New
#520
No. Windows activation has nothing to do with apps and software removed or installed.
I can think of only three logical explanations:
1.) Original, replaced Windows was version 1507 build 10240
Windows introduced digital licensing (also called digital entitlement) first in November 2015 update, version 1511 build 10586. When Windows 10 is reinstalled on a machine which previously had an activated Windows 10 with a digital license, new installation will be automatically activated based on the machine's hardware signature.
If the original Windows version was 1507 build 10240, the machine had no digital license available therefore a clean reinstall will not be automatically activated. Activation requires a product key or a volume license. To keep version 1507 activation you should use in-place upgrade install method, not clean install.
2.) Wrong edition
If the replaced Windows installation is version 1511 build 10586 or later but different edition than the new installed Windows it would not be automatically activated. Digital licenses are edition but not language or bit version specific.
3.) Not enough patience
For the digital license to be checked and Windows activated, you sometimes have to wait. I have had one reinstall I remember very well because of how long the activation took; keeping the machine on and online only rebooting it occasionally after clean reinstall of Swedish Windows 10 Education version 1607 on a previously digitally activated machine, doing the reinstall early in the morning, it took to next afternoon and several reboots before Windows was automatically activated.
Having to wait an hour or two and a few restarts is not uncommon.
That being said, I would never in any circumstances use a production machine in active use with a previously activated Windows 10 as a technician machine to prepare Windows! This whole tutorial and method told in it is based on that fact: use a specific non-activated technician machine (in case of this tutorial I use a Hyper-V virtual machine) to prepare Windows image, then deploy it to production machines. Windows does not need to be activated when preparing it in Audit Mode.
When install image has been prepared and sysprepped, capture the image and deploy it. In this tutorial I use somewhat unorthodox deployment method, capturing the image as a Macrium system image then deploying it by using Macrium image restore function. Reason this tutorial tells about the Macrium method is that I tried to keep this somewhat complicated process as simple as possible to suit needs of private users.
For more professional approach, to capture and deploy the image on corporate / organisational networks you can and should of course use more professional tools and methods, like for instance capturing image with DISM and deploying with Microsoft Deployment Toolkit.
Anyway, if I should make a bet now my money would go to option 3 in above list :)
Kari
Last edited by Kari; 22 Feb 2017 at 19:45. Reason: Fixed some typos