Windows 10 asking activation after bios update.

Soldato
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I had a windows 7 installed on my machine and did the free upgrade to windows 10 since august.
yesterday I did a update on my bios and now my windows "not activated"
tried to activate using the key I got after I did the upgrade and doesn't work.
went to microsoft support chat, they said it was because I did a Clean installation on my windows and it was suppose to be a upgrade from early version.
I said but after the update I got a key and did a clean installation, they said it should work for some days and then I could have a problem, but I could not do a clean installation.
but if you go on microsoft website: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/upgrade-to-windows-10-faq?ocid=win10_wol_help_faq

Can I reinstall Windows 10 on my PC after upgrading?
Yes. Once you’ve upgraded to Windows 10 using the free upgrade offer, you can reinstall or perform a clean installation on the same device. You won’t need a product key to re-activate Windows 10 on the same hardware. For more info on how to create your own Windows 10 installation media, go to the Microsoft software download website.

after I came with this information the girl from support closed the chat on me :mad:

Khim S.
Answer Tech has ended the chat.
14:36
 
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The issue is that your bios update has changed your hardware ID that W10 activates from which W10 now classes as new hardware even though its not.

to get W10 activated you would need to install W7 again (make sure its activated) and upgrade to W10 (again make sure its activated) and then if you want to do a clean install you can.

there was talks of Microsoft now allowing W10 to be activated from a W7 or 8.1 key but not too sure if this build of W10 is available to the public.
 
what if i bought a physical copy of w10?

what would happen if i upgraded my mobo, would i have to buy a new copy of w10 everytime i upgrade ??
 
what if i bought a physical copy of w10?

what would happen if i upgraded my mobo, would i have to buy a new copy of w10 everytime i upgrade ??

On an OEM licence yes, you'd need to rebuy. This has been the case for years.


You can try forcing a telephone activation SLUI 4 from a run line see what happens.
 
So, if you have a retail copy of W7, does it in effect become an OEM copy of W10 when you 'upgrade'?
 
So, if you have a retail copy of W7, does it in effect become an OEM copy of W10 when you 'upgrade'?

I have been reading that the Retail licence for W7 isn't valid as a retail licence for W10 but I'm not sure.. I'm about to find out next week as i've upgraded by PC from W7 to W10 using a W7 retail licence and have ready a W10 installer. My guess is that i'm going to have to go through win 7 first.. Which is fine until the W10 free period expires then I might might be forced to get a new licence.. This is only what I've read btw.
 
what if i bought a physical copy of w10?

what would happen if i upgraded my mobo, would i have to buy a new copy of w10 everytime i upgrade ??

if you buy windows 10 you want to make sure its the retail copy and not OEM, retail can be moved from PC to PC as long as there is only 1 PC with the key active.

OEM copies are tied to the mobo and cannot be moved, retail W10 is £85.99 and comes on a USB stick
 
I told them that was because of the Bios update and they kept saying that it wasn't.

I spoke to them again, actually the online chat took just over 2 hours but they gave me a new serial and now it is working, so I don't need to reinstall. :)

BUT, there is always a but...
the future problem is that my MB has dual bios and I have 2 different bios version (older one is better for overclocking, but last one has some new features and is suppose to be more stable)
 
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I went on the chat again, to ask about that and I got this answer:

Shruthi N
Microsoft Answer Tech

Shruthi N
A single computer will never have two BIOS.
14:18

so yeah, nvm... I will keep my current bios up :p
 
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