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After I updated to Win10 successfully I ran Belarc Advisor 8.5 and determined that a NEW key code had been generated during the upgrade process - this key code was identified as being for Win10 Professional. So, I would guess here that I could use this same key code if sometime in the future I opted to do a clean install using the ISO file I had previously downloaded or the flash drive I created that held both the 32 bit and 64 bit versions. That conclusion is my own and one that I have not seen verified by anyone from Microsoft or elsewhere on line.

I haven't seen anyone quote a definitive MS document that fully explains all the details of the Windows 10 "upgrade" license or key info, but this thread seems to give the current "best guess" as to what happens and the impact on the existing Windows 7/8.x key used to "upgrade". [The "upgrade" opportunity is supposed to be available for a year from July 29th.] If I understand it correctly, we think that the Windows 10 key that is used on the "upgraded" machine is probably a generic one, and some kind of code based on the actual hardware, (probably the motherboard? ), of the machine that is "upgraded" is stored on the MS activation server and that is what is used to actually validate the Windows 10 installation, and this code can only be generated during an actual "upgrade" of an existing Windows 7/8.x/10 installation. Once the "upgrade" has been validated, the disc can be formatted and a clean install of Windows 10 can be done and it will automatically be validated again with the existing stored code. So if a Windows 10 re-installation is performed at a later date, as long as the key hardware components of the machine haven't changed since the original Windows 10 installation, the machine should self validate again with the existing stored code. What happens if you have to change the motherboard of the machine and want to keep using Windows 10 is unclear. As to what happens to the original Windows 7/8.x key of the machine that was used for the "upgrade", the guess is that after a "month" that key will be invalidated on the MS activation server so that it can not be used again. But what if the original key was an OEM or other generic type of key? No one seems to know for sure. As I say, this is just the current best guess based on bits and pieces of various MS and other documentation along with some quick tests done and reported by users. There are many threads by our good friends over at MSFN about Windows 10 "upgrades" and regular installations, such as: How can I clean install Windows 10 and activate it using W7 license? -- (the above mentioned thread) Post your Windows 10 Upgrade experience Windows 10 Upgrade Rip Off Free upgrade to Windows 10 and downgrade to Windows 8.1 How to avoid being "upgraded to Win 10" against your will: [ Guide ] Disable Data Collection in Windows 10 and many others that can be found in the MSFN Windows 10 sub-forum. As to how any of this will play with Win Toolkit is anybody's guess until someone is willing to try it and report their experiences. Any volunteers? Cheers and Regards NOTE: I used quotes around "upgrade" since even though MS uses the term "upgrade" to compare Windows 10 to previous Windows versions, there is some debate on many forums whether it might actually be a "downgrade".