reinstall upgraded windows 10 pro. how to activate?

[sz0ty0l4]

Hey all. I was wondering how it's possible to do a clean install from a bootable usb drive for windows, on a PC that was upgraded from win7/8.1

Microsoft says:
Free upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1: You'll receive a digital entitlement for Windows instead of a product key.

How the hell should i be able to activate the freshly reinstalled windows 10 with a " digital entitlement"? It asks for a damn product key when activating doesnt it?

 

[USAFRet]

No it doesn't. Well yes it does, but you skip that part.

Your "Digital Entitlement" is a hash of your original Win 8.1 license and info from your hardware. Primarily the motherboard.
This is stored at Microsoft.

Install.
When it asks where, skip.
Once done and online, it should activate all by itself, no problem.

 

[USAFRet]

From the Win 10 FAQ:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12435/windows-10-upgrade-faq

---------------------------------
Can I reinstall Windows 10 on my PC after upgrading?

Yes. Once you’ve upgraded to Windows 10 using the free upgrade offer, you can reinstall or perform a clean installation on the same device. You won’t need a product key to re-activate Windows 10 on the same hardware. For more info on how to create your own Windows 10 installation media, go to the Microsoft software download website.
---------------------------------

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

http://www.howtogeek.com/224342/how-to-clean-install-windows-10/

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-win_upgrade/reinstalling-windows-10-after-upgrade/578d0b7f-57e4-4893-b9d1-6cfac0d6290a?auth=1

 

[sz0ty0l4]

Thx for info. got 1 more short question:

what happens if let's say you partly change the hardware? let's say GPU/SSD? or even the motherboard/cpu?? it won't recognize the digital entitlement? what can you do in that case?

edit:

found it. thx

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Yes that is true , and won't activate with a board change , Sometimes if you call Microsoft they will re-activate.

 

[USAFRet]

Thx for info. got 1 more short question:

what happens if let's say you partly change the hardware? let's say GPU/SSD? or even the motherboard/cpu?? it won't recognize the digital entitlement? what can you do in that case?

GPU/SSD/PSU/CPU...no problem.
Motherboard? May be problem. If it fails to activate with the new motherboard, the only recourse is through Microsoft.
They may say yes or no.

 

[sz0ty0l4]

Thank you guys.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

No , thank you for posting!