Do you have any suggestions on how to deactivate the old device if I reinstall Windows?

To deactivate the old device before reinstalling Windows, you can follow these steps:

1. Backup Important Data: Ensure that you have backed up all important data from the old device, as reinstalling Windows will erase existing data.
2. Deactivate Software Licenses: If you have software that requires activation (like Microsoft Office), make sure to deactivate those licenses on the old device. You can usually do this through the software's settings or by contacting the software provider.
3. Unlink Accounts: If your device is linked to any accounts (like Microsoft account or other services), unlink or sign out from those accounts to prevent any issues after reinstalling.
4. Use Sysprep: Since you mentioned encountering a problem with duplicate SIDs due to cloning, it's important to use the Sysprep tool before capturing the image of your installation. This tool generalizes the installation, removing system-specific data, including the SID, which helps avoid duplicate SID issues when deploying the image on another device.
5. Reinstall Windows: After ensuring that everything is backed up and deactivated, you can proceed with the reinstallation of Windows on the old device.
6. Reactivate Windows: After the installation, you may need to reactivate Windows. If you have a digital license, it should reactivate automatically once you connect to the internet.

By following these steps, you can effectively deactivate the old device and prepare for a clean installation of Windows.

Please provide full details on this problem, do you intend to fully clean install Windows using a bootable USB, and what type of Windows licence do you have, was that pre-installed on the PC, or did you purchase a full retail licence direct from Microdot or from a 3rd party retailer, and if so, do you have the associated product key?