Planning to upgrade to Skylake, am I screwed transferring my Win 10?

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dukenuke88

[H]ard|Gawd
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So for those who have $15 Win 8 keys from 3 years ago....and already used them up on the Win 10 free offer....Are we all screwed if we plan to get new hardware later down the line? Does that mean my Skylake mobo next month won't be compatible with this Win 10 free promo, since supposedly MS records all your info and any changes invalidates transfer?

Anybody here have extra hardware laying around to test and see if $15 keys (or OEM keys for that matter) can be transferred PC to PC at will? Just like the good ol days of Win 7 :D
 
Depends on if your 7/8 was OEM or retail when you upgrade to 10.

If you have retail you can upgrade your MB and reinstall without issues.
 
ep0x73 said:
Depends on if your 7/8 was OEM or retail when you upgrade to 10.

If you have retail you can upgrade your MB and reinstall without issues.
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Do you remember the $15 Win 8 keys MS was selling back in 2012? That's what I have, and I know many on this forum have it as well. I have no idea what type of key that is. I'm going to guess it's OEM based, but it was never specified.
 
The $15 Windows 8 key was an upgrade I believe, right? Technically the key you upgrade to 8.1 as well as the 8.1 key are "consumed" by the Windows 10 upgrade.

Whether the keys are locked into a specific upgrade is not known, but based on previous Upgrade editions, I do not believe it will be locked in. I believe you should be able to do a clean install of 7 on your new machine the upgrade again to 10 once you build it.

I'm in a similar situation as you but I'm just going to wait for the new system and go through the upgrade process rather than doing it on my current system then again in a couple weeks.
 
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bigdogchris said:
The $15 Windows 8 key was an upgrade I believe, right? Technically the key you upgrade to 8.1 as well as the 8.1 key are "consumed" by the Windows 10 upgrade.

Whether the keys are locked into a specific upgrade is not known, but based on previous Upgrade editions, I do not believe it will be locked in. I believe you should be able to do a clean install of 7 on your new machine the upgrade again to 10 once you build it.

I'm in a similar situation as you but I'm just going to wait for the new system and go through the upgrade process rather than doing it on my current system then again in a couple weeks.
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Interesting...I will keep an eye out if anybody reports this. I would try it myself, but I don't have another mobo to play around with. And I believe it only takes a mobo swap for it to trigger a "new system"

And yeah, I was planning to wait till September to upgrade my Win 10....but I got the urge and just jumped right in on my old system...lol
 
wait, what? I have several un-used Windows 8 Pro keys from the $15 dollar deal 3 years ago and just tried to use one in a fresh install of Windows 10 Pro ... no dice and it was a legit un-used key.

How and where are you doing? Link?
 
I'll just use Windows Toolkit to activate mine. I'm legit with keys so I am not worried. Microsoft has publically said several times that if you have Windows 8 that Windows 10 is a free upgrade so ... I'm golden.
 
dukenuke88 said:
Interesting...I will keep an eye out if anybody reports this. I would try it myself, but I don't have another mobo to play around with. And I believe it only takes a mobo swap for it to trigger a "new system"

And yeah, I was planning to wait till September to upgrade my Win 10....but I got the urge and just jumped right in on my old system...lol
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I'm not suggesting swap mobo after you install 7. I'm just saying re-use the Windows 7 install on the new system then upgrade.
 
This is a repost from the Intel subthread. I'm waiting until I get my skylake board just to be on the safe side.

Blind Man said:
Is this actually a thing?

If I'm sitting on activated Win8.1:

-Change motherboards now, keep same install, Windows 8.1 stays activated and upgrade to 10 works perfectly
-Upgrade to 10 on same motherboard, change motherboards, lose activation?
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That what it looks like.

If something major happens to the device that requires something as monumental such as a motherboard change (basically turning it into a new computer), Windows 10 will require re-activation – which will require you to purchase a license. This is what Microsoft means when it says "life of the device." Additionally, you can't transfer a license to a new device. But, if something disastrous does happen, it's usually more cost-effective to just buy a replacement device anyway and that should come pre-loaded with Windows 10. However, if you happen to buy a new device with an older OS installed, you can get the free Windows 10 upgrade as long as it falls in the free upgrade offer period.
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link

In order to register your install of Windows 10 an activation code will be created to uniquely identify your system. This is likely going to be some type of a hash code based on your unique system hardware configuration. It will probably use a combination of individual hardware ID’s for multiple items in your system like the hard drive, network card, video card. motherboard and possibly your Microsoft account to build this unique identifier.
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link

and then directly from the horses mouth:
When I upgrade a preinstalled (OEM) or retail version of Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 license to Windows 10, does that license remain OEM or become a retail license?
If you upgrade from a OEM or retail version of Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 to the free Windows 10 upgrade this summer, the license is consumed into it. Because the free upgrade is derived from the base qualifying license, Windows 10 will carry that licensing too.
If you upgrade from a retail version, it carries the rights of a retail version.
If you upgrade from a OEM version, it carries the rights of a OEM version.
Full version (Retail):
- Includes transfer rights to another computer.
- Doesn't require a previous qualifying version of Windows.
- Expensive
Upgrade version (Retail):
- Includes transfer rights to another computer.
- require a previous qualifying version of Windows.
- Expensive, but cheaper than full version
OEM :
OEM versions of Windows are identical to Full License Retail versions except for the following:
- OEM versions do not offer any free Microsoft direct support from Microsoft support personnel
- OEM licenses are tied to the very first computer you install and activate it on
- OEM versions allow all hardware upgrades except for an upgrade to a different model motherboard
- OEM versions cannot be used to directly upgrade from an older Windows operating system
What happens if I change my motherboard?
As it pertains to the OEM licenses this will invalidate the Windows 10 upgrade license because it will no longer have a previous base qualifying license which is required for the free upgrade. You will then have to purchase a full retail Windows 10 license. If the base qualifying license (Windows 7 or Windows 8.1) was a full retail version, then yes, you can transfer it.
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link

Again, if you are sitting on a OEM license you do NOT want to upgrade to windows 10 until after you have your skylake motherboard

On the positive side, if this is as strict as it sounds, I do expect to see a bunch of z67/z77/z87/z97 motherboards with a free version of windows 10. lol
 
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SixFootDuo said:
wait, what? I have several un-used Windows 8 Pro keys from the $15 dollar deal 3 years ago and just tried to use one in a fresh install of Windows 10 Pro ... no dice and it was a legit un-used key.

How and where are you doing? Link?
Click to expand...
Are you trying to enter the product key in as Windows 10? If so that won't work.

You have to have a fully activated version of Windows 7 or 8.1 on a machine, then do the Windows 10 upgrade.

If you are building a new PC, reuse the Windows 7 or 8.1 key on the new machine, then do the windows 10 upgrade.
 
SixFootDuo said:
wait, what? I have several un-used Windows 8 Pro keys from the $15 dollar deal 3 years ago and just tried to use one in a fresh install of Windows 10 Pro ... no dice and it was a legit un-used key.

How and where are you doing? Link?
Click to expand...

Mine worked just fine. You HAVE to do the upgrade first. Or else Win 10 won't let you in. There isn't anyway around it I believe....Here is a nice explaination

http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1041760554&postcount=2
 
Yeah I've done the upgrade via the Windows 10 tester program and the experience was horrible. Performance was suspect, things were really wonky. The computer would just for no reason get so slow that I had to reboot and then when I would reboot it would say my password was incorrect.

So I did a clean install this AM and it's running beautifully.

I've never trusted upgrading to a new version of Windows on top of an exciting copy of Windows. Not only myself but a lot of people hate doing this.
 
So windows 10 is 'free' but upgrading users lose their previous retail rights. That's not free.
 
Not at all correct that you lose your retail rights.
Not sure why some people have such a hard time with the idea of a free upgrade, maybe no additional purchase would be a better way for you to think of it.
 
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