System recovery from backup on a different but same model laptop

SIW2 said:

No. Logically when an os is moved to a different machine that would be a hardware change.

Previously if the different machine already had an activation on the ms servers, that would be fetched by the transplanted os.

There is problem with that now for free upgrade activations. MS have acknowledged the issue according to this article
Microsoft investigating Windows activation issues after closing a key loophole - The Verge

I know of the issues MS are investigating, and as I explained on your 11F thread, those issues relate to using the activation troubleshooter after a hardware change. I have tested that for myself and confirmed that the activation troubleshooter has been broken since MS turned off the free upgrades from W7/8/8.1.

Bree said:

I have just tested using the Activation Troubleshooter to activate this machine, telling it that I have changed hardware. That no longer works either. It may be that the changes MS have made have broken all such activation transfers, not just those for machines that got a digital licence by a Win 7/8 upgrade.

Free Activation from Windows 7/8 key or upgrade to Windows 10/11 Ends - post #15

But as I also said, I have tested moving an OS from one machine to another and it has invariably activated from the new machine's digital licence.

If Bree was testing in a vm that might be different for unknown reasons.

No, my first tests, both for the W10 version 1511 I showed in posts #9 & #11 and for the Windows 11 I showed you on 11F, the 'new' machine I moved the OS to was a physical machine, a Lenovo Yoga 11e which had obtained its existing digital licence from the free upgrade to W10 from its OEM W8.1.

I have now tested moving both those OS onto a third machine, a Dell E4310 that got its digital licence from the free W10 upgrade from its OEM Windows 7. Again, both copies of Windows were initially not activated when they found themselves running on different hardware, but as soon as they could contact the activation servers both activated.

I dont have an argument, I am just relating what happened.

I'm not trying to argue either. I'm actually trying hard to find a case where an OS with a generic key won't activate from an existing digital licence on another machine. So far I haven't found a single case where it has failed to activate.

sgeneris said:

But just as precaution: suppose that I restore and the licenses are deactivated (I do not trust MS at all and what they're fooling around with, this is why I run old versions of Windows that I do not let MS/WinUpd touch). Do I must then buy 2 new licenses?

I think it is very unlikely that you will have any activation issues.....

Are they available for Win10 and how much are they?

MS only sell Windows 11 keys now, but as there is no difference between a W11 and a W10 key (or digital licence) they should work for W10 as well. MS sell W11 Pro for $199.99: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/wi...o/dg7gmgf0d8h4

There are a lot of cheap keys advertised, some work, others have been found to be scams. It's 'buyer beware' if you got for a discount key.

I am trying to locate a MS contact to ask.

Good luck with that. You'll be lucky to find one that knows more about activation than you now do