purchasing Volume License Keys
A Volume License Key is a product key that is issued to a specific customer under a specific license agreement. Each VLK is associated with a particular customer and type of product for which the customer is licensed. Volume License Keys can be used only with Volume Licensing media; they cannot be used with retail full packaged product or OEM CD media. You may contact Microsoft for more information.

You may also visit the Microsoft web page for information related to Volume License and Online Services Keys:

http://www.microsoft.com/indonesia/license/resources/vol/default.aspx

There are few versions of Windows for which you can purchase the Volume License Keys. For a list of Microsoft Windows for which you can obtain Volume License Keys, visit the following Microsoft web page:

http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/resources/vol/volumelicensekey/default.mspx

If you are located outside North America then you have to contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. You may contact your local Microsoft subsidiary by selecting your country from the following web page:

http://www.microsoft.com/worldwide/

E. Getting Microsoft Windows when you purchase a used computer.
You can obtain Microsoft Windows when you purchase a used computer. It is recommended that you check if the seller had sold a genuine copy of Windows. You may check if the seller had provided a genuine copy by validating the copy of Windows by visiting the following Microsoft web page (Try to do this before you purchase the used computer or else you have to buy a genuine copy of Windows from Microsoft):

http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/