Windows 10: Will Windows 10 Activate If I Replace Hard Drive With New One?

**SeanFilidis** · 30 Jan 2016

Hi,

I have an activated copy of Windows 10 running on my system. I am thinking of replacing my old HHD with a new SSD. I would want to do a clean install of Windows 10. My question is if Windows 10 will activate. Will it know its the same computer after I've replaced the disk drive?

Thanks.

**jimbo45** · 30 Jan 2016

SeanFilidis said:

Hi,

I have an activated copy of Windows 10 running on my system. I am thinking of replacing my old HHD with a new SSD. I would want to do a clean install of Windows 10. My question is if Windows 10 will activate. Will it know its the same computer after I've replaced the disk drive?

Thanks.

Hi there

Usually always. I've never had a problem with windows activation after replacing a HDD. Take backup image from old HDD and restore to new one. Simple - as easy as that.

Cheers
jimbo

**Sumit Dhiman** · 30 Jan 2016

Hello Sean,
Windows 10 uses digital entitlement method for activation where Your Hardware ID+Product key is stored on MS Activation servers.As soon as you install a hardware, the ID might change and your copy might be unactivated.Then you have to use Telephone activation to activate your copy.Chances are less that it should be inactivated, but you always have the option of offline activation

More details here:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-in/w...-in-windows-10

**Superfly** · 30 Jan 2016

Sumitdhiman said:

Hello Sean,
Windows 10 uses digital entitlement method for activation where Your Hardware ID+Product key is stored on MS Activation servers.As soon as you install a hardware, the ID might change and your copy might be unactivated.Then you have to use Telephone activation to activate your copy.Chances are less that it should be inactivated, but you always have the option of offline activation

More details here:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-in/w...-in-windows-10

Yup, but there are hardware tolerances built-in - such that motherboard has the highest weighting, then CPU, GPU, RAM, H/SDD etc...

The former will in most cases use up the tolerance completely (although there have been instances where like-for-like replacement did not) but a combination of these 'weightings' may well. The actual weighting of each component has long been a closely kept secret tho'

**Steve C** · 30 Jan 2016

I expect you will be fine. Two weeks ago I had Windows 10 upgraded from Windows 8.1 activated on the HDD in my Dell laptop but with some niggling problems. I installed a new SSD and did a clean install of Windows 10 (latest build). The first thing I did on logging on for the first time was to check the activation and it was already activated!

You might want to keep the old Windows 10 installation on the HDD for a while. I've bought a USB 3.0 disk caddy for mine to use it as an external drive.

**rchris** · 30 Jan 2016

I've done clean installs on new SSDs installed in two different laptops recently. No problems...activation was very quick. When you do the clean install, click the option for "I don't have a Product Key," or it may give you a "skip for now" option.

Windows 10: Will Windows 10 Activate If I Replace Hard Drive With New One?

Will Windows 10 Activate If I Replace Hard Drive With New One?

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