Here's my question:

 

I ordered two new SSD's this evening. I currently run Windows 7 and FSX from a 500GB Hybrid drive with a 1TB as my secondary drive. Last week, I installed the upgrade to Windows 10 and reverted back to W7 after having some issues with FSX. I blame all of this due to not doing a clean install. 

 

Since I activated Windows 10, has my computer already registered with MS as having an active W10 key even though I reverted back? I'm under the impression that there is a code on my motherboard that was recognized and saved by microsoft in the event that I need to reinstall on a new drive. I've been searching the web but haven't found a direct answer. My thinking is that I can create a W10 USB using the Media Creation Tool available from Microsoft. After completing this, I can replace my 500GB Primary drive with the new SSD, install my 2nd SSD and format my two drives that I currently have and move them into the 3rd and 4th bays.  

 

I'm just trying to make sure that I can install the W10 upgrade on a new drive in my current computer. 

 

I'm nearly certain that you could still go back to win10 within the first year of win10 availability. How I took it was that you upgrade from 7 to 10, extract your activation key from 10, then clean install 10 and use the key you extracted.

Here's my question:

 

I ordered two new SSD's this evening. I currently run Windows 7 and FSX from a 500GB Hybrid drive with a 1TB as my secondary drive. Last week, I installed the upgrade to Windows 10 and reverted back to W7 after having some issues with FSX. I blame all of this due to not doing a clean install. 

 

Since I activated Windows 10, has my computer already registered with MS as having an active W10 key even though I reverted back? I'm under the impression that there is a code on my motherboard that was recognized and saved by microsoft in the event that I need to reinstall on a new drive. I've been searching the web but haven't found a direct answer. My thinking is that I can create a W10 USB using the Media Creation Tool available from Microsoft. After completing this, I can replace my 500GB Primary drive with the new SSD, install my 2nd SSD and format my two drives that I currently have and move them into the 3rd and 4th bays.  

 

I'm just trying to make sure that I can install the W10 upgrade on a new drive in my current computer. 

 

Once you upgraded your PC to Windows 10, that specific hardware configuration, coupled with your Microsoft Account, combines into an authenticated key for that specific PC only.  Microsoft stores that key indefinitely.  Since you rolled back to Win7, whenever you decide to go back to Windows 10 (no time limit), it is simply a matter of downloading the appropriate ISO for the Windows 10 version you upgraded to and doing a clean install.  When the PC attempts to authenticate during the clean install, Microsoft will match the hardware configuration with your Microsoft Account credentials, and if they match, the install will authenticate as genuine.  You will never have to enter a key (which you won't have anyway since Microsoft stores it in the cloud).

 

If you have changed any of your hardware since you first upgraded, there's an authentication check to see if the item(s) changed exceed a threshold which would then prevent authentication since the configuration appears to be a completely different PC (such as changing a motherboard or processor).  If this happens, a simple call to Microsoft (via a phone number you will be supplied with) almost always results in the new configuration being approved and authenticated.

 

In your case, changing hard drives will likely not cause an authentication problem since hard drives are changed out quite frequently.  You should be just fine.

Thanks to both of you. 

 

I created the USB with the W10 install this afternoon, so now all I should have to do is boot from that USB and install on the new SSD, correct?

Thanks to both of you. 

 

I created the USB with the W10 install this afternoon, so now all I should have to do is boot from that USB and install on the new SSD, correct?

 

Correct!  And just skip the prompts to enter a key during the clean install.  Once the install completes, the version will authenticate as genuine.