Windows 10: hardware crash - windows 10 install - activation question

What happens post July 29th 2016 if my hard drive (or MoBo) crashes (as it just did) & i must use a new hard drive or MoBo: if mobo, will windows 10 ask for an activation code since there is new hardware installed? If yes, what will I use?

If a new hard-drive is required & I did not make a disk image copy - will I have to go back to my Window 7 disk to install W7 & keep W7? Is there way to reinstall W10 (free upgrade) post July 29th 2016 with an activation code for W10?

If new mobo is installed will W10 ask for an activation code? If yes, what will i use? Or even If i complete an image copy restore - after new hardware install will W10 ask for an activation code?

Thank you


:)

 

Free Windows 10. Would I still qualify for a free upgrade?

If you activated the first upgrade you can reinstall it. No need to do the upgrade again. Just use the Create Media tool to make installation media and do a clean install. Download Windows 10

Your activation key is stored on the MS servers. Just skip the activation question at the beginning of the install and activate when the install is finished.

Make sure to check your hardware first. It could be a problem with the hard drive or other hardware that caused the crash.

 

Win10 pro reinstall

Did you got the answer?

My laptop was Windows 10 Pro, but after re-install due to hardware crashed. Microsoft activated it as windows 10 home version.

How can I change it back to windows 10 Pro?

 

After July 29th:

For a hard drive replacement, a clean install of Windows 10 will activate itself from the digital entitlement stored on Microsoft activation servers from the first upgrade. When the Windows 10 installation asks for a product key, just click "I don't have a product key", "skip", or "do this later".

For a motherboard replacement - if it is an upgrade, then you will either have to go back to your Windows 7 (if it is a retail version) or pay for the upgrade to Windows 10. If the motherboard replacement is the exact same model and replaced due to malfunction of the original, then call Microsoft and they will probably activate Windows 10 on the new motherboard for you for free.

 

Some of your questions are covered in the tutorials:

Activate Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums

I anticipate that replacing the motherboard will be similar to what was needed with OEM copies of older versions of WIndows: Win 10 wouldn't activate automatically, but you could call Microsoft and they might, at their discretion, give you a new activation code.

If you have a retail copy of Win 7, I presume that you could install that on new hardware. If the free Win 10 upgrade expires at the end of July, you couldn't get 10 on the new hardware through that path. It's not clear what Microsoft's policy will be after July, though.

In some ways I would have preferred a Win 10 upgrade like the one for Win 8: the Win 8 upgrades was not free, but it was fairly cheap ($40US) if purchased pre-release. It was as transferable, if used to upgrade a transferable copy of the qualifying OS.

 

What if I downloaded the upgrade & installed from DVD? I'm sure there will be no information stored on server. At the time of installation ISP was having issues -service was to intermittent.

Things all seem to good in a perfect world. - maybe will hold upgrading ALL computers.

 

Go to settings, updates and security, then the activation tab on the left. What does the activation window say?

All upgrades to Windows 10 from Windows 7/8/8.1 get permanent digital entitlements for that version of Windows 10 on that computer.

Also, right click on start icon and select Command Prompt (Admin). Enter the following command :

slmgr /xpr

What does that result say?

The digital entitlement for Windows 10 gets stored on Microsoft activation servers regardless of how the upgrade was installed.