Will I lose my Windows 8 activation after hardware upgrade?

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Windows 8 Pro w/WMC is installed on an Asus M3A78-EM with an on-board GPU. I wish to upgrade the GPU and have purchased a compatible one but have not installed it yet. I also wish to upgrade its CPU.

I recently came across few blogs where it was stated that one may lose activation after hardware upgrades like GPU or CPU or HDD.

Is this true or not? If so, can I stay activated without calling Microsoft?? Both versions are legally purchased from Microsoft.

Deesha

Posted 2012-12-20T08:41:54.853

Reputation: 41

3For what it's worth, if you feel like you're going to get "grilled", chances are that you don't have a legally licensed version to begin with. If it is truly a legitimate copy of Windows, and you haven't reactivated it many times already, you probably won't even have to speak to a real human being to get it activated again. – allquixotic – 2012-12-20T13:30:25.517

It really depends on which license you have. – Ramhound – 2012-12-20T14:21:12.173

Answers

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You will likley need to at least reactivate and that may mean a call. I have done this for earlier versions and even if a call is needed, it is usually painless and fairly quick. If the installs are legal, this should be a simple task. See also this question

Dave M

Posted 2012-12-20T08:41:54.853

Reputation: 12 811

7Yes. They frequently can give you a new activation code even without speaking to a real person; their automated system can handle 90% of reactivations. It's just because you changed too much hardware. This "anti-feature" has been around since XP. – allquixotic – 2012-12-20T13:29:16.403

Asked: 2012-12-20T08:41:54.853

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Active: 2012-12-20T14:25:12.147