I sell my PC and make a new one from parts. Can I keep my license ?

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  1. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #41

    Torquemada said:
    It's well known you don't need a license key to clean install unless it's a retail version.

    http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/how-get-win...vation-1514845
    It is also well known (or should be) that a clean install of Windows 10 will only activate without a product key if it is on the same computer that an upgrade from Windows 7/8/8.1 was successfully completed and activated on previously - or on which which Microsoft has granted a permanent activation for a previous Insider.

    So, question to the OP:
    You have a new computer. If it is homebuilt and did not come with an operating system installed by the manufacturer, how do you plan on obtaining an activation of Windows 10 clean install on it? No product key (skip entering) means no activation. The generic product key that everyone gets when they upgrade won't work to activate a clean install. You might get an activation that expires if you enter an Insider preview product key.

    If the new computer is manufactured, then it should have the factory OS installed and come with it's own license for Windows.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 100
    Windows 10 64
       #42

    brianwall said:
    OK my last comment on this LOL!!

    "The free Windows 10 license works very differently from previous Windows licensing systems. These all required a product key. Even modern Windows 8 and 8.1 PCs — and new PCs that come with Windows 10 — have a Windows product key embedded in their UEFI firmware. If you buy a new copy of Windows 10 — for example, to install it on a PC you’re building yourself .
    Snip!!

    My mobo has NO UEFI.. Yet W10 installed.. It's not a requirement at all.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 550
    10 pro 64
       #43

    You know Marron if you would of asked the question correctly you probably wouldn't of had all these responds . So you were using Windows 10 Technical Preview which Microsoft gave you license key for, then you upgraded to 10 pro . Now you want to re-use 10 Technical Preview key again on your new system. I don't believe you can but I'm not 100% sure since its a test version but I would of thought their an expiry date for those Technical Preview versions . Think about it whats to stop you from giving your key to anyone to use . I doubt very much if you can re use that license key again
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  4. Nus
    Posts : 242
    Win 10 Pro 64bit
       #44

    I've changed the RAM and hard drive on a test box, clean installed Win 10 and it activated. I shall be changing the CPU at some point this week to see if activation sticks.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 15,024
    Windows 10 IoT
       #45

    altae said:
    I'm somewhat surprised about the incorrect things that have been said in this thread.

    "There is no license": That's of course completely wrong. Microsoft is the holder of the intellectual property of Windows 10. They are the only ones that are allowed to use Windows 10. Everybody who want's to use Windows 10 needs permission from MS to use it and what's the name for such a permission? Exactly, it's a license. So in order to use Windows 10 you definitely need a license, even if you upgraded from a predecessor like Windows 8.1. The only difference are the conditions that license comes with. Permission to use software (either protected or open source) = license.

    "There is no license key": Wrong again, there is definitely a license key for Windows 10, even if you upgraded from an older Windows version. That key is needed if you want to install Windows 10 again (so called clean install). It can be acquired using tools like License Crawler or ProduKey by Nirsoft (which belongs to MS I think). Take a look at the following print screen which shows my license key of Windows 10 after upgrading from 8.1 (obfuscated of course).Attachment 35143

    Now back to the question of the op: I highly doubt it's possible to transfer the license of an upgraded Windows 10 to another machine. But I'd still try it. First make sure the hdds in the pc pc you want to sell are completely clean meaning Windows 10 is not installed anymore. Then I'd call MS and ask them to manually activate Windows 10 telling them something about a broken mainboard that had to be replaced. It might work but probably it wont. According to the EULA of Windows 10 upgrade it shouldn't but who knows
    All correct except for the needing the key part. You can clean install without it. You just click skip when asked to enter it. If you have already done the free upgrade on that PC, and are installing the same version you got with the free upgrade, it will activate. Google your key and you'll likely find out its the same generic key we all got as part of the free upgrade. My 4 PC's had the same 10 Pro key posted on these forums. You can enter it if you want though. I do it automatically with a PID.txt file on my install media to speed things up and save having to click skip. You'll get the skip prompt at least twice.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 550
    10 pro 64
       #46

    Nus said:
    I've changed the RAM and hard drive on a test box, clean installed Win 10 and it activated. I shall be changing the CPU at some point this week to see if activation sticks.
    Are you also using the Technical Preview version ?
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 203
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #47

    sn00ker said:
    You know Marron if you would of asked the question correctly you probably wouldn't of had all these responds . So you were using Windows 10 Technical Preview which Microsoft gave you license key for, then you upgraded to 10 pro . Now you want to re-use 10 Technical Preview key again on your new system. I don't believe you can but I'm not 100% sure since its a test version but I would of thought their an expiry date for those Technical Preview versions . Think about it whats to stop you from giving your key to anyone to use . I doubt very much if you can re use that license key again
    I'll be very honest and direct here. During the TP time frame there weren't so many users, and most of them were professional, and they wouldn't have any problems with understanding. Most of the answers were answered very good and were good structured and were backed up with official information. Now most of the answers were 'probably', or 'I thing', or 'should' and so on. If you don't know the answer, don't answer. Technical questions aren't meant to be answered with opinions, they are meant to be answered with solutions.

    To be honest, the impression that it gave me is that users post just to increase post count, which is BAD on a forum. Now I get that my question wasn't very detailed but it's 100% understandable. I have a PC, I want to sell it but I want to keep my license for the PC I'm going to buy. It's a simple as that.

    Not to clear up some stuff here. A license is not a key. A license is a license and a key is a key. Two different things. I have a license (actually more, because I own multiple PCs, but whatever), but I don't have a key.

    There are 'keys' on upgraded versions, but they are 'generic keys', all PCs share the same keys (there may be more than one that are spread on all upgraded PCs, some for x64, some for x86, some for Pro, some for Enterprise, some upgraded from 7, some from 8 etc). Now you may have noticed that my statement includes 'may', and that's because I'm not professional.

    In the end I get back to that. My question was very simple. 'Can I transfer my license from one PC to another ?', or 'Can I keep my license if I throw away my current PC and build another ?'

    Hope I'm clear,
    Marron
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 5,702
    insider build 10586.3 win10 pro 64
       #48

    NavyLCDR said:
    But it is a myth that Windows 10 stores information to the BIOS. Manufacturers can load a product key in bios, but no version of Windows ever has. Windows 10 will read a Windows 10 product key from the bios - if the manufacturer has loaded one there.
    the win8.1 key that is/was in my bios is different than the one that shows now with a key finder ,on the fresh install of win10 I have .I installed win8.1 on a new hdd ,it found the key in the bios ,I then upgraded to win10 and activated win10 ,it then showed a different key than the original win8.1 bios key, I then formatted the drive and did a clean install of win10,and the key that shows now it not the same as the bios win8 key ,,,,,so Microsoft issued me a new win10 key ,,, in a few days I'm going to change hdd and do a install of win8 .1 and to see if it uses the bios key ,I'm assuming it will do things this way
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  9. Posts : 5,702
    insider build 10586.3 win10 pro 64
       #49

    altae said:
    That of course is your choice. I'd try it without feeling bad. MS also does not feel bad about spying on it's users or about advertising "free" upgrades to Windows 10 that actually transfer a very expensive retail version into a cheap, hardware bound upgrade version.
    that's laughable, do you also have an aluminum hat
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 5,702
    insider build 10586.3 win10 pro 64
       #50

    Marron said:
    I'll be very honest and direct here. During the TP time frame there weren't so many users, and most of them were professional, and they wouldn't have any problems with understanding. Most of the answers were answered very good and were good structured and were backed up with official information. Now most of the answers were 'probably', or 'I thing', or 'should' and so on. If you don't know the answer, don't answer. Technical questions aren't meant to be answered with opinions, they are meant to be answered with solutions.

    To be honest, the impression that it gave me is that users post just to increase post count, which is BAD on a forum. Now I get that my question wasn't very detailed but it's 100% understandable. I have a PC, I want to sell it but I want to keep my license for the PC I'm going to buy. It's a simple as that.

    Not to clear up some stuff here. A license is not a key. A license is a license and a key is a key. Two different things. I have a license (actually more, because I own multiple PCs, but whatever), but I don't have a key.

    There are 'keys' on upgraded versions, but they are 'generic keys', all PCs share the same keys (there may be more than one that are spread on all upgraded PCs, some for x64, some for x86, some for Pro, some for Enterprise, some upgraded from 7, some from 8 etc). Now you may have noticed that my statement includes 'may', and that's because I'm not professional.

    In the end I get back to that. My question was very simple. 'Can I transfer my license from one PC to another ?', or 'Can I keep my license if I throw away my current PC and build another ?'

    Hope I'm clear,
    Marron
    yes ,likely ,if you sold the computer with out the os installed on it ,but if you left it install on the sold computer ,then NO you can use it on the new computer
      My Computer


 

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