Windows 10: Digital Activation Problem in Cloned Operating System

I have cloned Microsoft windows on 20 laptops and tried to install product key, but winows shows hardware changes error message and won't activate. But if I did reset thw windows the key will works. Can we fix this problem without doing a reset?

:)

 

Activation Windows 10 true a cloned system

Dear Community

My Situation:

I started a couple of month ago with the Insider preview of W10. I add some complex Software CAD-CAM, Simulations and Design--Software. This making a lot of work and I have no intersting to Setup 8 Computers with this procedure.

So the whole Installation runs fully on the W10 System with no Problem. In the meantime on the final Version. All perfect!

Now I startet do clone the main system to the other Computers.

First step: Upgrade over the W8.1 system, with this, the activation W10 is no problem because W8.1 licence is ready

Second step: Restore the clone Image to the activated new W10 system -> Also new W10 is activated with no problem.

All perfect just to this point.

Now to my question

What I can see now is, that all cloned Stations have the same Key now. All Systems are activated.

My question now is if I will receive troubles in future when all stations have the same key?

Perhaps my way to the clone systems is wrong? I don't know.

Thanks for some feed back to this issue.

Kind regards

Michel

 

How to clone only the Operating System?

Hi moments,

I am Dave, I will help you with this.

It is not possible to just transfer/clone the operating system alone to another drive.

The only option you have would be to clean install Windows 10 on the SSD, that is no problem to do, however, if all your software is installed on the 2TB drive, that will not work in the newly installed operating system on the SSD, you would need to re-install all your software.

Click this link:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-downlo...

to download the Media Creation Tool (Click on Download Tool Now), with that you can download the latest Windows 10 ISO (Select Create Installation Media for Another PC), you can create a bootable USB flash drive (min 8GB) using that tool

Then, Boot your PC from the Installation Media you just created (change Boot Order in your BIOS) to begin installing Windows 10

Since you previously had Windows 10 installed and activated on that PC during the installation process skip the steps which ask for a product key and select the option 'I am Reinstalling Windows 10 on this PC', and activation will not be an issue, your PC will have a digital entitlement stored on the Microsoft Activation Servers

 

Cloning an Operating System?

Hi folks

In addition to all the excellent advice offered here I'd just like to add

1) Before cloning move everything off the OS that isn't programs or program data -- move any user data such as multi-media, email, office type files etc to another drive, cloud or wherever and then start the cloning operation.

2) Cloning to different hardware is usually possible with even the Free version of Macrium -- Windows will invariably boot and any specific drivers can be then after first boot be got from Internet or WU or a combination of both. I've cloned an Intel Laptop OS to an AMD based miniserver and WU got all the correct drives.

If your target system already has a digital license you won't get activation issues -- otherwise just simply go to change product key and enter your license key for the target system.

Not to VM users - when using VBOX or VMWare and moving / copying a Windows VM at first boot chose the I MOVED it option rather than the I COPIED it one -- otherwise Windows will think it's a new machine and you won't get it activated !!!!.

Cheers
jimbo