Windows 10: Avoid reinstalling everything after hardware upgrades

On July 29th, I upgrade my 8.1 installation to windows 10 without too much problem and was properly activated. However, few days ago, I upgraded my computer with a new motherboard, CPU and RAM... I kept everything as is on my hard drive, including my windows installation. All the drivers updated in less than 5 minutes and I was back on track. However, I noticed my windows 10 installation wasn't activated anymore. Tried all the "online" solutions around (waiting, SLUI 3, SLUI 4, etc).


I later read on a MS support page that, when installing or upgrading from 8 to 10, it basically takes a fingerprint of your hardware on their server...


So here's my question. Since I don't want to reinstall everything, can I...


1) unplug my W10 (unactivated) hard drive
2) use another hard drive to install a version of windows 8 on it
3) upgrade it to windows 10 to have my new hardware fingerprints on MS server
4) then revert back to my initial W10 hard drive


Since all it needs is a upgrade from 8 to with the new hardware, I figured this could theoritically work.

:)

 

Hardware upgrade with windows 10

Thank you!

But The question is more about the integrity of the settings and registry entries made by software installations prior to the upgrade.

The problem usually is the drivers and the incompatibility issues that arise when the motherboard is replaced,

as if Windows "expect" the older hardware that "suddenly" isn't there anymore and so, messes everything up.

And then the only solution is full reinstallation.. and that is what I'm trying to avoid.

Any ideas?

advices ?

 

Resetting Windows 10 hangs at 8%

Yes, after making sure you have everything backed up and all program installers and any related Product Keys are available to you, always delete all partitions during the booted install to get it cleanest and avoid issues. There is nothing on the hard drive
that assists in reactivation.

If you are sure the free Upgrade activated then the reinstall should Activate. We saw cases where this failed in the beginning but those problems were fixed as best we can tell from what users are (not) reporting.

Windows 10 activation is handled differently with no Product Key, recording your PC's unique hardware signature in the MS Activation Servers to be compared whenever you reinstall. Minor hardware changes should not trigger reactivation, but if you have a
motherboard change follow these steps
How to Use Your Free Windows 10 License After Changing Your PC’s Hardware

 

Yes, it should work once you have the new hardware with Win 10 upgraded from Win 8 activated.

NOTE: You need to re-activate Win 8 first before upgrade to Win 10.

 

Success!! The described steps in my initial post worked! So no need to spend 4 days backing up and reinstalling everything!