Until Windows 7, whenever you bought a computer with the original Windows installed, a sticker attached to the base of the equipment brought the alphanumeric sequence that released the full operation of the operating system on your computer, attesting to its originality.

As of Windows 8, however, that has changed. Alleging an attempt to improve a machine's startup speed, Microsoft changed its practices and manufacturers started to insert the key of an OS unit directly on the motherboard. So, when you install Windows, the system automatically checks this information and everything works.

In Windows 10, things got even more restricted. As the system offered a free update for those using Windows 7 or Windows 8 / 8.1, Microsoft does not offer the user the information that contains the key for their operating system. In addition, the company does not touch the subject much, always avoiding official positions on the subject.

Change in the way Windows is activated
The upgrade to Windows 10 generates a new key, but there is no way to obtain this information if you have upgraded your system for free. In other words, Microsoft "gave" Windows 10 for free, but removed from its customers the possibility of completely controlling the OS.

This means that if you bought a computer that originally came with Windows 7 or 8 / 8.1 and upgraded it to version 10, you end up losing the possibility of reinstalling it on another machine.

During the update, a unique identification for your machine is created based on the hardware installed on the PC. Thus, the system communicates with Microsoft activation servers, which attest to the originality of your version of the OS and leave everything working properly.

This makes your life easier on the one hand, after all no matter how many times you reinstall Windows 10 on the same machine, it will always be checked correctly. However, if you decide to change your processor or motherboard, for example, you will end up having problems activating the OS.

Remember that configuring a computer is the key to uniquely identifying it with Microsoft. Therefore, if something changes, the company's servers fail to recognize your PC and Windows is no longer released.

How to activate the free license after changing hardware

Let's say you changed your machine's hardware. When trying to activate Windows, you are likely to experience problems and need to continue the installation by skipping activation whenever it appears on the screen. Then, when loading the system, you will probably receive some more warnings of the type, giving a deadline for the correct key to be inserted.

But now you don't have this information. What to do? Although there is not much official information from Microsoft in this regard, Gabriel Aul, vice president of software engineering for Windows 10, used Twitter to instruct a user to resolve the issue. In short, if you have changed hardware and are having trouble activating Windows, just contact the Microsoft support center.

Windows 10. Open the Start Menu and search for “Contact support”. Open this application and you will see the following screen:

Then, a Microsoft support agent contacts you, you explain the whole situation and, in theory, you should be able to activate Windows 10. They will probably ask for information about your Windows account and even about your machine's hardware. in order to confirm the veracity of the information.
Now, go to Services and Applications> Windows> Configuring and choose the option that is right for you. It is possible to chat online with an attendant, schedule a call for another time or request a call right now.