I have 2 licences (CD-Keys). For your Information OEM Keys in Germany are portable (transferable) to another System and are not hardwarebound like in the USA. 1. Windows 7 Starter Key (32 Bit) from an old broken Netbook. (Starter Edition is also eligible to Upgrade as it seems) 2. Windows 7 Home Premium old unused Notebook. I want to install and upgrade them on my Desktop Computer so that i claimed the Windows 10 Update for future use. The thing is I read that you dont get a new CD-Key when you upgraded and the activation is somehow hardwarebound. My Question is if i upgrade with my Desktop these 2 keys (first upgrade --> format --> next) how can i make a clean install for example after a year on another computer. Can you enter in Windows 10 Setup your old Windows 7 Key? (Dont think so) the hardwareID is different too so how does windows 10 know save my activation to use on another computer? Would be the same scenario in the USA if a person wants to upgrade 2 Windows 8.1 RETAIL keys on one pc and then use the same key on another PC with Windows 10 Clean install. So how to preserve your windows 10 activation?
The first question is pretty easy to answer. So I'll go for that one. If you 'Upgrade' either of your Windows 7 versions, you'll get Windows 10 Home and the HWID (Hardware ID) will be locked to that PC. So, if/when you do a clean install it will activate as soon as you go online. AND it won't matter which HDD/Partition you install on. Meaning you could use your second Windows 7 key on a second PC, but still have your two Windows installs on the first PC. The second question about moving that install to another PC latter. Only MS can answer that one for you. But, IMO. This is one of the reasons MS is offering a 'Free Upgrade' as opposed to a 'Free Version' of Windows 10. Its to try and avoid a lot of the legal and anti-trust issues they've had to deal with in the past. So, my guess would be, If you agree to take the free upgrade, you also agree that you can no longer transfer that license. But as I say, that's just my guess.
It is just that the perhaps rumour is going around that when you have Win 7 or 8 Retail and upgrade you get a Windows 10 Retail as well. At least i read this somewhere. So if you cant transfer your key to another pc then you wouldnt get Windows 10 Retail but Windows 10 OEM (Hardwarebound).
I think its just something left over from the Insiders Preview, because all the Insider keys were 'Retail' and we're all using Insider based disks to do our upgrades. So that licensing is being carried over. When the real ESD's/ISO's are released that will probably change. As MS has said that OEM installs will remain OEM after the upgrade and Retail install will remain Retail.
I wonder how they do it with german OEM versions bcs here its not allowed to make OEM Hardware Bound.
Both Win 10 licensed get bound to the very same machine . Keep in mind the Free Upgrade is diffrent to normal (bought) Retail keys and might be not that easyily transfered.
Yes, OP should not forget it is an UPGRADE of a previous license regardless how the laws concerning OEM:NON_SLP in Germany are...
Technically a license is always bound to the device and a license does not consist of a serial (only). And 'the device' consists of different hardware parts which can change... There are IID and CID... The question that remains is actually always the same: When needs a license re-activation and can it be done (via phone)...concerning the free upgrade we don't know yet...and this determines if the free upgrade can be transferred to an 'other' device.