Hello, I am new to Qubes OS and use it as my daily driver for a couple of days. Most things run like a charm.
However, I need a Windows 10 qube and was able to convert an existing Windows 10 pro VM (qcow2) following the instruction that I found here in the official documentation. When I start the Windows 10 qube, Windows requires a new activation because of changed hardware. Since this Windows 10 is not connected to a Microsoft account, I cannot simply re-activate it. For the avoidance of doubt, it is a legal copy where I bought a license for several years ago.
Changing the computer or upgrading to a new version of my favorite Linux distro wasn’t a problem in the past. In KVM, each VM is connected to a specific UUID which is stored in xml files for each VM. I simply had to copy my qcow2-file to the new environment and edit the xml files created by the system (i.e. I replaced the UUID given by the system by my original UUID for the VM). Afterwards, the Windows 10 VM was starting without complains or the need of re-activation.
Now I tried the same procedure with my new Windows 10 qube … and failed. Replacing the UUID in dom0 /var/lib/qubes/qubes.xml does not help. qvm-prefs Windows10 results in a different UUID. And I am not sure whether the UUID is the only parameter for the Windows 10 qube to check the hardware.
I’m sure that I 'm not the first guy who is facing this problem. However, I did a lot of research in the official documentation, the Qubes forum and otherwise in the Internet without finding a solution. It would be great to get some help here to fix my issue.