Upgrading to Win 10 Pro

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rb99

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#191586 9-Feb-2016 17:08

My son has an old laptop with Windows 10 Pro on it. Think originally it came with Windows 7 and we put 8.0 Pro on it when they were selling licences for $50 (so it didn't come for that particular device), and then on up to 8.1 Pro and to 10 Pro.

He's just got a new laptop with Win 10 Home on it. Does anyone know if its possible to apply a key from the old laptop to the new one directly, without having to downgrade to 8.0 Pro (using the licence we bought) and working back up to 10 Pro again ?

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

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Andib

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#1488212 9-Feb-2016 17:14

No, the free Windows 10 upgrade belongs (is digitally tied) to the hardware that it was upgraded on, You can't transfer this license to another computer.

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rb99

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#1488221 9-Feb-2016 17:22

Andib:

No, the free Windows 10 upgrade belongs (is digitally tied) to the hardware that it was upgraded on, You can't transfer this license to another computer.

OK, so I can't just apply a free Win 10 Pro upgrade I've already used to another machine (assuming I could find the key anyway). But presumably I could move the Win 8 Pro licence to the new machine and upgrade to Win 10 Pro for free (assuming its actually worth the effort anyway) ?

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

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tripp

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#1488222 9-Feb-2016 17:30

Any reason he needs pro?

Home should cover most things.

Andib

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#1488223 9-Feb-2016 17:30

rb99:

OK, so I can't just apply a free Win 10 Pro upgrade I've already used to another machine (assuming I could find the key anyway). But presumably I could move the Win 8 Pro licence to the new machine and upgrade to Win 10 Pro for free (assuming its actually worth the effort anyway) ?

Correct.

If your license allows you to transfer it to another PC then you would need to install 8.0 upgrade to 8.1 then to 10.

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Stu

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#1488231 9-Feb-2016 17:41

Note this is ONLY if the Windows 8 Pro licence can be moved. It will depend on the type of licence you own.

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1101

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#1488615 10-Feb-2016 10:24

rb99:

OK, so I can't just apply a free Win 10 Pro upgrade I've already used to another machine (assuming I could find the key anyway). But presumably I could move the Win 8 Pro licence to the new machine and upgrade to Win 10 Pro for free (assuming its actually worth the effort anyway) ?

too vague
What Win8 Pro lic is it. Is it full retail, retail ug from7 to 8, limited ug tied to that original Win7 install .

I think the answer will still be no regardless, UNLESS its a full retail version of Win8 Pro.
Just what Pro features are you after in particular. Pro isnt a super duperised version & isnt needed by home users .

you cannot just 'move' a Win10 install, upgrade or key (unless its full retail & you delete it from the 1st PC)

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#1489698 10-Feb-2016 12:49

It is a bit vague......

- pretty sure (though would have to check) its a full retail version and it should be transferable

- is Win 10 Pro actually needed ? Pretty unlikely, but the OCD tends to kick in and all the other Windows PCs/laptop have it at home, so......

Was kind of hoping there would be an easy way to upgrade 10 Home to 10 Pro using the key from the old laptop, but with all the downgrading and upgrading most likely I'll give it a miss.

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

rb99

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1101

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#1489852 10-Feb-2016 16:28

rb99:

It is a bit vague......

- pretty sure (though would have to check) its a full retail version and it should be transferable

- is Win 10 Pro actually needed ? Pretty unlikely, but the OCD tends to kick in and all the other Windows PCs/laptop have it at home, so......

Was kind of hoping there would be an easy way to upgrade 10 Home to 10 Pro using the key from the old laptop, but with all the downgrading and upgrading most likely I'll give it a miss.

Assuming it IS full retail, with retail install key..
Download Win10 ISO. Run setup from within Win. use that Win8 key . It might wipe all settings .It might just upgrade to pro .
or wipe & reinstall via Downloaded 10 ISO, use the Win8 key.
either Might work,as you can install 10 with the 7 key .

rb99

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#1489900 10-Feb-2016 18:31

1101:

rb99:

It is a bit vague......

- pretty sure (though would have to check) its a full retail version and it should be transferable

- is Win 10 Pro actually needed ? Pretty unlikely, but the OCD tends to kick in and all the other Windows PCs/laptop have it at home, so......

Was kind of hoping there would be an easy way to upgrade 10 Home to 10 Pro using the key from the old laptop, but with all the downgrading and upgrading most likely I'll give it a miss.

Assuming it IS full retail, with retail install key..
Download Win10 ISO. Run setup from within Win. use that Win8 key . It might wipe all settings .It might just upgrade to pro .
or wipe & reinstall via Downloaded 10 ISO, use the Win8 key.
either Might work,as you can install 10 with the 7 key .

Thanks, that does sound more promising. Will try and give it a go, but might be a while, as laptop is new toy and don't want to fiddle just yet.

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

rb99