Changing motherboard and CPU, do I need another Win 10 key?

[SM125]

Going from AMD to Intel, and I have previously upgraded from Win 8 to Win 10. Everywhere says something different on what will happen with the key so would like a final answer.

If I swap the mobo and cpu, then boot up with a win 10 bootable usb, will the Win8 key work and activate or will I have to buy a Win 10 key?

 

[USAFRet]

A 'final answer' depends on Microsoft.

However...that Win 10 Upgrade is licensed to that original device. "Device" in MicrosoftLand = the motherboard.
Change the motherboard, new OS license needed.

Now...you may be able to talk to a human at MS and get that original Win 10 Upgrade license applied to your new hardware. But that is all up to them.

 

[InvalidError]

If you have a retail Windows 8 key, you should be able to move your Windows 10 license to a different PC but due to how Windows 10 requires that you install Windows 8 on the PC you want to upgrade to Windows 10 first, I'm not sure how that process is supposed to work and that is part of the reason I'm abstaining from installing Windows 10.

If you have an OEM version of Windows 8, then that key is usually considered tied to the PC it was originally activated on and your chances of moving the license to a new motherboard depend on the Microsoft rep you get for the phone activation.

 

[USAFRet]

If you have a retail Windows 8 key, you should be able to move your Windows 10 license to a different PC but due to how Windows 10 requires that you install Windows 8 on the PC you want to upgrade to Windows 10 first, I'm not sure how that process is supposed to work and that is part of the reason I'm abstaining from installing Windows 10.

The latest build of Win 10 (10586 as of the other day), allows a clean install of Win 10, and activated with a valid, otherwise unused Win 7 or 8 license.

You no longer have to install Win 7/8 and then Upgrade.

Still, that seems to be tied to that original hardware.

 

[SM125]

Installed new mobo and cpu. Tried to reset/reinstall however was greeted by messages "drive partition can not be found" and some other message.
Out of interest I booted up as normal and it reactivated windows straight away (not sure how/why) and I can't see any driver conflicts as of yet.

Are there any ways (without reinstalling) to remove old AMD chipset drivers and other drivers in general that may cause issues? I will do a fresh install as soon as I can but do not have the time at the moment.

 

[RobinRichard]

So you have activated the existing Windows 10 installation on your new Motherboard and CPU? That means the licence is now 'moved' to your new MB?

 

[SM125]

So you have activated the existing Windows 10 installation on your new Motherboard and CPU? That means the licence is now 'moved' to your new MB?

It appears so. I booted up expecting driver conflicts from the old mobo/cpu and for windows to be 'not activated'. Instead, it booted up and has been running perfectly, and Windows then reactivated after connecting to the internet.

Maybe it uses some other form of identification if it is certain that is being moved and used by the same person? I have no idea personally as I've never been sure how it works, it seems to end with a different result for two different people even when doing the same thing.

Just for anyone else, the only things I changed were the motherboard and cpu (MSI Gaming 3 and an i5 4690k) and then I booted up as usual, selected "load default values" when alerted that hardware had changed, and then connected to the internet for Windows 10 to activate. My version of Windows 10 was acquired through buying a retail version of Win 8 and upgrading, which I assume has a lot to do with it.

The only thing I'm skeptical of is driver conflicts, although nothing has happened - yet anyway!

Edit: I did not do a fresh install of windows at all! Although I will do as soon as possible just to rule out any drivers conflicts.

 

[RobinRichard]

So you have activated the existing Windows 10 installation on your new Motherboard and CPU? That means the licence is now 'moved' to your new MB?

It appears so. I booted up expecting driver conflicts from the old mobo/cpu and for windows to be 'not activated'. Instead, it booted up and has been running perfectly, and Windows then reactivated after connecting to the internet.

Maybe it uses some other form of identification if it is certain that is being moved and used by the same person? I have no idea personally as I've never been sure how it works, it seems to end with a different result for two different people even when doing the same thing.

Just for anyone else, the only things I changed were the motherboard and cpu (MSI Gaming 3 and an i5 4690k) and then I booted up as normally, selected "load default vaules" when alerted that hardware had changed, and then connected to the internet for Windows 10 to activate. My version of Windows 10 was acquired through buying a retail version of Win 8 and upgrading, which I assume has a lot to do with it.

The only thing I'm skeptical of is driver conflicts, although nothing has happened - yet anyway!

Thanks for the quick update. I also have Windows 10 upgraded from a retail Windows 8 licence.
When I do upgrade my MB and CPU next year, I'm happy to know that I don't have to buy W10 again! 😀

 

[InvalidError]

The latest build of Win 10 (10586 as of the other day), allows a clean install of Win 10, and activated with a valid, otherwise unused Win 7 or 8 license.

From what I read, it appears Microsoft reverted to 10240 as the current download build. I'm starting to feel like Microsoft has no clue where they want to go with Win10 with their apparent need to make controversial changes to how some of its features work every few weeks.

 

[SM125]

The latest build of Win 10 (10586 as of the other day), allows a clean install of Win 10, and activated with a valid, otherwise unused Win 7 or 8 license.

From what I read, it appears Microsoft reverted to 10240 as the current download build. I'm starting to feel like Microsoft has no clue where they want to go with Win10 with their apparent need to make controversial changes to how some of its features work every few weeks.

Do you have any idea on how it reactivated after switching motherboard and cpu? Because it has me confused!

 

[InvalidError]

Do you have any idea on how it reactivated after switching motherboard and cpu? Because it has me confused!

HDD/SSD serial number, maybe?

Microsoft is doing a great job confusing many people about many things related to Windows 10. The most needlessly complicated and controversial launch yet.

 

[Asmar Sheikh]

There's a lot of confusion about windows 10, even Microsoft customer support representatives are sometimes not able to provide a satisfactory answer to questions related to windows 10. Anyways, to answer your question, when you upgrade windows 10 for FREE - Your license is attached to the "Motherboard" of your computer/laptop. When you'll change your motherboard - your copy of windows will not stay activated and then you may contact Microsoft and they may provide you a free license for your new motherboard - that's up to them.

The best solution to avoid any confusion is to upgrade to windows 10 on a hardware which you plan to use for a long time. 😛

 

[SM125]

There's a lot of confusion about windows 10, even Microsoft customer support representatives are sometimes not able to provide a satisfactory answer to questions related to windows 10. Anyways, to answer your question, when you upgrade windows 10 for FREE - Your license is attached to the "Motherboard" of your computer/laptop. When you'll change your motherboard - your copy of windows will not stay activated and then you may contact Microsoft and they may provide you a free license for your new motherboard - that's up to them.

The best solution to avoid any confusion is to upgrade to windows 10 on a hardware which you plan to use for a long time. 😛

That's the thing, I upgraded from Windows 8 to 10, changed motherboard and it's still activated.

 

[USAFRet]

There's a lot of confusion about windows 10, even Microsoft customer support representatives are sometimes not able to provide a satisfactory answer to questions related to windows 10. Anyways, to answer your question, when you upgrade windows 10 for FREE - Your license is attached to the "Motherboard" of your computer/laptop. When you'll change your motherboard - your copy of windows will not stay activated and then you may contact Microsoft and they may provide you a free license for your new motherboard - that's up to them.

The best solution to avoid any confusion is to upgrade to windows 10 on a hardware which you plan to use for a long time. 😛

That's the thing, I upgraded from Windows 8 to 10, changed motherboard and it's still activated.

Howe long ago did you change the hardware?

 

[Asmar Sheikh]

There's a lot of confusion about windows 10, even Microsoft customer support representatives are sometimes not able to provide a satisfactory answer to questions related to windows 10. Anyways, to answer your question, when you upgrade windows 10 for FREE - Your license is attached to the "Motherboard" of your computer/laptop. When you'll change your motherboard - your copy of windows will not stay activated and then you may contact Microsoft and they may provide you a free license for your new motherboard - that's up to them.

The best solution to avoid any confusion is to upgrade to windows 10 on a hardware which you plan to use for a long time. 😛

That's the thing, I upgraded from Windows 8 to 10, changed motherboard and it's still activated.

Howe long ago did you change the hardware?

I see, you bought new mother board or used one? And secondly, are you connected to the internet? Goto system properties, and tell, is there written "Windows is activated" or is there something like "Couldn't connect to the internet" written near product id?

No doubt Microsoft isn't clearing anything perfectly but you can try contacting Microsoft directly for that, they have live chat support for such technical questions.

 

[SM125]

There's a lot of confusion about windows 10, even Microsoft customer support representatives are sometimes not able to provide a satisfactory answer to questions related to windows 10. Anyways, to answer your question, when you upgrade windows 10 for FREE - Your license is attached to the "Motherboard" of your computer/laptop. When you'll change your motherboard - your copy of windows will not stay activated and then you may contact Microsoft and they may provide you a free license for your new motherboard - that's up to them.

The best solution to avoid any confusion is to upgrade to windows 10 on a hardware which you plan to use for a long time. 😛

That's the thing, I upgraded from Windows 8 to 10, changed motherboard and it's still activated.

Howe long ago did you change the hardware?

Yesterday.

 

[USAFRet]

There's a lot of confusion about windows 10, even Microsoft customer support representatives are sometimes not able to provide a satisfactory answer to questions related to windows 10. Anyways, to answer your question, when you upgrade windows 10 for FREE - Your license is attached to the "Motherboard" of your computer/laptop. When you'll change your motherboard - your copy of windows will not stay activated and then you may contact Microsoft and they may provide you a free license for your new motherboard - that's up to them.

The best solution to avoid any confusion is to upgrade to windows 10 on a hardware which you plan to use for a long time. 😛

That's the thing, I upgraded from Windows 8 to 10, changed motherboard and it's still activated.

Howe long ago did you change the hardware?

Yesterday.

Wait until it tries to run the first batch of updates. Then see what happens.

 

[SM125]

There's a lot of confusion about windows 10, even Microsoft customer support representatives are sometimes not able to provide a satisfactory answer to questions related to windows 10. Anyways, to answer your question, when you upgrade windows 10 for FREE - Your license is attached to the "Motherboard" of your computer/laptop. When you'll change your motherboard - your copy of windows will not stay activated and then you may contact Microsoft and they may provide you a free license for your new motherboard - that's up to them.

The best solution to avoid any confusion is to upgrade to windows 10 on a hardware which you plan to use for a long time. 😛

That's the thing, I upgraded from Windows 8 to 10, changed motherboard and it's still activated.

Howe long ago did you change the hardware?

I see, you bought new mother board or used one? And secondly, are you connected to the internet? Goto system properties, and tell, is there written "Windows is activated" or is there something like "Couldn't connect to the internet" written near product id?

No doubt Microsoft isn't clearing anything perfectly but you can try contacting Microsoft directly for that, they have live chat support for such technical questions.

I've mentioned all of this earlier, it states 'Windows is activated'. The motherboard and CPU are new. I started this thread before I did the hardware change.

 

[Asmar Sheikh]

There's a lot of confusion about windows 10, even Microsoft customer support representatives are sometimes not able to provide a satisfactory answer to questions related to windows 10. Anyways, to answer your question, when you upgrade windows 10 for FREE - Your license is attached to the "Motherboard" of your computer/laptop. When you'll change your motherboard - your copy of windows will not stay activated and then you may contact Microsoft and they may provide you a free license for your new motherboard - that's up to them.

The best solution to avoid any confusion is to upgrade to windows 10 on a hardware which you plan to use for a long time. 😛

That's the thing, I upgraded from Windows 8 to 10, changed motherboard and it's still activated.

Howe long ago did you change the hardware?

I see, you bought new mother board or used one? And secondly, are you connected to the internet? Goto system properties, and tell, is there written "Windows is activated" or is there something like "Couldn't connect to the internet" written near product id?

No doubt Microsoft isn't clearing anything perfectly but you can try contacting Microsoft directly for that, they have live chat support for such technical questions.

I've mentioned all of this earlier, it states 'Windows is activated'. The motherboard and CPU are new. I started this thread before I did the hardware change.

I see, then it seems like your windows is still activated, still i recommend you to contact microsoft to make sure your windows license is tied to your new hardware or not, if needed to know.

 

[CountMike]

W7 or 8.1 Retail version begets W10 Retail so you can transfer license to anything you want.

 

[USAFRet]

W7 or 8.1 Retail version begets W10 Retail so you can transfer license to anything you want.

Not necessarily. All the verbiage from MS regarding the free Win 10 upgrade talks about "free for the life of the device".
"Device" being the motherboard.

Now....Retail should remain Retail. However...it appears it does not.

 

[CountMike]

Yes it does, two MBs already changed and activated using legal key From W7 Pro that vas bought as cheap update from Vista. All was retail, I never had an OEM computer or Windows since 3.0.

 

[USAFRet]

Yes it does, two MBs already changed and activated using legal key From W7 Pro that vas bought as cheap update from Vista. All was retail, I never had an OEM computer or Windows since 3.0.

I get what you're saying.
I'm just reiterating what comes out of Microsoft:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-win_upgrade/reinstalling-windows-10-after-upgrade/578d0b7f-57e4-4893-b9d1-6cfac0d6290a?page=2&auth=1

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In fact you are using a key, but not for every subsequent install. Only for the first one.

In our case, the upgrade. The key comes from windows 7/8.

After the upgrade, your hardware ID is stored and Microsoft knows from that point forward that you are allowed to install Windows 10 on the computer with THAT hardware ID.

Hardware ID is somewhat flexible, so changing the hard drive or the video card won't require re-activation.

The installation ID that you are referring to is made of 2 parts: the product ID (which comes from the windows installation key) and the hardware ID. So really, the only "variable" part here is the hardware ID.

Read more details here:

http://www.gohacking.com/how-windows-product-activation-works/

Hardware ID – This value is derived based on the hardware configuration of your computer.

The WPA system checks the following 10 categories of the computer hardware to derive the Hardware ID:

Display Adapter
SCSI Adapter
IDE Adapter (effectively the motherboard)
Network Adapter (NIC) and its MAC Address
RAM Amount Range (i.e., 0-64mb, 64-128mb, etc.)
Processor Type
Processor Serial Number
Hard Drive Device
Hard Drive Volume Serial Number (VSN)
CD-ROM / CD-RW / DVD-ROM

What if I upgrade or make changes to my hardware?

In the above mentioned 10 categories of hardware, at least 7 should be the same. Thus you are allowed to make changes to not more than 3 categories of hardware. If you make too many changes then your activation will fail. In this case, it is necessary to contact the customer service representative via phone and explain about your problem. If he is convinced he may re-issue a new product key for your computer using which you can re-activate your Windows.
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So...it seems with a change of only the motherboard, it works. Change a couple other things at the same time, it fails.

 

[InvalidError]

Now....Retail should remain Retail. However...it appears it does not.

That seemed to be where M$ was heading with TH2 which accepted Win7/8/8.1 activation keys but now that they removed the TH2 ISO to force people to get 10240 and then update to 10511, yay for a 3-4GB download + 3-4GB update instead of a single 3-4GB up-to-date download, things are back to being unnecessarily ambiguous and complicated again.

Not exactly the best way to inspire confidence and get people who are comfortable with 7/8/8.1 to upgrade even if Windows 10 is a "free" upgrade.

 

[CountMike]

Now....Retail should remain Retail. However...it appears it does not.

That seemed to be where M$ was heading with TH2 which accepted Win7/8/8.1 activation keys but now that they removed the TH2 ISO to force people to get 10240 and then update to 10511, yay for a 3-4GB download + 3-4GB update instead of a single 3-4GB up-to-date download, things are back to being unnecessarily ambiguous and complicated again.

Not exactly the best way to inspire confidence and get people who are comfortable with 7/8/8.1 to upgrade even if Windows 10 is a "free" upgrade.

No, ISO is already back on servers, final version is 1511-10586.14. It can be downloaded and used to install clean or update.