Windows 10: Will this plan work to "reserve" my free upgrade permanently?

There are keys for Win10 Retail and the rights are transferred when you upgrade (even though you're using a custom process).

As long as the Win7 licenses are Retail, then I think that will work.
See:
Showkey - Windows 10 Forums
Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First - Windows 10 Forums

You won't need the key to reinstall Win10 on the same machine. You'll only need the key to use the rights of a Retail license to install on a new machine that replaces the old machine. By the EULA, you have to uninstall the OS on the old machine first.

 

Since Windows 7 is already installed on all these computers there is a 100% certain way to activate new, clean installs of Windows 10 on them (before July 29th, of course):
Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First - Windows 10 Forums

It takes less than 1 minute to copy the genuineticket.xml file using gatherosstate.exe, so why not just do that and be sure?

Put gatherosstate.exe on a thumb drive. Make folders describing the computers on the thumb drive. Run gatherosstate.exe to generate the genuineticket.xml file, move the file to the folder describing the computer.

Clean install Windows 10 on a spare hard drive, pop it in the computer, copy the genuineticket.xml file to the proper folder, activate Windows 10. Move the hard drive to the next computer, copy the next genuineticket.xml file over the previous one, activate Windows 10. There isn't even any need to do 4 separate clean installs of Windows 10.

 

What I would really do, though, is just make a Macrium Reflect backup image of the Windows 7, upgrade to Windows 10 and run with it. Likely you won't want to go back to Windows 7 anyway.

 

Both are excellent suggestions.

I think the idea is to retain the Retail rights of the existing Win7 licenses, so The111 would still need Showkey on the Win10 installs.

Any thoughts?

 

Alpha I have done Clean installs with machines that have the SLP keys. The thing is that you have to activate it as an upgrade the first time. Then turn around and do a Format then Clean Install.

 

Well yes, you can clean install on any device that already has a digital entitlement. No key is needed for that. There will be no key to detect on a clean install on a Windows 7 PC anyway, OEM-SLP or not. There is no key in the BIOS to be detected. And I'm pretty sure Windows 10 only looks for a BIOS key on a clean install. It won't look for an OS stored key unless your doing an upgrade install.

If that PC doesn't have a digital entitlement your OEM-SLP key is useless if entered manually. If it does have a digital entitlement you don't need to enter a key anyway. *Wink

 

If the user wants to move the Windows 7 to other computers under the retail terms; then yes, the Windows 7 product keys will be required to do that.

 

Thanks again everybody for the great answers. Here's a related question that I can't seem to find a current, definitive answer to easily available anywhere else: can I dual boot 7 and 10 in the same machine (separate physical disks) using the same license? I'm guessing yes, but I'm wondering if frequently switching back and forth would bother MS somehow.

 

In theory yes but legally only if W10 isn't free upgrade from that same W7.