
Windows 10 will not permit re-installation if any hardware changes - rmason
http://imgur.com/gallery/8OJ4t
======
leopoldo
The tech support guys is obviously not sure of what's going on.

I don't think it works like that. On my own experience, I did the free upgrade
last week to my HDD when it came out. I also created a USB drive to do a clean
install, during the weekend I replaced the HDD with an SSD and put a new RAM
stick in it. Windows 10 was installed from the USB stick and was properly
activated with those hardware changes without having to input any type of
product Key.

So yeah, bad on the tech support guy, but I don't think this will be an issue
for gamers who constantly change RAM, video cards and hard drives.

------
x0n
The activation algorithm is more complex than just being tied to a specific
configuration. It's weighted, meaning it's tolerant to one or two peripheral
components being swapped out (non-boot hdd, ram, gfx, sound) but typically not
the motherboard. Why? Because to Windows, this looks like someone cloned the
HDD and put it into another machine. It can't tell either way.

~~~
stephengillie
This is how it was for Windows 7. I think it was introduced in 2003 R2 or
Vista.

This is a non-story, it's the same behavior Windows has had for almost a
decade. People are only getting excited about it because Windows 10 is
trending.

~~~
ionised
I've installed my Windows 7 license on three separate motherboards over the
years (one system upgrade and one faulty board) and I never had a problem
activating with my license key.

------
minimaxir
I heard that the Windows 10 upgrade is tied to the motherboard. Having it be
tied to external hardware like a graphics card or RAM flat-out doesn't make
_sense_.

Thinking this is a Hanlon's Razor
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor)
) on Support's end.

~~~
hobarrera
> I heard that the Windows 10 upgrade is tied to the motherboard.

That still sounds absurd. IMHO, it's the best way for MS to motivate users to
move to _other_ operating systems.

~~~
sebastianavina
"other operating systems"

like windows 2000? thats been the default windows behavior for more than a
decade

~~~
hobarrera
Seriously? So, don't you lose a fortune having to re-purchase a licence every
time you change your motherboard (either upgrade or failure/warranty)?

------
profinger
I'm not sure if the imgur people are just expressing their opinions that this
is stupid and just assuming that no one can be that stupid or if a few are
more informed than a Microsoft tech (awful but not surprising) but the
comments there seem to lean toward this support person being incorrect.

------
tedsanders
Obviously a single tech support agent being wrong about Microsoft's policy is
not news.

From what Microsoft has said, it sounds like a new motherboard will require a
new copy of Windows 10, but other hardware upgrades will not.

[http://answers.microsoft.com/en-
us/windows/forum/windows_10-...](http://answers.microsoft.com/en-
us/windows/forum/windows_10-win_upgrade/reinstalling-windows-10-after-
upgrade/578d0b7f-57e4-4893-b9d1-6cfac0d6290a?auth=1)

------
SomethingNew71
Man, if this is true I am going to be very very disappointed. I am very happy
with Windows 10 so far. My main computer is my gaming machine which I have
Windows 10 installed on. I find it very hard to believe that they would
require a new install for new hardware. I mean just think, so when you need
more ram or you want to add a second GPU, you need to buy windows again?!?!

~~~
jeffmould
From what I have read it is only tied to the motherboard as others have
pointed out.

But to be clear the support conversation appears to be related to the free
upgrade process. Sounds like the guy completed the free upgrade, swapped
hardware out, and now he can't reinstall Windows 10. Right or wrong, I can
actually see Microsoft doing this. The free upgrade is just that, an upgrade.
It is intended to install only as an upgrade on a system currently running an
earlier version of Windows. If a hard drive was replaced and you needed to
install Windows 10, you would have to either (a) install the full version -
which would require a purchase; or (b) install an earlier version and go
through the upgrade process again. The problem there is that Microsoft may
only allow one upgrade per license key, in which case your previous upgrade
voided that license key for future upgrades.

It would be similar to having Windows XP running on your system and wanting to
upgrade to Windows 7. You go out purchase the upgrade license (cheaper) so you
can perform the upgrade. A few months later your hard drive crashes, you try
to install from the upgrade license and are out of luck. You need to go
through the upgrade process again or have a full version available.

------
sudo_free_cake
Well this seems silly. Surely at least one person who works at microsoft reads
hacker news, can any of you confirm or deny this ridiculousness?

~~~
vardump
Not working for Microsoft, but generally big companies have a don't say
anything policy except redirect the person querying something to public
relations. A normal employee is not authorized to speak for the company.

So you won't see anyone actually working at Microsoft declaring they work at
the company confirming, denying or correcting this issue. People want to keep
their jobs.

They _might_ talk about it anonymously, not mentioning they work for the
company.

------
shernan111
There's something so wrong about this. Microsoft should address this issue
fast.

~~~
leopoldo
That's not how it works. I replaced my SSD and RAM over the weekend and did a
clean install. Win10 was activated without asking me for a key.

