Windows 10: How Many Hardware Changes Before Activation Fails?

While you are booted into Windows 10, open Command Prompt (Admin) or Powershell (Admin) and the command is:

bcdboot C:\Windows

 

Thanks. I originally installed Windows for English / UK. Should I use this locale option or doesn't it matter?

bcdboot c:\Windows /l en-gb

 

Hmmmm that's cheap indeed - Check it with ShowKeyPlus - Windows 10 Forums if you will... I'd be interested to know it's EULA type.

 

That says I have Windows 7 Ultimate Retail EULA Type MSDN. I also bought a cheap MS Office 2016 key but that didn't work to download the Office files so I got a refund.

 

As I feared... MSDN keys are not for re-sale - thus not legit.

It will probably work as a digital licence upgrade (but get nuked once others have activated it as well on Win 7.)

Whether MS keeps track of the upgrade licence once converted to digital, dunno.

 

I can confirm the above command restored the Windows 10 style multi-boot GUI screen. I actually used this command for the UK (unsure if it makes any difference) - bcdboot c:\Windows /l en-gb

I lost my Windows 10 Safe Mode boot menu option but kept my Macrium Reflect boot option. I soon recovered the Safe Mode boot option.

The Windows 7 multi-boot menu does have the advantage that you boot directly to the selected OS rather than going through a full restart cycle using the Windows 10 boot menu. Why does the Windows 10 boot menu have this long winded behavior?

 

As far as I can tell, once you get a digital licence, it is perpetual,and there is no mechanism for voiding it. Equally, there is no history of what key activated it either (hence why activation troubleshooter does not care if original licence was oem or not).

At $2, it is hardly a big risk. If it works once, job done.

Some will say we should not encourage this, but we are not policemen for MS.

MS have relaxed activation rules so much, EULA enforcement is a joke now. Hell, you can run it unactivated permanently if you wish.

I think MS have basically (unofficially) decided that enforcing the EULA is more effort than it is worth, and by relaxing rules, they keep people on Windows who might otherwise defect to Linux or other OS.

It is interesting with FCU, that they do not actually install key anymore, only the generic key i.e. all non-vlk licences are digital now. The key is only used to validate the digital licence first time it is installed.

As far as I can surmise, the side effect of this is tools that used to fool Windows it was activated do not work with non-vlk keys any more. Cannot say this would be true for vlks though.

I bought a cheap PRO key, and it is returned as full standalone status and worked fine. I am sure it was probably a key sold several times relying on the fact you can use a key a number of times before it gets blocked.

In the end, it is up to MS to police their system - if we buy it cheap in good faith and it works, are we being pirates?

Anyway, it is all caveat emptor really. Buy a cheap key, and it may not work.

 

Hey I spent £2 not $2! There is something in European law about it being legal to resell software licences. This law might apply to some of the cheap keys we see for sale?

 

Hi there.

If you have any of the old Technet keys - they could be activated at least 10 times per key and maybe as many as 150 times -- nobody ever knew the exact number but it was probably way more than the standard retail stuff.

You don't need the original ISO's - just the keys (Which you can STILL download from Ms --your keys - not the ISO's).

Cheers
jimbo