Switching three W10 systems

Hello - This might start out like a jumbled mess but hopefully I'll be able to clarify so please bear with me.
I have three systems A, B & C
A is main system running W10 Pro 64 and 3770K - w10 was purchased from MS store
B is secondary running W10 Home 64 and 980X - w10 was free upgrade
C is tertiary running W10 Pro 64 and Q6600 - w10 was free upgrade

ok, I am building a new KabyLake system. I plan on taking the OS from A and all the SSD's to populate KBL system.

I want to put the OLD mobo and CPU from A into system B *BUT* I want to take the W10PRO OS from C.

What I want to end up with is two systems - the KabyLake new system running w10Pro and the B system with 3770K also running W10PRO 64.

The remaining systems will be scrapped. I know how to physically do what is required but I'm confused as to moving the OS and reactivation.

If I just plug in my main system OS ssd into new system, I understand it should update the proper drivers and I'll need to reactivate. My problem comes when I just want to move the WPRO OS from system C - not the physical drive.

I'm guessing that I could image W10Pro drive from "C" to current W10 HOME drive in "B" and plug it into system. Shouldn't w10 recognize the system change and install correct drivers? Or should I download an iso from somewhere and do a fresh install?

As to the activation -without any product keys, can I (and how do I) link all my OS's to my MS account?

Hopefully I've given an idea of what I want to do - I am assuming it is possible AND within the licensing scope of my W10 installs.

Thanc!

Vic

Microsoft Account - Link to Digital License on Windows 10 PC

Click on "You recently made a significant hardware change":
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...troubleshooter

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/20530

Thanx! That was very informative. So, if I follow the logic, I link my MSA to the old system. I will then clone the small OS drive on that system to a larger drive and put THAT drive in the new system. I should then be able to use the link to reactivate the OS on the completely new system. Or would it be more efficient to cone the drive first and then link it and move it.

I appreciate the help.

Vic

The first thing you need to do is log into the same Microsoft Account from all three computers and make sure on the activation screen you see:



Then if you log in to your Microsoft Account and look in devices, you should see them all listed:

AHA! That's what I was missing. Each device will be listed. sorry for being dense but one more thing. Device A is Pro, Device B is Home and Device C is Pro - all will be individually linked. So if I take the hdd from A(pro) and install it in B(home) and use the troubleshooter to activate - the device B will now be A and I can trash B.

Vic

vgbaron said:

AHA! That's what I was missing. Each device will be listed. sorry for being dense but one more thing. Device A is Pro, Device B is Home and Device C is Pro - all will be individually linked. So if I take the hdd from A(pro) and install it in B(home) and use the troubleshooter to activate - the device B will now be A and I can trash B.

Vic

That is correct. Be advised, people have experimented with this and it looks like you can only move each Windows license 3 times through the Microsoft account. You should have a total of 6 Pro license moves and 3 Home license moves.

NavyLCDR said:

That is correct. Be advised, people have experimented with this and it looks like you can only move each Windows license 3 times through the Microsoft account. You should have a total of 6 Pro license moves and 3 Home license moves.

I shouild be good to go - this is my first try at this. Now I have one more decision to make - assuming if I transfer the Pro license to the Home system, I will lose all the installed programs and have to reinstall since none of them are on the original Pro system. SO i have to weigh the advantages of just staying with the Home system and keeping the installed items or switching and going through all the setups.

Either way, I think I have a handle on the process thanks to your help.

I appreciate it!

Vic

vgbaron said:

I shouild be good to go - this is my first try at this. Now I have one more decision to make - assuming if I transfer the Pro license to the Home system, I will lose all the installed programs and have to reinstall since none of them are on the original Pro system. SO i have to weigh the advantages of just staying with the Home system and keeping the installed items or switching and going through all the setups.

Either way, I think I have a handle on the process thanks to your help.

I appreciate it!

Vic

Why don't you just upgrade the Home to Pro and then transfer one of the Pro licenses to it? All you have to do is change the product key to VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T

NavyLCDR said:

Why don't you just upgrade the Home to Pro and then transfer one of the Pro licenses to it? All you have to do is change the product key to VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T

Now that makes sense. So - link the three licenses - on current Home system - upgrade to Pro - then link to prior Pro to activate.

How to do the in place upgrade with no cost? Settings/Update/Activate add product key?

V

Yes, change the product key to the generic Pro product key provided. It will upgrade to Windows 10 Pro, but not activate. Then you use the activation troubleshooter to move a Pro license from one of the devices listed in your Microsoft Account.