Windows 10: Confirmation Customer Support will help Activate on hardware change

Apologies if someone's already posted this... but I thought it would be good to know what happens if there are significant hardware changes. I do note that the question didn't ask about a motherboard change though.

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Hm, that's a promise. Far too often they are not kept. Let's see how they handle it in reality. Since I'm still on AMD's FX platform I guess I will have to change that in the not so distant future. Actually the only thing that's keeping me from doing so is that I'm holding on to see if AMD comes up with a successor of the Bulldozer CPUs or not. If not I will probably switch to Intel sooner or later. That is going to be the moment to discover if MS keeps up to it's promise.

:)

 

Will i get any activation problem if i clean install Windows 10 64-bit on same machine where it was previously activated windows 10 32-bit?

Hello Siva,

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.

Let me confirm that a Genuine Windows product key will work for both 32 bit and 64 bit.
Once you’ve upgraded to Windows 10 either 32 bit or 64 bit and it's activated, then you will be able to reinstall, including a clean install, on the same device. You won’t need a product key for re-activations on the same hardware, instead it will gets
activated automatically.

If you make a meaningful change to your hardware, you may need to contact customer support to help with activation.

Hope this helps.

 

Clean install of Windows 10 after HDD crash

If the ISO is newest edition of windows 10 with the November update-it should accept your product key but as you have made a hardware change you need to contact customer support for activation.

Activating Windows 10 after a hardware configuration change

If you upgraded to Windows 10 using the free upgrade offer and then made significant hardware changes to your device, such as replacing the motherboard, Windows 10 might no longer be activated. For help on how to activate your
device, contact customer support.

via http://windows.microsoft.com/en-in/windows-10/activation-in-windows-10

 

Changing motherboard is same thing as new PC and free upgrade does not cover another PC.
HDD, RAM, VGA and even CPU is OK. Motherboard is where it ends.
Moving from AMD to intel will require to change MB so MS doesn't have to cover you for that.
If you have retail (OEM doesn't allow MB change anyway) version of earlier windows then you have to do it within 1 year free upgrade period. And you still have to install (remove win 10 that uses that win for upgrade before) retail win 7/8 and then use free upgrade again.

 

The correct answer from Microsoft should have been...

"Dear sir, we get asked this question a lot so let me put your mind at ease:

You shouldn't encounter any difficulties upgrading your computer's hardware and keeping your activation of Windows 10 intact.
In the unlikely event that you do have a problem then Customer Support will re-activate your OS.
However, if you replace your motherboard then you will run into difficulties.
Again, this can be fixed by contacting Customer Support."

Then again, Microsoft isn't famous for it's customer satisfaction! *Smile

 

Nobody can know for sure now. We'll see when I eventually have to change my mainboard *Wink

 

I recently upgraded (2 days ago) a 5 year old Dell Inspiron 580 desktop with a new CPU (from an Intel G6950 Pentium to an Intel I5 750) added a GPU card (NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS) to replace the built in mother board GPU and changed the hard disks from a 320GB to a 500GB. Also added a PCIe Wifi card to replace the existing USB Wifi. Then did a clean reinstall with Windows 7 immediately prior to the Windows 10 upgrade. No problem with maintaining the Windows activation all the way through.

So short of actually changing the motherboard, it appears other hardware changes don't affect existing Windows activation.

 

I am pretty sure you catch more flies with honey than vinegar so if you talk nicely to the Microsoft support technician they will help you and solve your issue. If you go on blowing hot and cold and give them grief you'll get the "You need to buy a key answer". I have never had a problem getting Microsoft software Windows, Office etc reactivated even after a motherboard swap with OEM Windows XP. The motherboard had failed everything else was the same but take my word I was nice on the phone and got it reactivated.

 

I had to do this today and I did not change anything.

 

News flash folks they have always done this even since the XP days. I have never had an activation issue to be unresolved. They will sooner give it away for free than to let you steal Windows.

 

And on July 29, 2016 that upgrade to Windows 10 from your clean install of Windows 7 on new hardware will cost you $199. That's what people are complaining about. Your change in hardware and Windows 10 activation proves nothing because you installed Windows 7 on it first - which is exactly what Microsoft is telling people to do if they lose Windows 10 activation due to hardware changes.

Correct. With a retail key they will let you change computers so many times within a certain time period and still activate it automatically online. After you hit that limit, then you have to call the Microsoft Activation phone number and tell the computer voice that you have that copy of Windows installed on only computer and it will give you the return code to activate it. I know, I hit that limit many times because I have a 3 pack family license but it only has 1 key, and I love doing clean installs whenever anyone in my family gets an upgrade/new computer.

 

I've changed hardware and reported the results, rather than a lot of arm waving and hot air.

 

A quote from Ed Bott article:

This matches the EULA for Windows 10.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-quietly-rewrites-its-activation-rules-for-windows-10/

Jim *Cool

 

Well, I changed my MB from an ASUS Maximus V EXTREME to an X99-A, everything else except memory (and CPU!) the same. When I booted Win 8.1 from the Maximus image I was ready for all kinds of device warnings, messages and probably a BSOD. Instead, before the login screen I get an Installing devices, please wait message, followed by the login screen after a bit. I log in and everything looks fine, except Windows is not activated. I call the activation number, I explain I had to replace the MB, and presto they activated me.

I have replaced my workstation's MB every couple of years or so and have never had a problem with XP, Win 7 and Win 8. Maybe I've been lucky.