This type of license will also have a product key. To get an upgrade license of Windows, you can purchase a volume license.This type of license will come with a product key. To get a full license of Windows, you need to purchase either a OEM license (when you buy a new PC) or a retail boxed product license.The moral of the story is that it pays to know how Windows licensing works. For more details on that, see Bott’s follow-up article here. But that will change with the new build that will be released in November. For more details on that, read Ed Bott’s article here. Third, it’s possible to do a clean install of Windows 10 instead of an upgrade, but you’ll first have to jump through some hoops so that Microsoft will generate your Windows 10 license and assign it to your device’s hash. If so, then Microsoft makes an internal note, updates the status of your unique hash, and assigns a Windows 10 license certificate to it. When you install Windows 10, Microsoft does an internal check of your hash to see if that device previously has been assigned a genuine license of Windows 7, 8, or 8.1. That’s why you don’t need to enter a license key when you do the free upgrade from Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 to Windows 10. Somewhere within the bowels of Microsoft’s infrastructure is a record of each hardware hash and what license is tied to that hash. Second, Microsoft keeps tabs on the license that is tied to each hash.
So it seems that the hash is tied to the motherboard.
If you replace the motherboard, you need to get a new Windows license (or call Microsoft support and try to talk them into giving you a key). It is similar to a VIN number on a car: it stays the same, even if you replace the various components of the device. The hash serves as an ID number for your device. Along the way, Bott brings up several interesting issues related to how Windows licensing works.įirst, your Windows license is tied to a unique hash on your device. If you want to do a clean install, currently you’ll have to jump through some hoops to make it work, but in an upcoming build of Windows 10, you will also be able to use a license key for Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 to complete the upgrade. To summarize, if you start with a valid Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 installation and upgrade from there, then you never have to enter a product key. In a couple of recent articles on ZDNet, Ed Bott explains how to activate your free Windows 10 upgrade license.
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