Will I lose my Windows 10 license entitlement if I upgrade the motherboard on my PC?
- Thread starter William T
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Probably.
Generally a new motherboard will not have the same chipset nor the same integrated devices so will look like a "new" computer to your installation.
IF you are replacing it because of some catastrophic failure, there is a slight chance that a call to Microsoft, might, get you a reprieve. It might be worth the effort.
Generally a new motherboard will not have the same chipset nor the same integrated devices so will look like a "new" computer to your installation.
IF you are replacing it because of some catastrophic failure, there is a slight chance that a call to Microsoft, might, get you a reprieve. It might be worth the effort.
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Upgrading does require a new Windows license if you have OEM Windows. If you replace a damaged motherboard with the same motherboard you wouldn't be required to purchase a new license. If this work is done by the OEM they will activate Windows.
I had to replace my older Motherboard two months ago and had to call MS, got a person who's accent made it a little difficult at first but we did get everything done or rather she did everything once I let her login to my system. While most of us would rather not allow that it was the best and fastest way to get everything done.
She did a great job and I was up and running in 30 minutes. So even though the new board was from the same vendor (Asus) it did indeed have a slew of new and better features and chip design so MS Win 10 did what it was suppose to do let me know I needed a new license, the only way around this is to call MS and get their support team to do all the settings for you.
She did a great job and I was up and running in 30 minutes. So even though the new board was from the same vendor (Asus) it did indeed have a slew of new and better features and chip design so MS Win 10 did what it was suppose to do let me know I needed a new license, the only way around this is to call MS and get their support team to do all the settings for you.
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Does that apply to a free Windows 10 upgrade licence?
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Did you read this article?
http://www.zdnet.com/article/micros...-rules-for-the-windows-10-anniversary-update/
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'Under the new rules, it should be easier to reactivate Windows on a PC after major hardware changes.'── quoted from the link in the above post.
Does that apply only to Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview or also to the upcoming Redstone?
Does that apply only to Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview or also to the upcoming Redstone?
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Well part of the reason for issues is the upgrade process is being done by MS only. I remember back in the day I bought a laptop with Vista installed and it entitled me to a free upgrade to Windows 7. What I had to do was register and on the registration site I had to select the OEM of the PC. After Windows 7 was released I receives the OEM upgrade and it came right from HP and not MS. Windows 10 free upgrade was obtained straight from Microsoft (with the same OEM or Retail type license inherited). Now I had a motherboard go bad on my Alienware and Dell support replaced the mobo and when I received the laptop back Windows was activated. So whatever activation was required it was done in the Dell factory. In the past I had a Sager laptop that had a mobo replaced and I was told to ship the PC for repair and remove the Hard drive. I did and when I received the laptop back I put the HD back in and it booted without needing to be activated.
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From what I've been reading, if you are doing this upgrade yourself, and can wait until after the Anniversary Upgrade AND sign in with a Microsoft account, the hoops you may have to jump through to reactivate will be greatly reduced. Licenses will be tied to a users Microsoft email account then.
I run 4 PC's all multi boot Win 10 and Win 7 or Win 7 Enterprise. One of them has a triple boot using two Win 10's and a Win 7. I moved one from an AMD board to an Intel board and phoned MS. Once passed the language barrier job done in 20 minutes. I later upgraded another from an i3 to an i5 on another board and experienced no problems with that one.
However, I run another on an AMD 3 core which can be unlocked to 4 but is refused by WIN 10 when using 4 core but accepted by WIN 7 which doesn't seem to care.
The fourth one is my 'do not mess with this one' which I converted from a Z61 machine to a Z77 and apart from a few fiddlly bits worked out of the box as they say.
So, it seems it's pot luck, sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. However, none are OEM and all licenses are legit and under my name.
However, I run another on an AMD 3 core which can be unlocked to 4 but is refused by WIN 10 when using 4 core but accepted by WIN 7 which doesn't seem to care.
The fourth one is my 'do not mess with this one' which I converted from a Z61 machine to a Z77 and apart from a few fiddlly bits worked out of the box as they say.
So, it seems it's pot luck, sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. However, none are OEM and all licenses are legit and under my name.
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The Insider Preview is basically a Beta in which users get the free license in order to test the new features before they are released to the general public.
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Apparently something is about to change.
http://www.extremetech.com/computin...build-can-tie-licenses-to-your-online-account
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Currently tied to a build, but likely it will be a new feature.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/3087...hoot-windows-10-activation-with-new-beta.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/3087...hoot-windows-10-activation-with-new-beta.html
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Yes the license is tied to the PC with digital entitlement. The new tool will help you activate with new hardware will require the MS account. But if you use a local account you may have to call MS to activate. The using the account is for the new tool with the new upgrade. Your Windows 10 is activated when you to the upgrade (if qualified upgrade) whether you use a MS account or a local account.
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Absolutely true.
I've done multiple clean installs on a couple different machines, using basic non-Microsoft user accounts.... just plain local accounts.
It seems once the machine is connected to the internet, it activates without issue.
Not sure how they do it. That must be one hell of a database.
Hope it never suffers any critical melt down or anything.
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During the early days of the Windows 10 upgrades - the first couple of days - the activation server DID crash. I had to wait three days for my Windows 10 to activate.
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I remember it well, although I'm not so sure it was an actual crash (as in data needed to be recovered) as it was the fact that it was temporarily overwhelmed and unable to respond to requests, which I guess is a sorta "crash" I'm just not sure if it actually went down or just stumbled and went to its' knees.