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What changes to the virtual hardware config will invalidate windows 10\11 activation?


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When a Windows VM is not running, what changes to the virtual hardware will invalidate Windows activation?

 

I want avoid making false assumptions. Currently I assuming the following virtual hardware can be change without invalidating Windows:

 

  • Ram
  • storage - HDD, SSD, etc
  • generic hardware devices -display, video,  audio, mouse, keyboard, etc.

 

What about changes to:

 

  • BIOS
  • Networking
  • CPU 
  • or xml hacks\changes made to get passthrough devices to work such as video cards.
Edited by JackSafari
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I don't know if the situation has changed, but years ago the secret sauce was never fully understood. It was thought that a weighted average of changes over time, so drastic changes from one boot to the next would trigger, but those same changes done over weeks would not.

 

Now with the advent of ms logins, activation seems tied there as well.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/activate-windows-c39005d4-95ee-b91e-b399-2820fda32227

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