Windows 10: replaced the hard disk, and forgot the windows key

Hi all,
I had purchased a Sony's laptop few years back with Windows 8. then it got upgraded to 8.1. with the release of Windows 10, I accepted a free upgrade offer. Recently my hard disk had crashed due to which I had to replace it. My motherboard had not been changed but I am unable to find my Windows Activation key.

Kindly guide!

:)

 

Replacing the hard disk

Hi,

If you are replacing the hard disk, you can still reinstall Windows 10 by performing a direct clean install using the media creation tool.

For more information on how to perform a clean install. Refer to the Use installation media to reinstall Windows 10
section on this article.

Note: Performing a clean install will remove all your personal files, drivers you installed, apps, customizations from your PC manufacturer, and changes you made to settings so we suggest that you back up all your important
and personal files.

While performing a clean install, your product key should automatically retrieved from the system but, in case you are still prompted for a product key during the installation, get the product key in advance (before doing a clean install) by following the
steps below:

• Press Windows key + S.
• Type Command Prompt.
• In the list of results, right-click on Command Prompt and select
  Run as administrator.
• Enter the administrator credentials if prompted.
• In Command Prompt window, type this command:
  
  wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey
• Press Enter.
• The product key will be revealed. Copy or write it on a paper.

Also, we recommend contacting the device manufacturer for more information if your SSD is compatible with your laptop.

Merry Christmas and feel free to post back if you have other concerns.

 

Windows 10 Enterprise fails to re-activate after hard disk replacement

The system is a laptop where the single hard disk failed and was replaced. Unfortunately, there was no recent, viable backup of the hard disk that could be used to restore it.

A successful clean install was made from en-gb_windows_10_business_edition_version_1803_update_jul_2018_x64_dvd_12613160.iso.

The first login used my Microsoft Work or School account but I was unable to activate it from that account.

I then created a user with my Microsoft Account (which uses the same email address) but was unable to activate it from that account either.

The laptop has a firmware-embedded activation key. It appears in the devices list for my Microsoft Account and also appears in the devices list in the Azure Active Directory which we receive as part of Office 365.

It is a commodity laptop that was supplied with Windows Home installed; upgraded to Windows Pro using Get Genuine; and upgraded to Windows Enterprise with an OS upgrade using a product key. It was regularly updated before the hard disk failure.

I had anticipated that re-activation after the hard disk replacement should have been simple!

Any pointers to where I might be going wrong? Or suggestions as to how to diagnose this? I'm a volunteer systems administrator for a Museum (non-profit / charity) and this is outside my comfort zone.

 

Hard disk partition not showing up.

Hi Muhammad,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



This can happen if the Hard-disk drivers are not up-to date. I would suggest you to update the hard disk drivers first. To update the drivers, please follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Open Device manager.
   
2. Then Expand “Disk drives”.
   
3. Then Right click on the Hard-disk listed under this category.
   
4. Then click on Update drivers.
   
5. Alternatively you can also try to update the drivers from manufacturer’s website.
   

Once the hard-disk drivers are updated, you will need to allocate the last partition (it is not allocated according to the screenshot) and you will be able to view the partition.



Also note that sometimes the hard disk partitions/drives might be hidden in This PC or My Computer window due to a Registry key. If a DWORD with the name NoViewOnDrive or NoDrives is present under following key in Registry Editor:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer

Delete the DWORD and your drives will become visible in My Computer window.



Hope this helps.