Reformatting Windows 10 after free upgrade from Windows 7

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Looking to get an SSD for my Dads PC as he currently has a single mechanical hard drive that has everything on (OS, games and his other programs). It hasn't been reformatted since we built it a few years back and takes a while for things to get started up. So with this SSD I was going to do a clean install and just put his OS and most used programs on it.

He upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 7 using the free upgrade when it first came out. Would he need to buy a new key or can we install Windows 10 and use the Windows 7 key that is used on his PC currently?
 
I believe -or this is how it has gone for me- that if the W10 is associated with his outlook account then you can reactivate a fresh install by logging in and selecting 'substantial hardware change' or something like that.
 
The key will be associated with the motherboard so when installing don't enter a product key and it will activate itself later.

Do as said above and link the key to his MS account as a backup but it should be fine.
 
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