Windows 10 upgrade, do i need to rebuy Win10?

[JimKiler]

My in laws have an old Code 2 Quad computer they bought from Dell. I have upgraded it to Win 7 and Win 10 and now it is dying. It needs a new everything but SSD drive and case. So will I have to pay to put Win10 back on the computer since the mobo and CPU will be replaced? I want to quote them the upgrade price but i am not sure if I need to throw the price of Windows into that quote or not.

 

[deustroop]

Create an MS account . See
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12440/windows-10-activation

Activating Windows 10 after a hardware configuration change
If you made a significant hardware change to your device (such as replacing the motherboard) Windows 10 might no longer be activated. If you're running Windows 10 (Version 1607) and added your Microsoft account and linked it to the digital license on your device, you can use the Activation troubleshooter to reactivate Windows. For more info, see Using the Activation troubleshooter.

You create an account from Settings/System, Display/About/Change Product Key

 

[JimKiler]

I hope it is not too late to do that. My Father in Law says the PC sounds like a model T upon turning on the power switch.

 

[JackMDS]

Unlike cars a Noise from a simple consumer computer can be related to a $3 fan or av $20 PSU.

The computer can work well as a computer even if it is noisy, and taken care of the noise can be very simple affair.

 

[JimKiler]

Unlike cars a Noise from a simple consumer computer can be related to a $3 fan or av $20 PSU.

The computer can work well as a computer even if it is noisy, and taken care of the noise can be very simple affair.

They bought this PC in 2007 and sleep mode does not work. It never wakes. Now with this noise it is time to upgrade it. I am going to build them a kaby lake machine for $400 give or take.

 

[JimKiler]

Create an MS account . See
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12440/windows-10-activation

Activating Windows 10 after a hardware configuration change
If you made a significant hardware change to your device (such as replacing the motherboard) Windows 10 might no longer be activated. If you're running Windows 10 (Version 1607) and added your Microsoft account and linked it to the digital license on your device, you can use the Activation troubleshooter to reactivate Windows. For more info, see Using the Activation troubleshooter.

You create an account from Settings/System, Display/About/Change Product Key

I got their PC tonight, the thing would not turn on. I brought it home and hooked it up to my secondary PC's PSU and it booted. I was able to convert their account to a MS one and now I will order them replacement parts:

• ASUS Z170-E LGA 1151 ATX Intel Motherboard 69.99 http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.aspx?sku=964536
• Intel Core i5-7500 Kaby Lake 3.4 GHz LGA 1151 Boxed Processor 199.99 http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.aspx?sku=200154
• G.SKILL Aegis 8GB (2 x 4GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200) Intel Z170 Platform / Intel X99 Platform Desktop Memory Model F4-2400C15D-8GIS 52.99 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232250
• SeaSonic SSR-450RM 450W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready 64.99 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151124&ignorebbr=1
• Cooler Master HAF 912 - Mid Tower Computer Case with High Airflow, Supporting up to Six 120mm Fans and USB 3.0 56.99 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16811119233

this is a definite budget build so if anyone wants to suggest anything else feel free. I know i could get a n i3 CPU instead but they had a Core 2 Quad so i don't want to downgrade them even though i know a i3-7100 would work. Depending on how loud the stock heatsink and fan are i may spend $15-$20 to replace it. I finally did that on my 4790K and cannot believe how much noise i was putting up with.

I will order the above parts, put the existing SSD in it and hope windows will allow me to continue to use it. Then i have to decide to reinstall windows or not. I suppose i can do their factory restore mode if I want to be lazy.

 

[quikah]

You will need to reactivate it. Mostly likely it will not work. What was the win 7 license? OEM or retail?

If it was OEM you technically need a new license as that is attached to the old system, OEM cannot transfer.

If it is retail you can transfer the license to the new system, but win 10 upgrade license won't transfer afaik. I believe the upgrade from 7 is still unofficially free, so you should be able to reinstall using the original 7 license.

 

[JimKiler]

You will need to reactivate it. Mostly likely it will not work. What was the win 7 license? OEM or retail?

If it was OEM you technically need a new license as that is attached to the old system, OEM cannot transfer.

If it is retail you can transfer the license to the new system, but win 10 upgrade license won't transfer afaik. I believe the upgrade from 7 is still unofficially free, so you should be able to reinstall using the original 7 license.

I bought win 7 retail 3 pack upgrade for my extended family. So I can do a win 7 to 10 upgrade if needed.

 

[daveybrat]

Why the Asus Z170 board? They aren't going to overclock and there's no guarantee it'll recognize the Kaby Lake cpu if it comes with an older bios.

Spend less and get them something like this:

http://www.microcenter.com/product/473317/B250M_Pro4_LGA_1151_mATX_Intel_Motherboard

$49 after $30 bundle/cpu savings with no mail in rebate to worry about. And native support for Kaby.

And you shouldn't need more than the stock Intel heatsink. On your 4790K it wouldn't be recommended as that runs at 91Watts at 4GHz stock. The Kaby you linked is only 65W at 3.4GHz.

 

[deustroop]

I bought win 7 retail 3 pack upgrade for my extended family. So I can do a win 7 to 10 upgrade if needed.

Won't be necessary. The whole point of the above noted Troubleshooter is to protect activation on replaced systems. Use the MS account , just fill in the blanks of the account and activation should follow. If not, a call to MS support will fix it up.

 

[JimKiler]

Why the Asus Z170 board? They aren't going to overclock and there's no guarantee it'll recognize the Kaby Lake cpu if it comes with an older bios.

Spend less and get them something like this:

http://www.microcenter.com/product/473317/B250M_Pro4_LGA_1151_mATX_Intel_Motherboard

$49 after $30 bundle/cpu savings with no mail in rebate to worry about. And native support for Kaby.

And you shouldn't need more than the stock Intel heatsink. On your 4790K it wouldn't be recommended as that runs at 91Watts at 4GHz stock. The Kaby you linked is only 65W at 3.4GHz.

That is a good point and I was looking at a equivalent Asus mATX board but since i was getting a mid ATX case i was thinking a normal sized motherboard would be better. I have not went to micro center yet so I may take your advice. My in laws budget is $700 and I am already well under it.

 

[quikah]

Won't be necessary. The whole point of the above noted Troubleshooter is to protect activation on replaced systems. Use the MS account , just fill in the blanks of the account and activation should follow. If not, a call to MS support will fix it up.

Are you sure that would work (have you done it)? This is a significant platform change, he is pretty much building a new PC. I haven't tried this with Windows 10, but Windows 7 era it would never work. My understanding of this is to help reactivation for repaired system where you need to swap the MB with a similar/same replacement.

 

[JimKiler]

Are you sure that would work (have you done it)? This is a significant platform change, he is pretty much building a new PC. I haven't tried this with Windows 10, but Windows 7 era it would never work. My understanding of this is to help reactivation for repaired system where you need to swap the MB with a similar/same replacement.

I can let you know by the end of next week if it worked or not.

 

[deustroop]

My extremities are crossed

 

[JimKiler]

I see i need an upgaded BIOS on the mobo with CPU combo i am picking up at Micro Center today. I only have a 4790K. Can they upgrade the BIOS for me? If not I have no other options.

 

[JimKiler]

MS stated since my in laws copy of windows was 1607 that if I went to activaction and did the trouble shooter i should be able to re active and it worked. They gave me this link as well to explain how to do it

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/10738/windows-10-get-help-with-activation-errors

If you're running Windows 10 (Version 1607), the Activation troubleshooter might be able to help reactivate Windows if you recently made a significant hardware change (such as replacing the motherboard) or reinstalled Windows. To use the troubleshooter, select the Start button, select Settings > Update & security > Activation , and then select Troubleshoot. You must be an administrator to use this option. For more info about the troubleshooter, see Using the Activation troubleshooter.

Now if i can get this Asus motherboard to update so i can use a Kaby Lake CPU. It let me update but not to the BIOS version i need, sigh!

 

[JimKiler]

Further update, when i built the new PC for my in laws i wanted to be conservative and because i did not buy qualified RAM i only put one stick in the motherboard. I could not get the PC to work. Until i put a second stick in i could not get past the RAM check, very weird if you ask me. I figured one stick would work and 2 may not.

I did finally get the BIOS updated as well. When i did an online update via the BIOS it updated the BIOS but not to the newest one from Dec 29th. I downloaded to the main drive an SSD and went back into the BIOS but even though i could navigate the SSD, the mobo could not read the file. I had to copy it to a HDD and then i was able to upgrade the BIOS. I am not sure why the SSD was an issue if I was able to browse the drive but not read the file. Everything is working now but since i only did a 32 bit Win 7 and Win 10 upgrade in the past tonight I am doing a clean install of Win 10 64 bit. I hope the activation goes as smoothly as last night.

 

[JimKiler]

I reinstalled win 10 today, did the Home Single Language version and then went to activate windows but it said i can upgrade (this was my only choice) so i upgraded to the digital home copy. I have no idea what that means or what was added but everything is running and smooth as can be. Thanks everyone!

 

[deustroop]

I can uncross now.

 

[quikah]

Hmm. Little unclear, did you install Win7 first then upgraded to 10, then reinstalled 64bit 10 clean?

 

[JimKiler]

Hmm. Little unclear, did you install Win7 first then upgraded to 10, then reinstalled 64bit 10 clean?

I upgraded my in laws to Win 7 years ago then did Win 10 when that came out but both were the 32 bit versions. So the only thing i did this week was upgrade the parts but still booted from the same SSD from the old PC. Windows loaded and required reactivation. I did that, updated the BIOS, and used a Win 10 disc to do a clean install so they could get the 64 bit version.

The moral for me is if you have any custom builds for anyone you know make sure they have a MS account in Win10 so they can reuse their free copy of Win10 when it is time to upgrade.