New
#151
Once you've done the upgrade, you can then clean install on that PC with no need to do another upgrade. I've done it. It's not an upgrade anymore and you have the right to do a clean install. In the past you would have to do that everytime if you bought an upgrade version of Windows. Or use a trick to get around it. You don't have to do that with the free upgrade, reinstalls can be clean installs. Like you say, a clean install on new hardware that has never been activated with 10 in the past will fail. By design. I'm not saying what your proposing won't work. But IMHO, it is not a transfer, its another upgrade install on new hardware. Not the same thing in my book's. You have your opinion and I have mine, I don't think we'll ever agree on this. What say we agree to disagree?
Maybe, maybe not? Hard to say what they are doing at this point. They may be monitoring it and if it gets out of hand they may block further upgrade activations done with that same Windows 7/8 key. That would force you to do a phone activation and explain what you did and why you did it. If the 7/8 key is recorded, they could then deactivate any other PC upgraded with it and activate your new install.
What’s the relationship between activation and genuine Windows?
Then let us call it checking for "genuine" status.