Change my hdd to ssd in hp 8300

[hanu2]

Hello

I would like to know how does the activation for windows 10 take place in my hp 8300 usdt computers

is it embeded somewhere in the motherBoard ? 

i will be changing hardives for most of them so will the windows  10 be activated ?

is there any limit to number of times i can format ?(lose my activation)

can i just swap hardrives and the activation will carry forward

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

Since your PC has already been updated to W10, Microsoft has a record of that.

When you go to install W10 on the SSD, when you get to the part of the installation that asks for a product key, select the 'I don't have a product key' option, and W10 will install and automatically activate once you are connected to the internet.

As long as you don't replace the motherboard, you can reinstall W10 on there as many times as you need to.

[hanu2]

Hi

so basically the the windows key is saved in motherboard ?

and what happens if i swap hardisk with anothre hp-8300 will it still be activated ?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

It has nothing to do with any product keys being saved.

Unless your PC came with W8, there is no Windows product key in the BIOS (motherboard).

If your PC was upgraded to W10 previously, when you reinstall W10, you select the 'I don't have a product key' option, and W10 activates because the Microsoft activation servers have a record of that PC having been previously upgraded to W10.

If you swap out a hard drive from one 8300 to another, it may or may not activate because each motherboard has a different MAC address for the onboard ethernet adapter, and that is how Windows determines if the motherboard was changed.

So the hard drive has info from one motherboard in the registry and then it goes into a different motherboard with a different MAC address, and sometime you will need to change the product key to the PC the hard drive was moved to.

[hanu2]

Hi

This is what i want to know how do i change the product key to the PC the hardrive was moved to since i dont have 

a product key

[Paul_Tikkanen]

If there is a W7 product key on the PC's case, sometimes you can change it to that.

If there is a W8 product key in the BIOS, sometimes you can change it to that one.

If you don't see a product key on the PC's case, use the free utility that I zipped up and attached below that will show you if there is a W8 product key in the BIOS.  You need to have Windows on the PC you want to check for the key.

If you have any other questions regarding this matter, I suggest that you contact Microsoft.