Windows 10: Installing Win10 from MS to HP OEM PC

I'm trying to get some ACTUAL information to respond to questions on the HP Forums about whether or not folks can use a Win10 ISO downloaded from MS to reinstall Win10 on their PC, and STILL have it activate OK.

I know that in the case of Win7, this will NOT work as I tried it myself when I needed to resurrect an HP DV6 laptop that crashed hard from a failed Win10 Upgrade. Win7 installed OK but would not activate -- as expected.

I have heard that Win8.1 ISOs from MS WILL activate on HP OEM PCs, but I don't have such a PC, so I can not personally confirm that.

But, what I need to know is if you build Win10 install media from the MS link and then use that to do a clean-install, or a repair-install, on your HP OEM PC, will it activate OK using the embedded HP OEM product key?

Anyone actually confirm this?

:)

 

Transferring Win10 License from Retail to OEM

So I just bought a new ASUS Laptop (64bit) with FreeDOS in it. I have a pirated copy of win7 ultimate 64bit (With OEM license) lying around so I installed it just to see how it goes. I know that pirated copies are eligible for 30 Day trial win10 upgrade.
I have another HP 32 bit laptop with win10 Pro already installed and activated and it had a retail version of win7. I no longer need the HP laptop so I wanted to transfer its Win10 License to my ASUS laptop which will have the trial version. I read somewhere
that OEM licensed laptops will invalidate my win10 license, Can transferring the retail version of win10 from HP to OEM ASUS work fine?

~Thank You

 

Failure to install KB4015438

Awesome to read of another hp that failed and when updates were made available especially the culmative update it stuffed my laptop also and other hp had similar issues with intel chip driver update utility caused errors with intel queencreek esrv server
error logs failure which i did repair by using right drivers and new hp assistant made mine easier to sort out.I also read this and reply herewith again thanks for informative post.

Thank you Gary. Mine came with Windows 10 pre-installed so it's OEM. With OEM PCs, users have to remember not to install new drivers from the manufacturers - I have an HP laptop and getting updates from their site was unbearable at times. I have installed
their fairly new HP Support Assistant and it's so much easier/better.

Before I learnt my way around, I once downloaded an AMD driver update from AMD - it took me ten/fifteen hours to sort out!

Oh and another benefit - a failed Cumulative Update screwed up this PC when it was a few months old. I took advice here and got nowhere for several months. It was a recognised expert here, jimwynne, who told me that as my PC was still under guarantee my
OEM, HP, were legally responsible under the terms of their OEM agreement with MS for sorting out my problems.

I contacted HP and they did it with one phone call and then a live 'take over my PC' session without any fuss. Fabulous service.

Win10 Home v1607 Build 14393.953[16-03-17] - HP Envy OEM - IE11 - Norton Security Premium v22.9.0.71

 

Yes, as long as it had Windows 10 on it before.

 

Windows 7 won't activate if you use the factory OEM-SLP key with stock install media. With stock install media you need to use the OEM-COA key from the COA sticker. Those days are gone now with the new OEM embedded keys. Windows 8, 8.1, and 10 stock Microsoft supplied ISO will read an use OEM embedded keys. Verified it myself several times. My ASUS laptop came with Windows 8.0 Core. If I use a Windows 8 ISO I get 8.0 Core automatically installed and activates online just fine. Windows 8.1 ISO gets me Window 8.1 Home, and Windows 10 ISO gets me 10 Home. They all activate online automatically without asking for any keys. No having to select Home or Pro during the install either.

 

Sorry, I should have been clearer -- while the PCs did have Win10 on there, it was preloaded by HP, and is their OEM version.

So, the issue was either overlaying (in the case of a repair-install), or replacing (in the case of a clean-install) using an MS (supposedly) retail version in place of the previous OEM version.

 

OK, so let me be sure I understand what you're all saying ...

Just like the MS Win8.1 ISO will activate when being being installed on an HP OEM PC, the MS Win10 ISO will, as well.

This will be very good news to folks whose Win10 PC's have problems and aren't up to paying HP $50 or more to order recovery media, which when they get it, might not even work.

 

As long as it was activated there is a digital licence for Windows 10 tied to this PC. This will activate a clean install of the straight MS version.

There is one important provision that no one has mentioned yet - the licence will be for the type previously installed, Home or Pro. You must install the same type as it had before else it won't activate.

 

The key used determines if its OEM or Retail, not the install media. It's always been that way. The distinction between the two is a bit blurred now in Windows 10 with the Digital License though. The only difference between Retail and custom OEM install media is the OEM's add stuff to the stock Microsoft ISO. I do it myself. I add a $OEM$ folder to my sources folder that has my custom info for the system page etc. OEM logo make model etc. I do one up for each PC I own. I add a PID.txt file to with my Pro key in it to bypass the auto detection of my OEM Home key. If I don't I get home instead of Pro and have to do a change key to get Pro. The PID.txt bypasses the extra steps and speeds things up.

 

If the computer had Windows 10 OEM, I'd imagined there would be a key on the motherboard, like Windows 8.x OEM computers. (Which would mean that it wouldn't matter if there was a digital licence or not.)
Have MS stopped putting the keys on the motherboard now?

 

As far as I know, MS never put the keys onto the motherboard; instead, the OEMs did that. And yes, at least with HP, the OEMs still embed keys onto the motherboard for the new Win10 PCs.

 

Microsoft puts product keys on the motherboards (in the UEFI firmware) of the Surface series of computers:
Buy a new Microsoft surface PC

:-D

 

It's getting hard to keep straight IMHO. Before the Anniversary Update was released, if you installed and activated with a product code, even OEM embedded codes. It would show as "Activated with a Product Code". Only the free upgrades showed as "Activated with a Digital Entitlement". Now pretty well every PC other than Enterprise, gets a Digital License once activated for the first time. OEM and Retail.

 

I was waiting for somebody to say that, *chuckle

 

Sorry, I wasn't thinking about their Surface PCs ...

I should have said PCs from other OEMs.