Microsoft attempted to make a lot of things very easy and straight forward with Windows 10. This operating system of the cloud-age is supposed to be a no brainer for everyone. Easy to upgrade, initially offered as a free upgrade and not to forget fast and safe for everyday use.When I recently contemplated the upgrade to Windows 10 for an older living-room PC myself I found some aspects that are quite complicated. Thus today I'd like to talk about Activation.I believe Microsoft's intention was to make the upgrade process very smooth end easy for everyone. However this lead to more activation options and to an more complex situation overall if things go wrong.

More Activation Options

• Microsoft provides a nice overview here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12440/windows-10-activation
• Today there are two activation routes (Windows setup will chose which one fits your situation).
• First possible route: Digital Entitlement / Digital License
  • Rule of thumb: everyone who used an activated previous version of windows and took Microsoft's offer for a free upgrade will get a digital license.
  • There are other cases where the setup will chose digital license (explained in detail by Microsoft)
  • So what is a digital license? Basically it is a digital marker, a license which microsoft creates when you use one of the free upgrade offers or when you are a windows insider. In order to fix issues with that methodology Microsoft has built a functionality to link your digital license with your Microsoft account (and this should help with re-activating Windows after hardware change).
  • Additionally it is important to understand: The digital license is build in such a way so that it is tied to your current hardware configuration
• Second is the classic Product Key Method
  • What is it and when will it be used?
  • It seems quite obvious: the other more expensive ways to get Windows will in most cases use a Product Key and the classic transfer of some PC data and product key to Microsoft for activation. These more expensive ways include: buying a Windows 10 copy, buying a digital download for Windows 10 or getting Windows 10 with a new Laptop.
  • With the Product key that you acquired there should be no issue re-activating Windows.

As you can see the different routes may make for more options and maybe more issues when changing hardware. The following links can also provide some guidance if you run into issues:License FAQhttp://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ultimate-windows-10-activation-license-faq/Versus. Background Infohttp://pureinfotech.com/how-activation-works-windows-10-digital-entitlement-vs-product-key/Preparing for hardware changehttp://www.windowscentral.com/how-re-activate-windows-10-after-hardware-changeWindows 10 Setup Considerations when using a free upgradehttp://www.howtogeek.com/266072/you-can-still-get-windows-10-for-free-with-a-windows-7-8-or-8.1-key/