I have NO phone at all right now -- smartphone or otherwise -- so my question is this: Can I reactivate Windows 8 solely via the Internet after a hardware change? I am confused by Microsoft's information, most of it applying to Windows 10 nowadays anyway. So I just need to know FOR CERTAIN that this is possible for me to do as an answer coming from someone who really knows from experience about it...otherwise I'll need to instead wait until eventually getting a working phone (not happening anytime soon) because I don't want to risk invalidating my original copy while not being able to immediately reactivate it either on the new disk or back on the original. I PREFER to move to the new hard disk IMMEDIATELY, however, because it hopefully will be rid of all of the old problems completely (YEARS of the original hard disk coming to nearly a halt while creating tons of errors stating that the hard-disk was failing...which surprisingly never actually has happened yet, along with it currently working FINE for the time being, plus it also has additional partitions that I've made on it to install Linux as well). So if anyone can answer this question for me for certain (and hopefully also point me to the detailed instructions for doing so), then I will be most grateful. Thank you.
FURTHER DETAILS:
It is Windows 8 ... NOT Windows 8.1 (I blocked the update and don't want Windows 10 either).
My copy of it on the new hard disk--copied via my OWN self-made program--is an EXACT copy of the current system AS IS (along with all of the system and recovery partitions as well). I do NOT have a copy of the original installation DVD, which I never got with this computer because of it having been pre-installed onto it by the OEM (Samsung notebook computer series 3 model 350V5C-T01 US).
I have NOT tried booting from it yet because of knowing that shortly thereafter--while using the Internet on it and oftentimes visiting Microsoft websites--it will eventually flag my system as NOT being Genuine, not just the copy on the new hard disk, but also--according to what I've read--the original hard disk copy of the system as well at that point, therefore invalidating EVERYTHING. So I just don't want to risk it until I know for certain that I can reactive it on the new hard disk right after booting it up, and using Internet only.
FURTHER DETAILS:
It is Windows 8 ... NOT Windows 8.1 (I blocked the update and don't want Windows 10 either).
My copy of it on the new hard disk--copied via my OWN self-made program--is an EXACT copy of the current system AS IS (along with all of the system and recovery partitions as well). I do NOT have a copy of the original installation DVD, which I never got with this computer because of it having been pre-installed onto it by the OEM (Samsung notebook computer series 3 model 350V5C-T01 US).
I have NOT tried booting from it yet because of knowing that shortly thereafter--while using the Internet on it and oftentimes visiting Microsoft websites--it will eventually flag my system as NOT being Genuine, not just the copy on the new hard disk, but also--according to what I've read--the original hard disk copy of the system as well at that point, therefore invalidating EVERYTHING. So I just don't want to risk it until I know for certain that I can reactive it on the new hard disk right after booting it up, and using Internet only.
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