New
#1131
Okay thanks.
This was a bare metal clean install of the Anniversary Edition. I had no choice of what to install, nor did it ask for a product key. It just looked at the BIOS and installed Home.
And where would I get that? Further, since the BIOS only show Home, would the Pro installation activate?
And you can only do that if it asks for a Key; it did not.
And this is exactly what I experienced.
Wynona, I have no machines with key embedded in UEFI, can't test if this still works in 10 but it worked at least with Windows 8.1 when I used it last time:
- Open Notepad
- Write this (exactly as shown):
- Replace 12345-ABCDE-67890-FGHIJ-KLMNO above with your Windows 10 Pro keyCode:[PID] Value=12345-ABCDE-67890-FGHIJ-KLMNO
- Save as X:\Sources\PID.txt (exactly that name, replace X with actual drive ID of your Windows 10 Pro USB install media)
The thing here is, when Windows Setup finds a valid key in PID.txt file in installation source, it shouldn't even look a key in BIOS / UEFI, bypassing it.
Someone else told me to do that, but I can't remember who. So it probably works.
Right now, I don't have anything to reinstall to, but may in the next few days.
I've chickened out on changing the HDD in Lappy to SSD because I want to add RAM as well, but that's way too far into the guts to do, so I'm going to take it to Tim the Computer Guy, probably this afternoon for the upgrade.
Yup, we be on the same page!
BTW, it was Alpha who told me to use that method:Then he gave me this link, which goes into more detail:Now I just put a PID.txt file with the generic Pro key in it, in the sources folder.
Solved Installation does NOT ask for key during install - Windows 10 Forums
And by then I was totally confused, and didn't follow through, which if I had, I'd have known by now what PID.txt is. :)
I think that if there is a drawback, it would be that I would have to be sure not to try to use that flash drive on another computer; it would start screaming, PIRACY, PIRACY, PIRACY!