Win 10 Transfer to new PC.

[zalophus]

I had a retail version of Win 7 Pro which upgraded to Win 10 Pro activated with a digital license, linked to my Microsoft Account

I now plan to build a new PC for Win 11, and wonder if I can use my current Win 10 product key to auto upgrade to Win 11 in my new PC, w/o installing Win 10 first .

Alternatively, can I use my Win 10 Product key to install Win 10 on my new PC and then auto upgrade to Win 11.

Thanks

 

[Grizzly]

the answer is definitely NO. The Windows 10 upgrade from Windows 7, albeit free, is connected to your hardware. When upgrading to Windows 10, a hardware token is stored on Microsoft's server. That way you do not need to install Windows 7 in case you need to reinstall windows 10. You can upgrade your Windows 10 to Windows 11 on the same PC, however, if you plan to build a new PC, that digital license you have, is only valid with your old PC. For the new PC you have to get a new license as the hardware does not fit anymore.