Windows 10: How to re-install W10 without losing activation key

After a spectacular crash on my Acer Aspire laptop, I spent several hours on MS Chat who were as helpful as possible. However, the conclusion was that a re-installation was necessary. I downloaded the .iso advised by MS and formatted a USB device ready to boot.

However, I don't have any previous installation media and no record of a key because it was a free upgrade from Windows 7. How do I go about re-installing without losing the registered activation please?

:)

 

How do I change which version of Windows 10 I will get?

Hello,

Where exactly are you able to unlock W10 Pro? I did a clean install of W10 Home by accident and can't activate it with my W8 Pro key. IF I can convert my W10 Home edition to W10 Pro, I can use my key to activate without having to reinstall W8 and upgrade
it to W10. Please let me know how you unlocked W10 Pro.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Andre

 

WINDOWS 10 1607 PRODUCT KEY

Hello,

My laptop came with pre-installed Windows 8.1 and later I upgraded to Windows 10. Previously when I installed W10 it didn't asked me for a product key. But now when I tried to reinstall W10 (Build1607) it asks for a product key which I don't have as the
previous versions are activated using digital license. So I need to know how can I activate my W10 installation if I proceed the installation without a product key? Or do I have to still use the old W10 iso for installation?

Thank you

 

You can install Windows 10 to your computer without the product key as it was free upgrade from Windows 7 you can also use Windows 7 product key to activate Windows 10.

 

It's registered on ms servers so no need for key skip it when it asks and it will activate via their servers

 

The activation is stored on Microsoft's servers and is tied to your Hardware specification, if you simply install and select the "I do not have a Key" or similar option when prompted the system will auto activate as soon as it has a connection to Microsoft's servers. If you are using wireless connection to the network this can take longer than if it's an ethernet connection but will happen in a short time

 

Really? The old Windows 7 product key will still activate a new installation of Windows 10?
I should add that the PC has been running Windows 10 since it first became available as a free upgrade - summer 2015!

 

Thanks Barman58: I wasn't aware of that.

 

A couple more points to be aware of. Your HDD is not part of the unique hardware ID, so you are free to replace it (say, with an SSD), clean install and still get activated automatically.

The digital licence your upgrade earned is valid only for one edition (Home or Pro). When reinstalling, make sure you install the same edition as you had before.

 

Also, if you have a Microsoft ID, (Hotmail, Live, or Outlook.com email address), and you choose to login with this ID rather than a local ID you gain some extra protection in that it's possible to re-install to a system where one of the tied items (eg. the Motherboard), has been replaced

 

Activate Windows 10 Using Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 Product Key

 

Further more for each Version (Home, PRO etc), there can be multiple Editions (actually Edition refers to variant of Version but we (including myself) do to rather tend use the terms interchangeably) i.e. normal, N EU Edition, and for Home SL Single Language Edition (I just typed Version and had to edit post :-D).

So you have to have the right Version (Home, Pro etc), and right Edition (normal, N or SL) for it to activate. For most users the Edition is normal (no letter prefix).

 

I am not sure if the use of a Win7 key will activate windows 10 any longer, it should be possible to use the same one as originally used to re-activate a previously activated copy, (but as already stated it should not be needed as the offsite activation should work), The free upgrade for Assistive Technology users has now ended and I am not sure of the status of the unofficial extended free upgrade

 

I think we still can use Windows 7 key to activate Windows 10, i have not found any information about this option have been removed in latest version of Windows 10.

 

The end of the AT offer only came into force on the 16Th Jan 2018, and have not heard anything either way on the general update free offer (that is not recognised by MS), as to changes in status, It will have to be checked by someone with a spare unused W7 key or active Win7/8/8.1 system to upgrade

The initial free upgrade that allowed the use of previous keys to clean install or to upgrade an existing install for free ended on July 29, 2016, but nothing actually changed, so MS could just stop at anytime and not say anything *Wink