Windows 10: W10 licence transfer. What happens if I change/upgrade my PC later on?

I'm also very interested in finding an official source for this!

 

hey guys.. just a bit of warning.

i've also been reading around the Internet and people were saying Microsoft saves a Hash ID of your Hardware after successful activation.

im beginning to doubt that..
because i was activated for a few days.. then decided to do a clean install and now it says the key is blocked.

just a fair warning.

 

Did you enter a product key manually during the installation process?

 

no.. i clicked "Skip" twice.
ive called Microsoft by invoking slui4 command and they said "sorry, you can only upgrade".

 

That's strange. I have upgraded and then clean installed 2 pc's without an issue. Maybe MS activation servers are somehow overloaded and busy and that's why things are not working properly yet. If I were you, I would probably try to re-install the old OS back and then re-upgrade and clean install again.

 

This is something I experienced firsthand, I did a clean install with the intent of buying a retail copy of 10. once all that was done I bought the copy through the windows store in windows 10. I then went to upgrade my BIOS to the latest release and it failed, luckily my board has two identical BIOS's with a switch so I was able to boot into the "B" BIOS without a problem. But when I did that Windows 10 was not validated. I've been fighting with customer support online and on the phone for days to no avail. I keep getting transferred from one department to the other because no one seems to be able to even find my purchase. Yet they still charged my card... go figure. That's one thing they never seem to get wrong.

 

Are you sure you didn't clean-install the wrong version? Lots of people with home seem to be trying to clean-install Pro, and of course that doesn't work.

 

I am coming into the thread with a bit of derail and backstep.
I did read the replies but I am not understanding something. There is a lot of conflict.

I installed Windows 8.1 Pro clean on an SSD with a Gigabyte motherboard. Free upgrade to Windows 10 Pro.
I replaced my Gigabyte motherboard with an MSI one (old mobo had faulty USB headers). My SSD and HDD Data drives remained intact and no change to those except installing MSI software that defaults with the mobo disc. All the sudden, Windows 10 is telling me i need to 'Activate Windows', Error code: 0xC004C003 in 'See if my Windows is activated', and only option is to change CD key. In the store, the store tells me my Windows is genuine.

This thread faces the same issue for the most part, and the OP has the exact same question. Now that we are a week later into the game, does anyone have a solution other than going back to Windows 8.1 Pro (which I can not do via Options, tells me the files required are missing, meaning I have to completely wipe)? I am unable to locate anything within the thread that pops out at me.

 

How did you install Windows 8.1 on your SSD? Can't you access the same installation source? If not, and if you have a legit Win 8.1 license key, you can download the Windows 8.1 software from a torrent - it's the license that's legally requires to access and use the software, and it's legal to download software for which you own a license to use.

You can also try contacting Microsoft support, and asking them to deactivate the previous hardware association for your license, and activating it with the new one.

Support for Microsoft product activation problems

Typically, changing the mobo will require you to re-install Windows 8.1, and then upgrade to Windows 10.

 

The installation is fine. The problem is suddenly after I changed the mobo it says I am no longer activated.
That last sentence is what I wanted to work around against because I am literally tired of spending 2 days re-setting up everything.

 

The only way we know is to reinstall Windows 8.1, and perform another upgrade to 10. However, here is the easiest solution in your case. First, do a complete backup of your current Windows 10. Then wipe everything, and install 8.x, upgrade to 10 via the Media Creation tool, once that is activated, you can then restore your original image, and then re-activate and you should be good.

 

I have a suspicion that Microsoft's chosen method for handling upgrade reinstallations will work against Microsoft in the long term, motivating many people to return to their original OS, and some people to even resent the Microsoft brand. Nobody wants to do a 2-step reinstallation, let alone a 3-step reinstallation, just for a clean OS.