How do I reactivate Windows after upgrading PC?

KKSlider1337 · Dec 22, 2012, 06:06 PM

Hi there,

I'm upgrading my PC in a few days and just wanted to be prepared when it happens. I'm replacing the mobo, RAM, GPU, PSU and CPU. My Windows installation is a student Windows 7 64bit upgrade, upgraded from a Vista 32bit OEM.

First question: I'm going to try using sysprep to strip my installation of old drivers and hopefully successfully replace them with new drivers. Should this work?

Second question: Will this upgrade invalidate my Windows license? And if so, will my PC be unusable?

Third question: If it's invalidated, how do I reactivate it? Can I re-enter the license or will I have to reinstall? If I reinstall, would the 7 Upgrade activate, as well as the Vista OEM?

Basically, the best case scenario would be that I won't have to reinstall Windows for the time being, and can do it at my leisure.

Thanks in advance!

JrRacinFan · Dec 22, 2012, 06:17 PM

Give MS a quick phone call to reactivate and no it will be useable, I think for 30 days. Really would be best to do a clean installation though, and might even still need to call MS to activate.

qubit · Dec 22, 2012, 07:10 PM

The activation lockout only lasts for 120 days after activating so an internet activation should work. If not, simply use the phone activation as JR said.

AsRock · Dec 22, 2012, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by qubit

The activation lockout only lasts for 120 days after activating so an internet activation should work. If not, simply use the phone activation as JR said.

120 ? sure about that last time it did it to me it gave me 3 days lol.

TRWOV · Dec 22, 2012, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AsRock

120 ? sure about that last time it did it to me it gave me 3 days lol.

Depends on how you install. If you press the Omit button when asked for the key Windows will give you 3 days for activation. If you leave the field blank and press Next you'll have 30 days for activation. You can reset the activation period 3 times by re-arming Windows before the activation period ends.

qubit · Dec 22, 2012, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AsRock

120 ? sure about that last time it did it to me it gave me 3 days lol.

Yeah. Once you've activated, you can reactivate over the internet on different hardware after 120 days.

americanlifestyle7 · Dec 24, 2012, 04:54 AM

As PCs get more powerful and easier to use, the challenges involved with upgrading them have remained about the same. For the novice, a hard drive upgrade can appear downright daunting. For more experienced tinkerers, the upgrade itself may be easy, but it's easier still to overlook factors that could streamline the whole process and better protect both the hardware and the data stored on it.

Jetster · Dec 24, 2012, 05:11 AM

Just do it. And then go from there. Its most likely not a problem

And I have no idea what he is talking about ^^^

KKSlider1337 · Dec 24, 2012, 09:33 AM

Lol, obvious spammer is obvious. Thanks guys, I'll be doing this tomorrow on Christmas Day, so fingers crossed it all goes well

jtsonphone · Dec 25, 2012, 07:10 AM

yeah,The activation lockout only lasts for 120 days after activating so an internet activation should work. If not, simply use the phone activation as JR said.

Dec 22, 2012, 06:06 PM	#1
KKSlider1337 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: UK Posts: 100 (0.06/day) Thanks: 94 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts System Specs	How do I reactivate Windows after upgrading PC? Hi there, I'm upgrading my PC in a few days and just wanted to be prepared when it happens. I'm replacing the mobo, RAM, GPU, PSU and CPU. My Windows installation is a student Windows 7 64bit upgrade, upgraded from a Vista 32bit OEM. First question: I'm going to try using sysprep to strip my installation of old drivers and hopefully successfully replace them with new drivers. Should this work? Second question: Will this upgrade invalidate my Windows license? And if so, will my PC be unusable? Third question: If it's invalidated, how do I reactivate it? Can I re-enter the license or will I have to reinstall? If I reinstall, would the 7 Upgrade activate, as well as the Vista OEM? Basically, the best case scenario would be that I won't have to reinstall Windows for the time being, and can do it at my leisure. Thanks in advance!

System Name:	Old Gaming PC Ready For Upgrade
Processor:	Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core CPU 5600+ ~2.8GHz
Motherboard:	Asus M2N-MX
Cooling:	Stock
Memory:	4GB DDR2 RAM 800MHz
Video Card:	ATI Radeon HD 4850 512mb
Hard Disk:	2 x WD Green, totalling ~£750GB
Optical Drive:	Standard DVD RW
CRT/LCD Model:	Sony 32" HDTV
Case:	Galaxy Black ATX Case
Sound Card:	Asus Xonar D1
PSU:	ATRIX Extreme Power 650W ATX12V P4650W
Software:	Windows 7 64bit

Dec 22, 2012, 06:17 PM	#2
JrRacinFan Served 5k and counting ... Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Youngstown, OH Posts: 16,121 (7.05/day) Thanks: 4,149 Thanked 4,552 Times in 4,027 Posts System Specs	Give MS a quick phone call to reactivate and no it will be useable, I think for 30 days. Really would be best to do a clean installation though, and might even still need to call MS to activate. __________________ Graphics Artists United™ Request Thread Low Cache CPU Club Solaris Utility DVD 3.0 DanishDevil's Logitech Soundroom TPU Video Gallery Sciencemark Revisited

System Name:	Mine; Hers; Our HTPC; NAS Box
Processor:	i7 2600k : i3 2120 : Celeron G440 : P4 2.6Ghz Nwood
Motherboard:	Asrock Z68 Extreme4 : Asus P8P67 Pro : Asrock H61M/U3S3 : Dell
Cooling:	CM 212+ w/ scythe jyuni : Stock : Stock :Stock
Memory:	2x4GB Ripjawx 1866 cl9 : 2x2GB Corsair 1600 cl9 : 2x2GB Ridgebacks 1066 cl5 : 768MB PC3200
Video Card:	Palit GTX560Ti 2Gb : XFX HD5770 : Integrated : Integrated
Hard Disk:	2x 750GB Raid 0 + Maxtor 500GB : WD Black 1TB+Corsair Nova 2 64GB : Toshiba 750GB : Leftover ATA133
Optical Drive:	Lite-On DVD-RW : Samsung DVD-RW : None : None
CRT/LCD Model:	AOC 21" : AOC 20" : Philips 42" HDTV : Headless
Case:	Rocketfish : CM HAF 912 : Bgears Cube Style case : Dell
Sound Card:	X-Fi Xtremegamer : Onboard : Onboard : Onboard
PSU:	Tt 750W Modular : Antec 500W Earthwatts : Corsair CX430 : Dell's OEM

Dec 22, 2012, 07:10 PM	#3
qubit Overclocked quantum bit Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Quantumville UK Posts: 8,721 (4.31/day) Thanks: 4,216 Thanked 3,334 Times in 1,970 Posts System Specs	The activation lockout only lasts for 120 days after activating so an internet activation should work. If not, simply use the phone activation as JR said. __________________ Siggie in the post.

System Name:	Quantumville™
Processor:	Intel Core i7-2700K at 4.7GHz (hits 5 gees+ easily)
Motherboard:	Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling:	Noctua NH-D14
Memory:	16GB (4 x 4GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card:	EVGA GTX 590 Classified
Hard Disk:	WD Caviar Black 640GB / WD Caviar Green 2TB x2 in mobo RAID 1
Optical Drive:	Whatever DVD drive I've chucked in there right now
CRT/LCD Model:	Asus VG278HE (144Hz, 3D Vision 2, 1080p, 27") & LG W2363D (120Hz 1080p 23")
Case:	Coolermaster HAF 922
Sound Card:	SoundBlaster X-Fi ExtremeMusic (You ever heard one of these? Wow!)
PSU:	Corsair HX850W
Software:	Window 7 Ultimate 64-bit
Benchmarks:	Yes

System Name:	weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Processor:	i5 2500k \ i7 3770k
Motherboard:	ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 \ ASRock Z77 Extreme 4
Cooling:	Gemini II S524 \ XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 with Couger 1500 RPM fans\ ZM-MFC2
Memory:	Samsung 1600 16GB \ Samsung 1600 16GB
Video Card:	XFX HD6770 \ XFX 6970 w/Prolima MK-13 ( With modded 5870 VRM hrstsink )
Hard Disk:	2x intel ssd x25 G2 80GB \ OCZ Solid 3+2 Corsair Force GT's 120GB (Use HDD's for backups only
Optical Drive:	LiteOn DVD 163 \ TEAC exturnal DVD drive
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung 204B 20.1inch ( Native 12x16 ) \ Toshiba 40" HDTV ( Native 1920x1080 )
Case:	ARK Black HTPC 400BA \ None
Sound Card:	Though video card HDMI ONKYO TX-SR608 +TANNOY MERCURY F4+ Polk Audio RTI4+Polk Audio PSW505
PSU:	CoolMax CXI-600B\ PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad
Software:	Windows Vista Ultimate 64Bit \Win 7
Benchmarks:	Track IR 4 Razer Blackwidow Ultimate ( rma'ed trice and same issue's ) Steelseries XAI

System Name:	Sandy Bridged 3rd Take
Processor:	Core i5-2320 @ 3.5Ghz
Motherboard:	GYGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H
Cooling:	Antec Kuhler H2O 620
Memory:	2x4GB A-DATA XPG 1600GS
Video Card:	ATi RADEON HD7870 2GB / Zotac GT430 (Hybrid Physx)
Hard Disk:	500GB WD / 64GB Samsung SSD (SRT cache) / 2TB Seagate
Optical Drive:	Samsung SH-B123A Blu-ray/DVD-RW
CRT/LCD Model:	Acer V223W 22" LCD 1680x1050
Case:	Cooler Master Gladiator 600
Sound Card:	Onboard VIA HD
PSU:	Cooler Master Silent Pro M 700w
Software:	Windows 8 Pro with Media Center
Benchmarks:	3dmark11 7925, IBT 90Gflops

Dec 24, 2012, 04:54 AM	#7
americanlifestyle7 Banned Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 4 (0.02/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	online pharmacy in india As PCs get more powerful and easier to use, the challenges involved with upgrading them have remained about the same. For the novice, a hard drive upgrade can appear downright daunting. For more experienced tinkerers, the upgrade itself may be easy, but it's easier still to overlook factors that could streamline the whole process and better protect both the hardware and the data stored on it.

Dec 24, 2012, 05:11 AM	#8
Jetster Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Oregon Posts: 2,951 (2.36/day) Thanks: 979 Thanked 897 Times in 655 Posts System Specs	Just do it. And then go from there. Its most likely not a problem And I have no idea what he is talking about ^^^

System Name:	Delta // HTPC
Processor:	Intel i7 3770K // Intel i3 550 3.2Ghz
Motherboard:	ASRock Z77 Extreme6 // Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H Socket 1156
Cooling:	Corsair H100 // SILVERSTONE NT07-1156 90mm
Memory:	Corsair Vengeance 1866 16gb //Corsair DDR3 1600 4 Gb
Video Card:	HIS 7950 3 Gb //Sapphire 6670 1 Gb
Hard Disk:	Samsung 840 250 SSD, WD Caviar Blue 500// Corsair M4 64 Gb Solid State, SAMSUNG F4 2 Tb, WD 1 Tb
Optical Drive:	LG DVDR 24X // Lite on DVDR 24X
CRT/LCD Model:	HP 23xi IPS 1080p" // 50" Samsung Plasma 720p
Case:	Corsair Obsidian Series 550D // Silverstone Granada GD05
Sound Card:	ASUS Xonar DS // HDMI Bit Stream to Yamaha RX V571
PSU:	Seagate M12II 750 // Corsair CX 430
Software:	Windows 7 64bit // Windows 7 64bit with XBMC Eden
Benchmarks:	I scored P9327 in 3DMark 11

Dec 24, 2012, 09:33 AM	#9
KKSlider1337 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: UK Posts: 100 (0.06/day) Thanks: 94 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts System Specs	Lol, obvious spammer is obvious. Thanks guys, I'll be doing this tomorrow on Christmas Day, so fingers crossed it all goes well

Dec 25, 2012, 07:10 AM	#10
jtsonphone Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 3 (0.02/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	yeah,The activation lockout only lasts for 120 days after activating so an internet activation should work. If not, simply use the phone activation as JR said.

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