New installation of W10 Pro : activation?

fergusd · 3 Weeks Ago

I have a 2014 Dell Precision M6700 whiich in its day was a monster bit of kit.
It limps along horribly with W7. I know it will accept W10 Pro using Media Creation Tool. It won't take W11.
I never installed the "free" W10 OS when it was available at the time (though I did do this on an equally ancient Dell Optiplex 790 and for ever after it is activated, even after installing a fresh W10 from scratch on a nuked HDD).
If I go ahead with a new W10 installation on the M6700, I presume I will be asked to Activate. (?)
Questions:
Will I still be asked for a licence fee? (I certainly was on my more modern XPS13: it was by no means a small amount!! and I paid it, but I cannot recall anything about the mechanism for achieving this.)
Is there any way aound this, considering W10's age?
Will W10 eventually stop if I do not activate it (e.g. after 30 days)?
Sorry for naive questions.
fergusd
PS I could possibly transfer the licence from the 790 to the M6700? I find Windows licensing all so confusing .. .. ..

dalchina · 3 Weeks Ago

Hi, first, as you probably know, MS has largely closed off the free upgrade route from older OS's. That said, one member reported success from Win 8.1 with activation linked to a MS account. (See Tutorials section).

Second, you can get legitimate Win 10/11 licenses (they are the same) for $40. Examples have been posted on tenforums- I've posted one.

Will W10 eventually stop if I do not activate it (e.g. after 30 days)?

- You can easily ask Google and read the results: e.g.
All Disadvantages of Not Activating Windows 11/10 on Your PC - MiniTool

Unactivated Windows 10 – What Are The Disadvantages? – RoyalCDKeys

I could possibly transfer the licence from the 790 to the M6700?

Easiest if the digital activation right is linked to a MS live account (see Tutorials).

You may also find the text in the tutorial on the activation troubleshooter of interest.
Hint- the invaluable Tutorials section is searchable - do feel free to have a look.

Note that Win 10 will no longer receive updates after Oct. 25, and that it is possible to install Win 11 on 'incompatible' PCs.