Ever wonder how Microsoft IDs your motherboard/hardware for Windows activation?

[trents]

https://www.pcsteps.com/4484-how-windows-activation-works/

It's more complicated than I had imagined. It's more than just a single MAC address.

 

[Alaric]

It's M$. I guess I just figured they broke in to your house and cross referenced the serial # with your children's DNA and your NSA file. LOL
Now to find this

Depending on the version of our Windows license (Retail, OEM or DSP), reactivation over the internet might be impossible after a "substantial" hardware change.

There is, however, a way to bypass this restriction, which we will cover in detail in a future guide.

Stay tuned!

 

[mackerel]

Interesting post. MS have relaxed the allowable changes over Windows versions. I recall cloning a Vista install to a new disk would trigger the need to re-activate. Similarly a mobo bios update could do it also, but maybe that changed some hardware IDs? For Win7 and later I don't recall ever having to reactivate as long as I don't change the mobo. I'm sure on some systems I've changed everything else without triggering reactivation. GPU, ram and storage devices get chopped around a lot in my house.

 

[Bill Dimwit]

Now to find this

https://microsoft.gointeract.io/mob...rtedFromSmsToken=9wSH3dR&dnis=24&token=527fTo

You can atavite xp/7 useing that link if you make major wh changes. Its the link M$ sends you when trying to activate over the phone.

 

[UltraTaco]

Dear Mackerel,
I had OEM(Alienware) Vista64 on my PC. It was installed on a mechanical hard drive, but when I installed it on an SSD, there was no hickups or anything. All I had to do was find all my "preinstalled" programs from manufacturer website, such as LED lights software and some other stuff..

That original hard drive is still in my PC, but it doesn't contain windows anymore, it is used as a "not-important-backup", maybe that's the reason it went flwaless? I don't rember reactivating it or buying new window

 

[mackerel]

Dear Mackerel,
I had OEM(Alienware) Vista64 on my PC. It was installed on a mechanical hard drive, but when I installed it on an SSD, there was no hickups or anything. All I had to do was find all my "preinstalled" programs from manufacturer website, such as LED lights software and some other stuff..

That original hard drive is still in my PC, but it doesn't contain windows anymore, it is used as a "not-important-backup", maybe that's the reason it went flwaless? I don't rember reactivating it or buying new window

What I wrote about applies to retail/individual OEM versions of Vista.

I'm not 100% sure about Vista as I never had big OEM Vista, but I assume it was a similar system to big OEM Win7. There are three components that need to be present and match up, and Windows will activate. 1, an OEM identifier stored in bios, 2, the product key, 3, the OEM's certificate (stored in OS). If they all are present, it activates without needing to phone home. So if you reinstall using the matching OEM version, it'll have the key and certificate already included and auto-activates. If you use generic Windows, it will be missing those and will not activate. Similarly if you move it to a system not from that OEM, it wont activate. I know this system was used in Win7, not sure about Win8, but it is certainly gone from Win10. More modern systems wont have that OEM identifier so you can't use an old Win7 OEM DVD to install and activate.

Note when I say big OEM here, I do mean the big names like Dell, HP, Acer, whatever. Not the individual OEM Windows you can buy.

 

[Niku-Sama]

I'm curious where it stores the "key" on pre built systems I re install windows on when they aren't connected to the internet and it shows as activated right away.
usually works 9 times out of 10, I format and go the whole 9 yards when I do this and it starts up activated already with out an outside connection. The reason I am curious is because that 1 time out of 10 that it doesn't work on I have to reformat and re do it but if there were a way to get that "key" (out of the bios/uefi I presume) I wouldn't have to eff up some ones day

 

[wagex]

it is pretty cool on OEM stuff like laptops, the key is stored in the bios and if you use an installation media for another version it will automatically change it over to the version that came on the laptop (unless you give it a new key). had this happen with a customers laptop that had win 10 basic installed and i used media from professional win10, after it booted it showed basic i was like whaaaaaaaaaat that's neat.

 

[trekky]

It's M$. I guess I just figured they broke in to your house and cross referenced the serial # with your children's DNA and your NSA file. LOL
Now to find this

You can reactive with the automated phone system if the key fails internet activation. works both with Windows and office, i have had to do it a few times for work.

 

[mackerel]

Win10 activation is getting more interesting... recently I bought a used mobo from a large e-tailer's clearance stock. Didn't think anything of it when I threw on Win10 to test with (skipping product key). To my surprise, it activated. Presumably it had a licence attached to it at some point in the past. Even though it is likely everything else I attached was different, the mobo alone was sufficient to identify it according to the article in OP.

 

[wagex]

You can reactive with the automated phone system if the key fails internet activation. works both with Windows and office, i have had to do it a few times for work.

ive even done this with windows server 2012 i was surprised they still had the option hidden in there iirc you have to invoke it through cmd