Windows 10 Pro Clean Install - Possibly Unattended - Need advice pls

I am sure I am not the first to ask this question but maybe not with all the specifics.

I am planning on doing an unattended install this afternoon on a new SSD I have purchased.

So, here are my questions:-

My current install is a digitally licensed version of Windows 10 Pro 21H2 Version 19044.1499

How do I go about NOT losing the licence? Will it just auto-activate when I log into my Microsoft Account or is it stored in OneDrive account?

I am on the lookout for an HP Z420. Currently this machine is an HP xw4600.

I've read the tutorial on the unattended install ie the one where the process is simplified.

However, what method should I use to install that will ensure that I can unplug the drive from the xw4600 and it work immediately once plugged into the Z420? Will any different drivers simply install when I plug it into the new machine?

Is there a log file in which I can see drivers installed for the xw4600 so I can then delete them when I transfer drive over to Z420 or is it simply not worth the hassle of trying to keep the system lean?

Unsure at this stage whether the WIM files on Microsoft will include the most up-to-date 21H2 iso.

Thanks in advance

James said:

Hi @Rhothgar.

It's worth taking a look at this first.

MSA = Microsoft Account

Hopefully this gets you further in your request..

-James

Thanks James. I think I have seen that before.

At present, I am just looking at preparing the answer file for an unattended install and beginning to wonder if this is actually possible.
@Kari gives some, what he refers to as, generic product keys in his tutorial on unattended installs but...

I ideally I would like to create answer file that ignores this because I have two computers here that I would like to maintain the ability to clean install with last Windows 10 version. It may be obvious.

just ran elevated command prompt to get ProductKey so I will use that. Maybe that is the generic one for Windows 10 21H2 it is showing me. In fairness, his tutorial was posted some years ago.

cereberus said:

Just a word of warning - the digital licence transfer mechanism is really to enable usess to transfer licence in event of failed hardware e.g. a mobo replacement. It is not really designed to enable user to transfer a licence from an old pc to a new pc, and it seems to be random as to whether it will work.

Do you have your original Pro key?

So glad you posted.

Probably not! My upgrade path was tortuous.

Windows XP > Vista Upgrade > Windows 7 Home Upgrade > Windows 7 Pro Upgrade > Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade > Windows 10 Professional

I thought that the hardware issue could be any failure. Whilst the SSD hasn’t failed, I just prefer to clean install from time to time and the new SSD is surely classed as new hardware. After all, a PC cannot operate without this critical piece of hardware.

I ran the CMD prompt ProductKey code and it displayed a product key. I shall try to install using that key.

Does the Windows 7 Pro or Windows 7 Ultimate is a retail key?
Win 7 OEM or SLP license can't be transferred to a new computer but Win 7 Retail license can.

In other words, you can use Win 7 Retail license key to activate the Win 10.

Not fully clued up on keys but the Windows XP was a full retail boxed version. The others were retail purchased upgrades.

Never had OEM from memory as I have never bought a built PC.

Not sure what SLP is. Single License Purchase?

Never purchased anything online from Microsoft.

SLP or System Locked Pre-installation is the kind of license used by computer big manufactures (HP, Dell, Sony etc)
OEM license you can buy on computer components stores and is intent to be used by small computer manufactures.
Retail license are the kind that you buy at supermarket or computer stores to be used by the user. They can be full or upgrades. They usually comes in boxes.

Find the box or DVD and look at the COA sticker to see if it says retail or upgrade.

@Rhothgar,

First, your digital license for Windows 10 for that computer is stored on Microsoft's activation servers. This is 100% independent of any MS account. The unique ID for the computer is 99%+ the motherboard itself. Unless you change the motherboard itself, you can change pretty much everything else and Windows will still activate so long as the motherboard is the same and the edition of Windows 10 or 11 installed is the same (Home, Pro, Education, etc.).

Microsoft has become very lax in allowing digital licenses to be transferred from computer to computer. In order to transfer the digital license from computer to computer, you must log into the old computer with a Microsoft account. This will establish a link in your Microsoft account that points to the digital license stored on Microsoft activation servers. In fact, any user who logs into that computer with their Microsoft account will get the same link in their own account.

When you move the Windows 10 or 11 to a new computer, it will detect the new motherboard and Windows will deactivate. If you log into the new computer with the same Microsoft account, you can run the activation troubleshooter and tell it that you have changed hardware. There is a very good chance that your old computer will pop up in a list and you can select it to transfer (and it actually copies the digital license, not transfers) the digital license from. People have even been able to transfer digital licenses from virtual machines to physical computers. OEM v. Retail has no effect on this process. Any OEM license can be changed to a retail license simply by changing the OEM product key to the generic product key for the same edition of Windows 10/11.

In regard to drivers, Windows 10/11 is very good at being moved to new hardware. There are two roadblocks to prevent success, generally. UEFI v. legacy BIOS (and GPT v. MBR disk partitioning), and the type of disk controller being used: SATA v. IDE v. RAID. I'm not sure if SATA to NVME causes an issue, I haven't done that move yet. It really is not worth it to try to delete drivers from the old computer. They are only taking up a few hundred MB of disk space.

@Rhothgar,

Run

Code:

slmgr /dlv

There is a 99% chance you are going to see a result that says Windows is activated on the retail channel.