I have a PC with Windows 11 Core on it. It is already reigstered with a purchased license. I want to create a custom image with autounattend.xml and not have to use Microsoft account. Is that possible? I know how to do all of that with volume activation licenses, but not retail ones. I basically need to somehow copy/paste existing registration onto new installation of Windows 11 Core without having to login to Microsoft account. The same goes for MS Office 2021 Home. I want to be able to copy/paste current Office 2021 retail license information and receive updates, but not connect to Microsoft account. How do I do that? Hardware/HWID is going to be the same. I use NTLite to make all images changes.
The license is now a HWID, this is tied to the hardware it is generated on, so as long as you don't change the MOBO/LAN and install the same Consumer ISO SKU, the HWID will be picked up. There was never a need for an online account to have the HWID back after a re-install.
I'm confused. If I am to do a complete reset - BIOS, CMOS, full wipe of all drives, no data preserved, then how will license be activated if I don't connet this PC to the Internet?
Your license is turned into a HWID and HWID is online activation. It's based on the hash of the mobo/lan and saved at MSFT servers, whether you used an online account or not.
Which service is responsible for online activation? Can it be performed after installing the OS or is it required to be performed during OOBE for retail versions of Win11 24H2?
It is ran by inserting the retail key (when using a consumer ISO that is not needed) and connecting to the internet.
I realize I came off a bit dumb for asking such questions, but I do edit image with NTLite and disable a ton of services. If volume (KMS-VL-ALL) activation is used, you can disable or even strip services as ClipSVC and Windows License Service for LTSC editions. I assume one the services I mentioned is responsible for contacting MSFT servers to perform HWID-based activation license validation. Or is there some other one?
Does it not need the Internet to activate existing HWID? How do I active existing HWID otherwise? Only volume editions don't need the Internet to active, but AFAIk retail versions do. Which service do I need to activate Windows? Does it have to be done using OOBE or can offline autounattend.xml be used to install such version of Windows while PC remains offline?