On 30/12/2020 23:06, Paul wrote:
John Rumm wrote:
On 30/12/2020 18:18, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
After serious thinking John Rumm wrote :
For future reference. if you have you PC logged in with an online
account (MS, outlook, live etc), then it can link the windows
activation to the account. Hence you can change a mobo, and when you
login again it will recover the activation state.

(which sounds like what happened here - even if not on the first
attempt!)

I just didn't manage to log in at all, until it actually got as far
as being fully booted up into Windows. It seemed to take pity on my
predicament :-)

Generally if you had it linked to an account before the upgrade you
should be ok. (the activation status will report something like
"activated with a digital licenses associated with account bla bla" or
similar. You just get the "activated with a digital license bit" if it
s not linked to an account.

I have been caught out like that on machines that only had a local
account, and that had a complete motherboard failure. Hence all the
advice to protect the activation state by linking to an account is a
bit moot since you can't boot it to link it - catch 22.

If you buy a Windows 10 laptop, it has a license key in
the ACPI MSDM table (part of the BIOS presumably). If you
move a hard drive to a different proprietary motherboard,
like a Dell motherboard, Windows 10 as an OS, could recognize
the Windows 10 key in MSDM and use that.

Indeed - it might activate as a "different" license - but if it works I
expect you don't care. :-)


But the chances of that are pretty remote.

If the "Personalize" menu no longer works, that's
a hint you're not activated. You can try this, and
I think one of the lines of text indicates activation status.

** slmgr /dlv

** slmgr /?****** # see what options are on offer

** slui* /?****** # another command for license related stuff...

An uglier situation, would be you build your own computer with
a retail motherboard, which has no key in it. Apply a purchased key.
Then, need to change the motherboard later. When the NIC MAC value

BTSTGTTS

(IME a NIC change on its own will not usually prevent reactivation if
the rest of the hardware is the same)

changes, that may serve to de-activate the OS. Now, we're talking
about dealing with Microsoft Support, or, using the deal where
you use an MSA account in some sort of transfer procedure.
(I've never seen anyone recount such a transfer, what
details are involved).

The transfer is supposed to work, but needs to be set in play before the
old board is decommissioned. Alas not always an option.

(Apparently keeping a stack of old Win 7 OEM keys from scrapped machines
will also work to activate win 10 if needs be... DAMHIK)

--
Cheers,

John.

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