Windows 10: Can't locate Activation Key from old PC/HDD. Need help!

Discus and support Can't locate Activation Key from old PC/HDD. Need help! in Windows 10 Ask Insider to solve the problem; If this is the wrong location for this or duplicate, I will remove when I'm informed of so. I had an old HP workstation PC recently start crashing... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Ask Insider' started by /u/tomdaspartan, Oct 30, 2019.

  1. Can't locate Activation Key from old PC/HDD. Need help!


    If this is the wrong location for this or duplicate, I will remove when I'm informed of so.

    I had an old HP workstation PC recently start crashing giving me that "Something has gone wrong" blue screen. This PC was nearing a decade old so I decided to rebuild outside of reusing the optical drive and my 1tb HDD which was still plenty for me. So after new PSU, mobo, CPU, RAM, everything booted up smoothly at first. Then I got the blue screen crash again so I came to the realization that it must be my HDD. Purchased new HDD, installed Windows on it and as most of you know, I now have to reactivate my Windows. I can't place any Windows license stickers on my old HP case. It was originally Windows 7 Pro updated to 10. I've called HP and they tell me there isn't an activation code that it should be a digital license but I don't have anything tied to my Microsoft account. I have attempted to use programs like ProduKey to find my key from the old broken HDD. No luck. I am able to access the old broken HDD with limited success but not totally. It's trying to get me to format the drive but sometimes will let me dig around in the files. I'm looking for any suggestions to keep me from having to purchase a new Windows license. TIA.

    submitted by /u/tomdaspartan
    [link] [comments]

    :)
     
    /u/tomdaspartan, Oct 30, 2019
    #1
  2. JimWynne Win User

    LOCATE ACTIVATION KEY

    The key discovered by keyfinder apps such as the one DaveM121 suggested might not be helpful. Why are you interested in retrieving the product key?
     
    JimWynne, Oct 30, 2019
    #2
  3. Need some help. Old HDD. New laptop.

    Yes, that would be a favorable solution if possible. But it requires what I said as a first step. Once he gets booted into the OS, then he can either use it as is or try to recover the product key. I'm not saying he couldn't do what you said, I was replying to another post that suggested simply copy/pasting documents from the old hard drive.
     
    Papahyooie, Oct 30, 2019
    #3
  4. Kem Mon Win User

    Can't locate Activation Key from old PC/HDD. Need help!

    unlock hdd

    Hi Johan,

    It is possible that your
    HDD was unreadable
    causing the error message to appear. We recommend that you perform these troubleshooting steps and check if there are any changes:


    • Shutdown
      your
      PC.

    • Unhooked
      the
      HDD
      and
      turn on
      your
      PC.

    • Reconnect
      your
      HDD
      and
      restart
      your
      PC.

    If the issue persists, we suggest that you contact your
    laptop/computer's manufacturer
    for further assistance.

    Update us on how it goes.

    Regards.
     
    Kem Mon, Oct 30, 2019
    #4
Thema:

Can't locate Activation Key from old PC/HDD. Need help!

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