Windows 10: Windows 10 activated on image on different spec PC?

Discus and support Windows 10 activated on image on different spec PC? in Windows 10 Updates and Activation to solve the problem; I hope the activation experts here can shed some light on something I inadvertantly experienced over the weekend. I have two systems; a Win 10 Pro... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Updates and Activation' started by TenneR, Jun 12, 2017.

  1. TenneR Win User

    Windows 10 activated on image on different spec PC?


    I hope the activation experts here can shed some light on something I inadvertantly experienced over the weekend.

    I have two systems; a Win 10 Pro laptop (which I believe has the product key embedded into the UEFI bios - confirmed by Powershell command?) and a standard desktop PC (Powershell returns error).

    The two systems are in no way identical - laptop having SSD and desktop haing mechanical HDD for example; not to mention motherboards and NIC.

    After imaging the laptop and restoring the image to the PC for testing, I would not usually install the network card driver, but for some reason I did on this ocassion. Unbeknownst to me, I had the cable plugged in whilst booting up from the restored image on the desktop PC (not something I would usually do anyway), but to my surprise, Windows activated!

    This is an image with a currently in-use product key (on the laptop) but on completely different hardware - why would it activate? Is it because of the image?

    Usually, when I restore an image to a completely different system, it says 'connect to internet to get activated' (or similar) as it detects a significant hardware change (that's my understanding).

    Fortunately, it doesn't seem to have affected the validity of the license on the laptop!

    I could connect the desktop PC (with a fresh image) to see if it would actiavate again, but as you can appreciate, I don't want to jeopardise the original license.

    :)
     
    TenneR, Jun 12, 2017
    #1
  2. E JB Win User

    No Lock screen in Windows 10.

    'Rolling slideshow'...simply the slideshow after the rainbow screen where images change and sometimes up to 4 images show at the same time...the clock also displays in the lower left of the screen.

    I can't activate the display to produce the above...the Lock Screen!?

    I have changed the setting for the lock screen many, many times.

    The lock screen was OK and ran as above prior to upgrading to Windows 10 from 8.1.

    A different PC, identical specs, but still Windows 8.1 has never had the lock screen running....although I have tried to activate it a number of times.
     
  3. Cloning OEM Windows 10 Pro to OEM Windows 10 Pro

    I have a few new PC's that I purchased off Newegg for a great price. All are the same make and model with identical specs and Windows 10 Pro OS. I want to run updates and install programs on one of the machines, and then clone the first machine using
    Clonezilla and then add that cloned image to the other 3 machines. Each PC has it's own specific OEM activation key. Can I add the cloned image to the other 3 PC's and then activate windows with the key originally assigned to the PC? Each PC will have it's
    own Windows 10 OEM activation key.
     
    Jim1Hurley, Jun 12, 2017
    #3
  4. Bree New Member

    Windows 10 activated on image on different spec PC?

    Probably because the desktop had previously qualified for a Win10 Pro digital licence in its own right, either through the free upgrade or installing 10 with a valid key.

    The restored image of your laptop could have checked with the activation servers, found a digital licence tied to the desktop's hardware and activated using that. If the desktop had a digital licence for Home rather than Pro the laptop's Pro image shouldn't have activated.
     
  5. TenneR Win User
    Thanks Bree

    That reminds me - I forgot to say that the desktop hardware was indeed Win 10 activated but using HOME. I don't recall installing Pro on that configuration.

    Also, the last 5 characters of the license matches that on the laptop and not one I recognise as one previously installed.
     
    TenneR, Jun 12, 2017
    #5
  6. Bree New Member
    Odd - let's hope others more versed in 'activation lore' will provide an answer...
     
  7. Superfly Win User
    Please run ADT on each and post reports for them, so that we can compare the two... (If indeed there is an OEM key, mask it.)
     
    Superfly, Jun 12, 2017
    #7
  8. TenneR Win User

    Windows 10 activated on image on different spec PC?

    Thanks Superfly

    Will this identify hardware used?

    Also, I have overwritten the disk on which the image surprisingly activated on. If I restore another image, it will say connect to internet to get activated. I believe this toll will not work as intended?
     
    TenneR, Apr 5, 2018
    #8
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Windows 10 activated on image on different spec PC?

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