Windows 10: Windows 10 Activation

Yes.

Whatever valid way the PC got Windows 10, whatever valid method was used to activate it in the first place, once activated it has a digital license. Product key will not be required anymore on that machine, subject to Windows having access to Internet after for instance re-install (digital licensing status needing to be checked from Microsoft licensing & activation servers).

 

From time to time I switch on my sons old PC (he's away at University) to keep it up to date. When I did this yesterday it seemed to completely reinstall windows. At the end of this it asked for the product key. This is stuck on the back and I entered it. It checked, double checked and triple checked it I hit enter and it wouldn't accept it. I checked doubled checked and triple checked and no it wouldn't accept it.

It gave the option to skip this and settled down with the desktop. When I checked activation it says it is activated - what was all that about?

:)

 

Windows 10 Unexpected shutdown on start up

OK, so i figured it out myself

Found the logfile in "C:\Windows\Minidump".

You need the Windows Development Kit to open it and a bit of googling to understand it.

Found out that a Daemon driver caused an error. Removed Daemon but this didn't solve it. (ps: Daemon itself worked normally).

I let hibernate my computer again and found another error with sptd2.sys: SCSI Pass Through Direct layer

More google and ended up on the duplexsecure site. Downloaded the W10 version and voila: problem fixed.

For the Windows support team: It would be really helpfull if you could pass problems to a more skilled helpdesk who can do more than proposing the standard solutions in case those won't work.

Cheers

 

Windows 10 Unexpected shutdown on start up

OK, so I also found out that this occurs when sleepmode (for me after 3 hours) changes into hibernate mode.

Seems like the going into hibernate and/or starting up from HIbernate results in a shutdown. In safeboot it works perfectly.

Anyone any idea how I can figure out where it goes wrong. Is there a way to log this (I couldn't find it in bootlog)

 

When Windows 10 has been activated once, product key is no longer required in further installations. Windows gets a so called digital license. A digital license is based on that specific computers hardware configuration (hardware ID), and is stored on Microsoft's licensing servers.

Once activated, digital license is "eternal", valid as long as hardware on that PC is not changed. When reinstalling the same edition (Home, Pro) than which was earlier already activated, the digital license will automatically activate Windows 10 without user entering a product key.

You can even completely wipe the hard disk empty, clean install Windows 10 skipping the product key, and as soon as Windows will be connected to Internet, it checks the digital license status and automatically activates Windows if a previously granted digital license for that edition on that PC exists.

You can check digital licensing status in Settings > Update & Security > Activation:

 

Many thanks for the explanation - it's just that on my other computers I had never been asked to input the key.

 

You are welcome.

Digital licensing, a feature first presented in so called November Update Windows 10 version 1511 (November 2015) really changed this. If you for instance for any reason need to start from scratch, you can clean install Windows 10 on a machine already digitally licensed and simply skip the product key by selecting I don't have a product key when Windows Setup asks it:





(Screenshot from tutorial Clean Install Windows 10)

Windows will be automatically activated after a clean install based on previously granted digital license.

 

I suspect this machine started out as windows 7 then got the free updates to 8, 8.1, then 10 would that account for it?