OS Pre-installed on Optiplex 9020 and Optiplex 3020

It should be a Windows 8.1 Professional license. i.e. Dell will exhibit downgrade rights from Windows 8.1 Professional to preinstall Windows 7 Professional but will include media in case you want to later migrate to Windows 8.1 Professional.

The Windows 8.1 Professional 25 digit product key will be embedded within the system BIOS and the license will be OEM so it means you cannot transfer the license to another machine.

http://www.microsoft.com/oem/en-gb/licensing/sblicensing/pages/downgrade_rights.aspx#fbid=9Imh6YWcn37

Thanks for reply.

Suppose I purchase retail copy of windows 8.1 pro from market. Can I able to install it on machine ? Does it violate any warranty ? 

I think it would be nice If I get without OS and installed retail copy.

Waiting for reply

Thanks.

You can install the retail copy on any system you like providing its installed only on 1 system at a time. However you will need to buy most Dells with a preinstalled OS anyway and in most cases this is some variant of Windows although a few have Ubuntu. In most cases its actually cheaper to buy Windows preinstalled with a new computer and actually a Windows computer may be cheaper than a Ubuntu computer despite Ubuntu being free because Dell can afford to sell it cheaper due to the additional revenue they get from preinstalling bloatware like McAfee. There is usually far more options with a Windows computer.

Again thanks for swift answer. 

I am from India so I have little doubt that Desktop / Laptop with Windows OS is Less price than Ubuntu.

please look at link 

http://www.dell.com/in/business/p/optiplex-9020-desktop/fs?3x_nav=MEMRY_SIZE_GB%3D8&3x_page=1&filterCollapsed=true

You can clearly see the difference of 10000 Rs.  (200$).

This is the reason I get to this forum.

Please provide detail if you have.

Thanks.

Okay there are less Linux customisations in the UK...

The system is cheaper with Ubuntu however it will still cost you a bit more for a retail license:

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msin/en_GB/cat/Windows-8/categoryID.66287400?WT.mc_id=MSCOM_EN_IN_HP_Nav_Shop_Windows

Baring in mind the system comes with Windows 8.1 Professional OEM with downgrade rights to Windows 7 Professional OEM and media included.

Windows 8.1 Professional retail does not have downgrade rights.

So for buying Windows 8.1 Home separately it will cost you more than the difference and for Professional almost twice the difference.

However if you are a student you will save money buying Windows separately as you can get Windows 8.1 Professional version for 3499 RS:

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msin/en_GB/pdp/Windows-8.1-Pro-Student/productID.288571500

Moreover Windows 8.1 done away with "Upgrade only" student licenses so you use this without a previous Windows installation. Note the student purchase won't be eligible for downgrade rights.

Regarding warranty and technical support. You will obviously have no software support from Dell technical support but can freely use these forums in the unlikely event you have issues installing Windows 8.1. The hardware support is the important part and is not affected by the software support.

We are a county agency and we recently just purchased 8 Dell OptiPlex 9020s. Windows 8.1 has been down graded to windows 7 Pro. For many of our machines we make an image of the machine using acronis with all the software our users need and don't need. This saves us a considerable amount of time then having to setup a new machine from scratch. Where the key is embedded into the bios and we image one of the machines to apply to the other 7 machines. Will the correct license carry over to the other machines since it will be in their bios? Also, will we receive any conflicts with the o/s doing this? Thanks, Andrew

Where the key is embedded into the bios and we image one of the machines to apply to the other 7 machines. Will the correct license carry over to the other machines since it will be in their bios?

It will likely trigger the need to reactivate.  Windows may just go ahead and check the BIOS for an existing key, but if not, then you may simply be able to click Activate Now.  You may need to get the key from the BIOS using something like RWEverything or linux. 

will we receive any conflicts with the o/s doing this?

Probably not ... I say probably, because unless you are sysprepping your system prior to imaging, every PC you install it on will have the same signature ... it usually will not cause issues but can cause security or licensing (third-party software) issues in some less-common scenarios.