Windows 10: Windows 10 Pro upgrade from Windows 8.1 Pro

I installed Win 10 Pro on my PC that had Win 8.1 Pro activated. It activated with no problem. When I look at the activation tab, it says it’s activated with a digital entitlement. When I look at Show Key Plus program it shows the Installed Key as the generic key for Win 10 Pro. It shows the original key as Win 8.1 Pro key. I didn’t think it would activate with a generic key. I did the change key block and put in my 8.1 key. It said it was activated and I have a genuine windows copy or something to that effect. The show key program still shows the generic key as the installed key. I called Microsoft. The first guy hung up on me. The second lady said “Don’t worry about it. If you have any more problems call us back. My concern is, after July and the free offer is over, if I have to do a clean install with the USB drive that I made, will it activate with the generic key?






:)

 

Upgrade from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 Pro

I would like to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro from Windows 8.1.

Should I upgrade from Windows 8.1 to Windows 8.1 Pro first then upgrade to Windows 10 Pro?

or

Should I upgrade from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 then upgrade to Windows 10 Pro?

Pro's and Con's of each route?

Thanks

 

Upgrade from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 Pro

yes

 

.............My concern is, after July and the free offer is over, if I have to do a clean install with the USB drive that I made, will it activate with the generic key?.......................

You will NOT need a product key to activate when you do a clean install from now on.
It does not matter when, a year from now, 2 years from now, it does not matter.
You will get activated automatically as long as you are doing clean install of the same Win 10 version in the same computer.

P.S. Your screenshot shows exactly what you are supposed to have. There is nothing to worry about.

 

@Clint, Yes,David is correct -digital entitlement only uses the key to identify(PID) the edition - you can skip the key in future installations - as long as the correct edition is being installed, that key will automatically installed when choosing Pro from set-up.

What was the original OS on that PC? - The "Unknown" marker is a catch-all if neither Vista, 7 , Server 2012 or 8 OEM markers are present.

 

Thanks davidhk and Superfly for the reply. When I bought that PC it had either Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 7 Professional. I can't remember which. Then I bought Windows 8 Pro and upgraded to 8.1 Pro. It does not have an embedded Key in the BIOS.

 

Once you have Windows 10 installed and activated as you have already done so, all future reinstalls of the same Win 10 version in this computer will be activated automatically.
No product key is required.
Your device, as claimed by Microsoft, is good for life.

 

Thanx @Clint,

Do you mind running RWEverything portable and letting me have the SLIC table from the ACPI button?

Please PM me or post it in the ShowKey thread (it only contains generic OEM data in hex format)

 

1. You PC initially came with Win 7, you said. Then you should be able to tell which version it is by looking at the product key sticker affixed to your computer.

2. You bought a Retail Win 8 Pro and upgraded the computer. You should then have the Win 8 Pro product key that came with the software.

So, why ask about the "bios embedded" product key ?
You now have an activated Windows 10 Pro running, you are digital entitled. So why worry about product key at all ?
What am I missing ?

 

I don't think it's about the embedded key - he is just confirming it doesn't have one - I need the info to "fix" ShowKey however.

 

My computer is a Dell. It didn't come with a sticker.

I bought Win 8 Pro from Microsoft. I have the e-mail conformation with the key. I have the key, but I'm not posting it here.

I just said "It doesn't have the key embedded in the BIOS"

What you are missing is, The question. What key do I use if I have to do a clean reinstall. I think Superfly answered it with this.