Windows 10: Clean win10 install with completely formatted SSD

Hi to all
I have my Acer laptop around 2 months , and now i want to fresh install win 10
What I've done ,I created USB image via Rufus with Win10 home (which I had on my new laptop preinstalled) I writed down my licence key.
Ive booted and cleaned SSD completely with new installation.
All worked great but my Windows is not activated I and I cant enter licence key now

Ive searched forum for some answers but i don't find similar one .
I appreciate any help ,coz I'm quite desperate right now
Thank you

:)

 

Removing one of two Win 10 installs then cloning

I have an Insider Preview version of Win 10 on a SSD. I have an upgrade (Win7 to Win10) on a separate hard drive. Currently they are dual booting.

I want to clear off the SSD completely and clone the HD to the SSD. Can I just go ahead and clear the SSD without concern for any "ties" between the two copies of Win10? I realize that I shouldn't just "format" the SSD. I have an app to clean off the SSD
correctly.

Does anyone have experience cloning an installation of Win 10? Might it be better to do a clean install of Win10 on the empty SSD?

 

Internet Explorer IE11 is not listed as an option in 'Turn Windows features on or off'

If you format the SSD then do another "clean install" of Win10 1703, does the behavior persist?

 

Go to Settings/Activation/Change Product Key

 

If the laptop came with windows 10 installed you should not need a product key to activate, it should be automatic with the key either on the TPM chip on the motherboard or, (assuming that the laptop was previously activated before the fresh install), stored on on the Microsoft servers. This can take a few days or more to take place

If you do go down the change Kep mthod you will need a COA key displayed on the outside of the laptop (Rare these Days), and not the one extracted from the previous install by software, as these internal Keys are normally generic, (dummy), keys on OEM laptops

 

It sounds like you may have used the wrong version of Windows 10. If your laptop came with Windows 10 N and you install Windows 10 Single Language it will not activate..

Download and run ShowKeyPlus. It will show you the original version of Windows that was installed.

ShowKeyPlus - Windows 10 Forums

 

More than likely the laptop came with full Windows 10 Home on it and you downloaded Windows 10 Home Single Language because you saw the word Home in it and got misled. You want to download the just plain Windows 10. Not N. Not Single Language. Just plain Windows 10 Home. As stated above, Showkey plus from this forum will show you what your product key is for.
ShowKeyPlus - Windows 10 Forums

 

Thank you all for so quick answer.

Right now I'm on my trip back home so in couple hours I'll check all and will post the results .
I have tried to activate it from options but i got some error ,if I remember correctly last tree digits was 701
And yeah I do not have any key or printed/email/box so I assumed that ID number iwith OEM at the end would be my activation key which starts like with 00 and windows don't want to accept it.(even I knew from experience that keys was 25 or 26 digits long but I assumed that has changed in Win10...)

And second thing ,I may downloaded wrong version of windows ,I haven't paid to much attention to EXACT version .

Also I've read somewhere here in posts that UsbTool by Rufus is not quite as good for making images ,could you please recommend me something which will be optimal for that kind of installations ?
Thank you !
BR Martin

 

It's a pity you did not use Windows Media Creation Tool when you had the original copy of windows on there as it would of burnt the correct copy of win10 for you ? a DVD or USB copy of the correct win 10 would have been made (legally too)...

 

Leason learned ... hard way :/
Ive got info from SHOWKeyPlus







Should i download Media Creation Tool and proceed from there ?

 

Yep, you done installed the wrong version of Windows 10. You need just plain 64-bit Windows 10 with nothing behind it. You can use the Media Creation Tool to make a USB flash drive with - but make sure you manually pick just plain Windows 10 - if you let MCT automatically pick it for you, you are likely to get Windows 10 N again because it is going to look at what you have currently installed. Letting the MCT make the USB flash drive for you is the easiest way - but also one of the slowest. You will get a great, UEFI and BIOS compatible flash drive from it, though, much more compatible and reliable than Rufus.

If you want to know the manual method of creating it, I'm going to look for a past post with instructions so I don't have to repeat it . The advantage to creating it manually is that you end up with the install.wim file instead of the install.esd file on the flash drive that you can use with dism to repair your Windows 10 installation with.

Here's the manual method:
Win 10 reset - Windows 10 Forums

I like to get my Windows 10 ISO files from here so I get the install.wim file instead of install.esd:
Windows 10 ISO

 

Ok
I got that sorted out now ,ive choose Win10 Home and all went smooth ,and all is activated *Smile
Just for information i went with MCT coz i did not want to complicate things more (im still have issues with touchpad....)

I woudlike to thank all You very much , it could take me hours to fix it.
Thx a bunch !