activating w10

I have an older drive with windows 8.1 on it, I have copied the key from the OS. This drive was never updated to w10 but is a fully legal activated version of w8.1

I have just put together a new system and figured I could do a clean install of 586 w10 and just plug in the w 8.1 key and be all good for activation. Not so fast, activation will not accept the key.

MS tech on chat line said I would probably need to install old drive, fully update it and then upgrade to w10. That's a boat load of updates considering this drive was taken out the first moment w10 became available.

My question is I guess is there no less painful way to accomplish this?:)

What error message appears when you select the "Change product key" option and enter your Windows 8.1 key?

I don't recall the error code. I did look for it for a couple mins without success.

The key is from an Asus laptop I bought last year. I have since done the 188 windows updates

When the system rebooted the upgrade to windows 10 icon was in the taskbar and I am currently downloading w10. I think all will be good when the download process is complete. At that point I will remove the spinner drive currently doing the update and upgrade. Put my ssd back with w10 and see if it activates. I will be sure to have 586 w10 on both drives before proceeding.

When I talked to the MS tech on chat I told her my scenario and she was in agreement. Once I have an activated w10 on the spinner drive it is mated to my new system. The scenario I told her was like if I have legal windows 10 on a drive and the drive dies for instance... I don't need to buy windows 10 again, I just buy a new drive.

At worst I think is maybe a call to MS support to activate but frankly hoping that will not be necessary.

In your first post you stated you were building a new system, not just replacing a hard. Transferring the Windows by moving the hard drive from the old computer to the new computer is illegal to do with the OEM license that came installed on the old computer.

I hope that is not the case. I clearly told the MS tech support person what I was trying to do and was not told that there was this kind of issue at all.

If so I will just buy a new key from store...

doorules said:

I hope that is not the case. I clearly told the MS tech support person what I was trying to do and was not told that there was this kind of issue at all.

If so I will just buy a new key from store...

In Windows 7, 8 or 8.1, run winver (win+r will open run dialogue and then enter winver or type winver from command prompt). There will be link on the screen for terms and conditions or license. I don't have the exact Windows 8/8.1 text but:
Microsoft radically overhauls license agreements for Windows 8 | ZDNet

How can I use the software?

OEM

The software is licensed, not sold.Under this agreement, we grant you the right to install and run one copy only on the computer with which you acquired the software (the licensed computer).

In addition:
Licensing FAQ

Q. My customer bought a new PC and wants to move the OEM software from the old PC to the new one. Can't users do whatever they want with their software?

A. No, the OEM software is licensed with the computer system on which it was originally installed and is tied to that original machine. OEM licenses are single-use licenses that cannot be installed on more than one computer system, even if the original machine is no longer in use. The Microsoft Software License Terms, which the end user must accept before using the software, state that the license may not be shared, transferred to, or used concurrently on different computers. System builders must provide end-user support for the Windows license on computers they build, but cannot support licenses on computers they didn’t build. This is a fundamental reason why an OEM System Builder License can't be transferred.

I hit the store and gave MS some money.
Thanks for all the replies.