Windows 10: Transfer installation to new hardware

Nothing needs to be removed. When you shutdown Windows on the old computer, make sure to hold down the shift key and click on shutdown from the power menu. That will perform a complete shutdown, even if fast startup is enabled under Windows 10 settings. When Windows 10 starts up it will detect the new hardware and install drivers it can find for the new hardware. You will have to provide drivers for the hardware it can't find drivers for - just like any clean install of Windows 10. It will not load drivers that it does not find the hardware for. I've moved a WindowsToGo installation between Intel and AMD multiple times and it just works. On the new computer go into Device Manager and look for "unknown devices" or yellow triangle exclamation points and fix those - just like you would any clean install.

If you want to you can remove the product key and deactivate Windows by running from a Command Prompt (Admin):
slmgr /upk

However, that only removes the product key and activation from Windows locally on that computer. It does not remove the activation or digital entitlement stored on Microsoft activation servers. There is no way for a user to do that. If Windows does not activate on the new computer online, you may have to "override" the activation previously stored on Microsoft activation servers by doing a phone activation and telling the computer voice that you have that copy of Windows 10 installed on only 1 computer.

 

Worked like a charm! Only thing it couldn't 'auto'-add were network-drivers, and as I have no dvd, I downloaded them before tearing it apart.

 

You need to run slmgr /upk to un-register the retail key before trying to activate it on a new system; that avoids the call. I've had to do that with a retail key. It was even the same system, with an identical replacement MB.

 

Mine activated again as soon as I got internet up and running, without releasing it. The biggest question now is, when I sell My old MoBo CPU and RAM, will the new owner be able to get access to my WIN 10 pro, and I have to make the call?

 

Slmgr /upk does nothing to change the status of the product key or activation stored at Microsoft so it does nothing to change the odds of having to call in for the next activation.

 

I disagree.

 

And those of us who get the message from Microsoft "Product key is in use on another computer" know differently.