With a new CPU/Mobo, how much does it cost to re-activate my license?

If I get a new mobo/CPU how much does it normally cost to re-activate Windows 10 PRO? (USA)

I can obtain a license for Windows 10 Education cheaply. Does that help me in any way? Can I use that license to re-activate Pro? If not, can I use that to upgrade my deactivated Pro installation painlessly to Education (no extra cost, no reinstall)?

Thanks.

dkhsab said:

If I get a new mobo/CPU how much does it normally cost to re-activate Windows 10 PRO? (USA)

I can obtain a license for Windows 10 Education cheaply. Does that help me in any way? Can I use that license to re-activate Pro? If not, can I use that to upgrade my deactivated Pro installation painlessly to Education (no extra cost, no reinstall)?

Thanks.

That all depends on many things. Do you have a copy of Windows 7 or 8.x retail? If so, you can install that and upgrade for free to 10. What's on your computer now? What OS was it originally?

Mystere said:

That all depends on many things. Do you have a copy of Windows 7 or 8.x retail? If so, you can install that and upgrade for free to 10. What's on your computer now? What OS was it originally?

I have an original copy of Windows 8.0. That was on this PC initially, before the free upgrade to Windows 10 Pro.

I should clarify that I want to move my current Windows 10 Pro HDD to the new computer and keep using it. I would like to not have to reinstall everything.

dkhsab said:

I have an original copy of Windows 8.0. That was on this PC initially, before the free upgrade to Windows 10 Pro.

I should clarify that I want to move my current Windows 10 Pro HDD to the new computer and keep using it. I would like to not have to reinstall everything.

It depends on what kind of copy was originally on the old computer. If it was an OEM copy, it's probably activated with an embedded key in the BIOS, which won't exist on your new computer.

Mystere said:

It depends on what kind of copy was originally on the old computer. If it was an OEM copy, it's probably activated with an embedded key in the BIOS, which won't exist on your new computer.

Yes, so I would need to get a new license because Windows 10 will de-activate when it detects the hardware change. But I want to move over my existing Win 10 Pro hard drive to the new PC and and re-activate/re-license my Windows installation (not re-install).

My question is how much it would cost me to renew my license in this case and which Windows 10 license I can use:
i) Could I get a Windows 10 upgrade license or does it need to be a full Windows 10 license for re-activation of my existing installation?
ii) If I get a more featured version of Windows 10, namely Education, can I use the Win 10 Education license to re-activate and simultaneously upgrade my de-activated Windows 10 Pro installation?

dkhsab said:

I have an original copy of Windows 8.0. That was on this PC initially, before the free upgrade to Windows 10 Pro.

I should clarify that I want to move my current Windows 10 Pro HDD to the new computer and keep using it. I would like to not have to reinstall everything.

There's a chance that Windows may not run if you transfer a boot disk into a system with different hardware. That's completely aside from activation.

I haven't tried it in years, but you may be able to get it to work using the sysprep utility. That can be used to configure a generic version of Windows for installation on diverse hardware.

Whatever you try, be sure to image the existing Windows installation before. That at least will enable you to get back to where you are now.

dkhsab said:

ii) If I get a more featured version of Windows 10, namely Education, can I use the Win 10 Education license to re-activate and simultaneously upgrade my de-activated Windows 10 Pro installation?

The answer to that question is yes.