Windows 10: Will windows 10 update provide a product key for clean install?

Correct. Windows activation is in no way associated with having a Microsoft account.

Then we agree - just do a second install of Windows 8/8.1 and upgrade to Windows 10 from that.

 

Quite a few steps here but surely makes sense. Look, there is always a risk of something going wrong in overwriting (read upgrade) ones well established OS and applications, especially if you want to revert back to use it with Windows 10 running from a clean install in a dual boot arrangement. Hopefully the above method (for my requirements) will minimize that possibility. Over and Out (but not knocked out)!

 

Yes I was just thinking the same thing too when I thought about what happen if our computer died and we went and got a new computer. I think that we really should be able to re-Download the Windows 10 or 10 Pro onto our new computer so long as we provide proof that we are the owner of that new computer. As for me here I prefer to build my own from scratch and I hate to not have an OS to installed into the new computer. I really think MS should give us that option to re-download it onto the new computer system. All we needed to do is provide proof that that new computer is ours with a receipt. In my case receipts for the new motherboard that I bought. Either that or let us be able to do a full transfer of the windows 10 from our old dead computer over to the new computer. It really just defeats the purpose of getting the free upgrade copy if we can't even use it for a clean installation onto the new computer or let alone transfer it over to the new computer. And the product key should not be ask until we have finish the installation then it should pop up in the windows logon screen then ask for the Product key before we can begin to use the windows OS.

 

Or maybe, MrVang3034, Microsoft should never have given the upgrade for free at all.

 

If you get a new computer it will come with Windows 10. If you get a computer with Windows 8, just upgrade (until July 29, 2016).

The free Windows 10 upgrade is only good on the computer you upgraded. It is good for the life of the computer (motherboard), but only on that computer. You have to buy a retail copy of Windows 10 to have transfer rights.

The free Windows 10 upgrade does not use a product key. The computer is activated for Windows 10 (Home or Pro) by digital entitlement, a new way of activation. It is the computer that is activated now, not the software. That's why you can't transfer the free software. It is just like the copy of Windows that you get pre-installed on a new computer by the manufacturer. You can't transfer that Windows license either.

If you want Windows that you can tranfer to another computer, you can get it, but not for free.

Notice how often I used the words "free" and "upgrade" in this post? Its the key to understanding the Get Windows 10 program. It is a free upgrade. The Get Windows 10 program is not a free copy of Windows, it is a free upgrade of the Windows you already have.

 

I just found an instance where the Windows 7 product key was required for activation.

My wife has a Dell Inspiron 1545 notebook computer that had Windows 7 Home Premium. I upgraded it to Windows 10 - 10240 in July 2015 and it activated right away. I just got a good deal on a 120GB SSD drive and installed that in the old notebook, replacing the old spinning hard drive. Tried to do a clean install, skipping entering the key, and when Windows 10 - 10586 booted up it said it was not activated and wouldn't activate automatically.

So, I tried the new option of entering the Windows 7 Home Premium key that came with the notebook computer. In this case the Windows 7 key was printed on a label that is under the removable battery. It worked entering the Windows 7 Home Premium key and Windows 10 - 10586 activated instantly. I used the Settings, Activation, Change Product Key option to enter the Windows 7 Home Premium key.

So if a clean install of Windows 10 - 10586 doesn't activate automatically, try entering your old product key from Windows 7.

 

If you do a clean installation the product key page appears. If you look at the bottom middle there is a metalink that says "I don't have a product key." Clicking that causes Setup to search for the OEM activation data in the BIOS and then install the matching edition and activate. If you just skip it appears to default to Pro. Or, if you want to install a different edition than what was installed at the factory you enter the product key and that tells Setup what to do.

 

During the clean install of 10586 I clicked "I don't have a product key", similar to what I did earlier on other pc's clean installing 10240. I was using a 10586 ISO that is 64-bit and gives the option of installing PRO or Home. Of course I selected Home because that matches the original Windows 7 version (Home Premium).

But this was the first time a clean install wouldn't activate automatically after it was installed. So I tried the option of entering the Windows 7 Home Premium product key to activate 10586. This worked perfectly. Went to Settings, Activation, Change Product Key and then entered the Windows 7 Home Premium product key that is on a label under the laptop battery.

 

I like to have the option to do a clean installation in case something went wrong and my computer became corrupt and I was not able to recover or revert back to the before setting. For those of us that did get the windows 10 0r 10 pro from the free windows 10 upgrade. MS should hold the product keys in they're server so that we can re-download the window 10 back into our system from the server and along with the product key should we decided to do a clean installation or transfer it onto our new computer should our old computer died. There should be a way for users to register they're ID onto MS server so we can be identify as the owner of that product key and be able to just re-download once we provide proof of our valid state ID and prevent the OS from being pirating or duplicating because it is already register under our personal information.

 

They have done that from the very beginning. Your computer hardware ID IS stored on Microsoft activation servers and you can download and clean install the same version of Windows 10 on the same computer as many times as you want as long as that same computer still has life in it. You can either skip entering a product key when asked, or you can enter the generic Product Key that everyone gets when they upgrade and it will activate. I've got computers I've done three or four clean installs of Windows 10 on and they have all activated after the first install by either skipping the product key or entering the generic Windows 10 product keys. There have been glitches in the activation servers, especially for activations the occurred within the first couple of weeks of free upgrades, but second upgrades have cleared that up and resulted in the permanent activation 99% of the time.

And how many new computers and for how long should Microsoft provide a free Operating System for? Until July 28, 2016 - you want a free Windows 10 for your new computer? Then install a Windows 7/8/8.1 on it, activate it with a product key that you have for Windows 7/8/8.1 and upgrade it to Windows 10. So until July 28. 2016 you can do exactly what you want. Now, you want Windows 10 after July 28, 2016 for a new computer? Pay for it. Either now or then.

I mean this is like if I offered you a free steak dinner and you were complaining that I didn't toss a lobster tail on top of it.

 

- or you could go Linux and become a vegetarian.. *chuckle

 

There are no product keys. There are no product keys. There are no product keys. (Did I mention that there are no product keys?) When you install Windows 10 for the first time your computer is activated by digital entitlement. You can then clean install or upgrade as often and for as many times as you like and no product key is ever needed. When doing a clean install just SKIP the product key screen (that is only for changing editions and retail copies) and Windows 10 will activate when the computer connects to the internet. The first installation (the entitlement upgrade) establishes the digital entitlement. That is permanent for the life of the computer (motherboard).

 

That didn't do that when I try install the windows 10. I created a copy of the windows 10 through the windows media tool kit onto a USB flash drive. During the installation process the product key would pop up and I click skip at the bottom but then another window pop open asking me to insert the windows media. I even went through the windows media guide on how to install the windows 10 through a USB about unplugging the usb stick drive if it ask me for the product key and plug it back in. I reboot and it would do the same thing. It wouldn't detect that I have the windows 10 on the USB drive. So that is why I ask about the product key on the forum here.

 

You need to redo the usb. Your issue has nothing to do with product keys. See the TenForum tutorial here:

USB Flash Drive - Create to Install Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums[2]=Installation%20and%20Setup

 

Agreed.