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I'm not sure wheter this question belongs here but here it is..

I have a laptop upgraded from windows 8.1 to windows 10 with account X. Windows activation says that my windows is activated with a digital license linked to microsoft account.

I bought a new laptop that comes with windows 10. If I use the same account X on this new computer and Reset the old pc (without keeping files) will this old computer be able to be used with a different microsoft account? Or will he two windows licenses be linked to my microsoft account?

Sorry if I didnt explain well but english is not my main language.

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Because the Digital Entitlement License is linked to the hardware, then "yes" you can wipe and reinstall, skipping entering the product key whenever it asks.

You can then add a "local account" (don't use a Microsoft account), and once it is up and running, it should authorize and activate.

In your (online) Microsoft Account settings, you would then go in and remove the laptop from your account via the Devices list using the "Remove Device" link.

At this point it ought to be safe to transfer. If you are passing the disk on to a 3rd party (e.g. selling it), you might want to do a "secure format" before the reinstall.

Some tips and more detail from Microsoft: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/10547/microsoft-account-remove-deregister-device

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  • Note that the "Reset this PC" option to clean the drive will work also. It is unclear to me how secure the reset is: without a decent secure wipe, old files can be recovered from it long after, even after clearing all partitions and (quick-)reformatting.
    – Yorik
    Commented Sep 2, 2016 at 18:24
  • Yeah, I know but Im keeping the pc so...
    – Newbie404
    Commented Sep 3, 2016 at 12:56

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