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Thread ID: 146058 2018-04-13 01:13:00 Downloading Windows 10 for USB install - slow Nomad (952) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1448396 2018-04-13 07:26:00 Reinstall it, skip the key, it'll activate when online. That simple.

What's the identifier? Say the hard drive was replaced. Install it. And ...

Edit - oh yes. I gotcha. Windows 7 would have the serial key ...
Nomad (952)
1448397 2018-04-13 08:08:00 No need for a key because it ties to the hardware, change the motherboard and you might have an issue but that's not the same computer at that point. You can change just about anything else and should be fine. Hard drives don't count at all.
Windows has generated a unique identifier based on the hardware you install it on going back many versions and then that's stored online to check against future activations.

That's how it knows a key is already used on another machine if someone else tries to use it, it compares it to the stored hardware identifier.
With 10 however they decided to use that identifier to reactivate windows automatically if the same hardware is detected again on a new install without making you enter the key again. It's really quite convenient.
dugimodo (138)
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