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Thread ID: 139965	2015-07-31 21:43:00	Windows 10 Upgrade - Future Reinstalls	learning (5137)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1405650	2015-07-31 21:43:00	So since Windows 10 upgrade is free for Win 7 users I was thinking of doing this. I currently have Windows 7 ultimate However I have a question regarding licensing for future reinstalls. When you upgrade to Win 10, then in future say if you reformat the hdd and need to reinstall Win 10, do you need to install Win 7 first ? But if you just install Win 10 after formatting then how do you know what the activation key is ? Is that provided to you during the upgrade? Also I am not a fan of "upgrades". I prefer clean installs. So If there is provision for future reinstalls...then if I upgrade to Win 10 from Win 7, then can I immediately format my hdd and then do clean install Win 10 with the keys that were provided during upgrade or is there some restriction ? Cheers	learning (5137)
1405651	2015-07-31 21:50:00	From what I've read if you upgrade from Win7 or 8 keep all files, it'll activate after the upgrade. You'll have the option of reverting back to 7 or 8. As long as it's within a month. If you do a reset or format later on (of Win10), it should stay activated. You can do a clean install of Win10 after you upgrade it. Thats what I did. I didnt keep anything after I selected upgrade. I did a clean install. Well, I thought it was a clean install but the windows.old folder was still there. Disk cleanup couldnt find it and I couldnt delete the folder. So, I wiped the whole hdd again It took a while for it to activate, but it did. After I read online MS were activating generic Win10 keys, I put one in, and it activated straight away. After I selected Go To Store	Speedy Gonzales (78)
1405652	2015-07-31 22:10:00	Sweet! Thanks Speedy. I will go ahead and upgrade to Win 10. Once upgraded, format hdd and perform clean Windows 10 install. So when you went to perform Windows 10 clean install, it prompts for key and where did you get this key? Was this provided to you during first Win 10 upgrade or you literally goggled a generic Windows 10 key and put it in ?	learning (5137)
1405653	2015-07-31 22:16:00	Nope it didnt ask for a key. As soon as you select upgrade (I mounted the ISO the MS tool created in Win8, then ran the setup file in it), it updates a few things, then reboots. Then you'll end up in Win10 I think I did mine wrong. I think I was meant to keep all files/programs. I didnt. I did a clean install. Which I think confused it lol If you keep all files, (tried this with EffieC last night) it'll carry the old key to the Win10 activation (thats what I've read anyway). Once it has finished upgrading, it'll automatically activate windows 10 Then in the future (if you format / reset / do a clean install)l, it should activate without you having to put a key in (Have no idea how this works). But again thats what I've read. BUT, I have no idea what you would do if it didnt activate again But its not like previous versions of windows, Windows 10 checks the devices in your system NOT the hardware	Speedy Gonzales (78)
1405654	2015-07-31 22:24:00	That's interesting. If I format my hdd and perform clean install then how the heck Win 10 knows I have license for it from previous upgrade since there is nothing on a clean hdd to verify? Unless you sign into MS account online during upgrade and then when you perform a clean reinstall in future and you sign in again, it verifies based on your MS account record? I think I will try on another test PC that has Win 7 Pro first and see how that goes	learning (5137)
1405655	2015-07-31 22:26:00	I havent signed into my MS account since I installed Win10. But youre right. How does it know. You cant sign into an MS acct during the upgrade, because you cant get online.	Speedy Gonzales (78)
1405656	2015-07-31 23:22:00	That's interesting. If I format my hdd and perform clean install then how the heck Win 10 knows I have license for it from previous upgrade since there is nothing on a clean hdd to verify? Its quite simple. Its got nothing to do with a MS Account. Once you have upgraded from a previous install (from W7 or8.1) during the upgrade that you do while in windows, W10 records your motherboard code and stores it on their servers. Lets say you put in a new HDD, you do a fresh install of W10, at the point it asks for a key, select Skip - while its installing as long as you are connected to the internet, it will go look for the previous stored motherboard code on MS's servers, as long as it finds it - it will automatically activate. If you install W10 and not connected to the internet then it wont activate until later as its still looking for that code. Microsoft are using generic keys to activate, its the hardware that's registered. Use a key finder and search Google, you'll see thousands of people have the same key. Think of it as KMS licensing. If your motherboard dies, you replace it - and you try to do a fresh install of W10 -- Then you'll need to purchase a new copy/License. Once the motherboard dies so does your license. Look at it like MS are enforcing the OEM licensing now. You may ring MS and try to explain whats happened but no idea what they will do, they may simply say tough luck. The big questions asked on insider are what hardware changes will cause the activation to become invalid, what can you change. The biggest change is the Motherboard as thats whats registered.	wainuitech (129)
1405657	2015-07-31 23:30:00	Awesome! Thanks for the explanation. That makes sense. I wasn't aware of the motherboard code recording!!	learning (5137)
1405658	2015-08-01 01:26:00	What happens if you have to change the Motherboard, and you have a retail copy of Win7 or Win8? This upgrade offer is only for 1 year from 29th July, 2015. You can still install Win7 or Win8 first and then do the upgrade within 1 year from 29th July 2015. After one year? No one knows.	bk T (215)
1405659	2015-08-01 03:35:00	Incidentally, windows.old file can be deleted easily using the disk cleanup tool, and clicking on Cleanup system files.	Terry Porritt (14)
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