Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First  

Mike100 said:

If I do a clean install on another HDD but then decide to put back the original Win 7 HDD, will Microsoft be aware of that? IOW there's a break in continuity because the upgrade process has left that original drive. I cannot just click on "Restore" to let the whole system know what is going on. I'm concerned since there would not be a "Restore" function that something will not register properly. Does my explanation make sense?

Windows activations are stored on Microsoft activation servers based upon the Installation ID. The Installation ID is made up of the Hardware ID - which uniquely identifies the computer it is installed on, the Product ID which identifies the version of Windows installed, and the Product Key - which identifies the basis for the license/activation. Typically, every time Windows boots it re-calculates the Installation ID. As long as the Installation ID is the same as the last one that was calculated, Windows just stays activated without any additional action (such as contacting Microsoft activation servers).

Even if Windows did contact the Microsoft activation server, as long as it is on the same computer the Installation ID will match what is stored at Microsoft and the activation code will be returned. The Windows 7 activation information does not get changed in any way when the upgrade to Windows 10 is done. The Windows 10 activation is also stored at Microsoft when the upgrade is done. So, if the same Windows 7 on the same computer does contact Microsoft, it retrieves the Windows 7 activation code. If the same Windows 10 on the same computer does contact Microsoft, it retrieves the Windows 10 activation code. It does not matter how many times or how often this occurs so long as it is the same computer.

Move the hard drive to a different computer - the Hardware ID changes, therefore the Installation ID changes, Windows revokes it's local activation and contacts Microsoft. Depending on the type of product key (retail vs. OEM) and the number of times new activation has been requested, either a new activation code will be issued for the new computer - or a refusal code will be returned and the user will be prompted to call Microsoft for activation.

NavyLCDR -

Thanks for the detailed explanation.

Since Microsoft creates a digital license, how can the Windows 10 installation be moved to a new PC when the old one dies?

I have a question, Say I have an activated Genuine windows 7 computer. That I want to change to windows 10. Does the gatherosstate.exe to create .xml then wipe and clean install windows 10 from dvd still work after July 29/16 ?