Windows activation questions (sorry if this is the wrong section)

[Furball159.]

Hi,

 

this is a weird question but here me out.

 

About 6 Years Ago I used the windows 7-10 free upgrade for my pc.

 

At the moment i noticed it has been really slow and now that i wanted to use it again i wanted to replace the old HDD with a SSD and in the process replace the Windows 10 install on the drive.

 

Problem Is i heard Microsoft shut down the free upgrade late last year, and since i had used it will reinstalling windows 10 revoke the activation or since i had already upgraded will it be okay.

 

I appreciate all help with this, but i have to be certain no educated guesses.

 

Regards

[Tan3l6]

I think it will be okay, but if the key is not accepted the not activated Windows is not that restrictive.

Also this might help - https://www.minitool.com/data-recovery/fix-windows-11-10-activation-key-not-working.html

[Hellowpplz]

8 minutes ago, Furball159. said:

Hi,

 

this is a weird question but here me out.

 

About 6 Years Ago I used the windows 7-10 free upgrade for my pc.

 

At the moment i noticed it has been really slow and now that i wanted to use it again i wanted to replace the old HDD with a SSD and in the process replace the Windows 10 install on the drive.

 

Problem Is i heard Microsoft shut down the free upgrade late last year, and since i had used it will reinstalling windows 10 revoke the activation or since i had already upgraded will it be okay.

 

I appreciate all help with this, but i have to be certain no educated guesses.

 

Regards

It should be fine.

[Furball159.]

5 minutes ago, Tan3l6 said:

I think it will be okay, but if the key is not accepted the not activated Windows is not that restrictive.

Also this might help - https://www.minitool.com/data-recovery/fix-windows-11-10-activation-key-not-working.html

So even if i do a fresh install its right, even if i chose not to use a Microsoft account because i forgot to mention i don’t use mine with windows

[Tan3l6]

2 minutes ago, Furball159. said:

So even if i do a fresh install its right, even if i chose not to use a Microsoft account because i forgot to mention i don’t use mine with windows

You don't need to use Microsoft account if I'm not mistaken, though the option to skip logging in with ms account is a bit hidden these days.

[Hellowpplz]

1 minute ago, Tan3l6 said:

You don't need to use Microsoft account if I'm not mistaken, though the option to skip logging in with ms account is a bit hidden these days.

Windows 11 just says no lmao. It's not there.

[Furball159.]

Just now, Hellowpplz said:

Windows 11 just says no lmao

I tend to use custom ISO’s for that anyway so it yeah thats not my concern.

[Furball159.]

1 minute ago, Hellowpplz said:

Windows 11 just says no lmao

To be safe should i just keep the old drive with old windows intact incase the activation does fail, and if that does happen can i clone the old one to the new one and reset it? To keep activation

[Hellowpplz]

1 minute ago, Furball159. said:

To be safe should i just keep the old drive with old windows intact incase the activation does fail, and if that does happen can i clone the old one to the new one and reset it? To keep activation

You know that's not a bad idea

[Tan3l6]

Just now, Furball159. said:

To be safe should i just keep the old drive with old windows intact incase the activation does fail, and if that does happen can i clone the old one to the new one and reset it? To keep activation

If there is option to keep previous working install for backup it's of course the best option.

And yeah, making Window install media with Rufus should allow to use local account as default option I think.

[Furball159.]

1 minute ago, Tan3l6 said:

If there is option to keep previous working install for backup it's of course the best option.

And yeah, making Window install media with Rufus should allow to use local account as default option I think.

Okay thankyou both for your help, i will mark this as resolved and hope for the best when buying the drive

[Latvian Video]

46 minutes ago, Hellowpplz said:

Windows 11 just says no lmao. It's not there.

iirc you can put in a blocked email, then it complains about it and you can create an account without one

[atarione]

You can check the detailed registration information using the command    "slmgr /dlv"

 

In my example this was my Windows 8 ultimate retail key... which I used for the windows 10 upgrade and then windows 11 after that.     If you have a retail key then the drive swap should go fine... you can also check settings > system > activation :: 

 

 

you can read this:: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/reactivating-windows-after-a-hardware-change-2c0e962a-f04c-145b-6ead-fb3fc72b6665

for information on reactivating windows after a hardware changes.

 

 

[Tan3l6]

And if you need your key, then ShowKeyPlus helps.