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

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  1. Posts : 7
    Win10
       #11

    vgchat said:
    For short term, using the hardware as Unique Identifier is ok. For long term, it's going to fall flat on it's face as people upgrade their rigs with new hdds/gpus/mobos/cpus etc. I believe that the windows key is more than likely tied to the MS account and when someone logs in to W10, it verifies/updates the hardware ID accordingly as a second verification measure.
    Pls try clean install with local account only, i.e. no ms account, and you will see your Win10 is activated automatically. So I may can say that it has nothing to do with the ms account.

    I don't like this auto activate thing, some day later, I need to proof that I had a working key in case I can not activate the windows, I can NOT. and MS can just reject my request to activate over the phone or something else I don't know.

    the solution i have right now is do to a acronis image after the clean install. rollback to that image in case reinstall is required in the future.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 456
    Windows 10 Pro
       #12

    I'm not denying that it will auto activate so long as you haven't swapped any hardware. Have you tried it after adding/removing/replacing a piece?
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 7
    Win10
       #13

    vgchat said:
    I'm not denying that it will auto activate so long as you haven't swapped any hardware. Have you tried it after adding/removing/replacing a piece?
    nop, I am too lazy to touch my hardware... I tied up all the cables, too much efforts to swap anything there... :)
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 3,257
    Windows 10 Pro
       #14

    vgchat said:
    For short term, using the hardware as Unique Identifier is ok. For long term, it's going to fall flat on it's face as people upgrade their rigs with new hdds/gpus/mobos/cpus etc. I believe that the windows key is more than likely tied to the MS account and when someone logs in to W10, it verifies/updates the hardware ID accordingly as a second verification measure.
    Activation is not tied to your MSA. You are not required to use an MSA with Windows 10. If that were the case, you simply wouldn't be able to upgrade if you weren't using one.

    What appears to be happening is this. Upon the first upgrade, MS sends your old Windows 7/8.x key to the activation servers, along with the current hardware hash. MS keeps this information, so further re-installs on the same machine are automatically activated without a key.

    If your key is a retail key, you can transfer this to a new machine by re-installing Windows 7/8.x and performing the upgrade again, the activation servers will already know you have upgraded the 7/8.x key and, even though it's new hardware, it will still automatically activate, because they will know that the original 7/8.x key Is marked as being upgraded.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 42
    Windows 8.1 64-bit Pro, Windows 10 64-bit Pro TP
       #15

    Mystere said:
    Activation is not tied to your MSA. You are not required to use an MSA with Windows 10. If that were the case, you simply wouldn't be able to upgrade if you weren't using one.

    What appears to be happening is this. Upon the first upgrade, MS sends your old Windows 7/8.x key to the activation servers, along with the current hardware hash. MS keeps this information, so further re-installs on the same machine are automatically activated without a key.

    If your key is a retail key, you can transfer this to a new machine by re-installing Windows 7/8.x and performing the upgrade again, the activation servers will already know you have upgraded the 7/8.x key and, even though it's new hardware, it will still automatically activate, because they will know that the original 7/8.x key Is marked as being upgraded.
    This is interesting and helpful information. As it looks now, my rig is lost in limbo and my laptop can't even get the basic Windows GUI functions to work. What are my options here? The rig was registered for an upgrade but has since been lost in limbo (I am still trying to figure out what the heck happened all of the sudden). Laptop upgraded within thirty minutes of restarting from 8.1 to begin the 10 upgrade. I'm essentially without a machine sans my work laptop.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 456
    Windows 10 Pro
       #16

    Mystere said:
    Activation is not tied to your MSA. You are not required to use an MSA with Windows 10. If that were the case, you simply wouldn't be able to upgrade if you weren't using one.

    What appears to be happening is this. Upon the first upgrade, MS sends your old Windows 7/8.x key to the activation servers, along with the current hardware hash. MS keeps this information, so further re-installs on the same machine are automatically activated without a key.

    If your key is a retail key, you can transfer this to a new machine by re-installing Windows 7/8.x and performing the upgrade again, the activation servers will already know you have upgraded the 7/8.x key and, even though it's new hardware, it will still automatically activate, because they will know that the original 7/8.x key Is marked as being upgraded.
    Thank you for that information. I tried to upgrade my sisters laptop with the 10240 build that came out earlier in the month. I installed it on mine and hers on the same day (7/18/2015).

    The difference being:
    I told win10 upgrade to keep everything on mine - activated with no problems
    I told win10 upgrade to keep nothing on my sisters - not activated

    Both of us were running windows 7 Ultimate, she had her notification thing in the taskbar like I did, any idea on what to do next to get her win10 activated?
      My Computers


  7. Posts : 1
    windows 10 home
       #17

    Netrum said:
    I have just now installed Win 10 clean install.
    Pro version if it matters.
    And apart from some hicups that i got sorted everything went smooth.
    When it comes to the windows 10 instalation key. You do not need one.
    When i loged in with my microsoft account, windows activated.
    So the key is with your microsoft account. :)
    hmmm i have multiple comupters that uses same microsoft account. and i updated all to windows 10 from 8.1...
    do you think all my windows 10 has their own product key own its own?
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 3,257
    Windows 10 Pro
       #18

    vgchat said:
    Thank you for that information. I tried to upgrade my sisters laptop with the 10240 build that came out earlier in the month. I installed it on mine and hers on the same day (7/18/2015).

    The difference being:
    I told win10 upgrade to keep everything on mine - activated with no problems
    I told win10 upgrade to keep nothing on my sisters - not activated

    Both of us were running windows 7 Ultimate, she had her notification thing in the taskbar like I did, any idea on what to do next to get her win10 activated?
    You're going to have to roll back and perform the upgrade again, keeping everything. You can re-install clean again after that.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 68
    10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #19

    Thanks guys
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 10
    windows 7
       #20

    I have Samsung NP-RV 515 A01US. I install Samsung recovery solutions 5 and rolled back to windows 7. I had a clean install of 7 no issues. I then upgraded to windows 10. No key asked when I did so. I put very few programs before and after the upgrade. So its not clean but very little is installed. Plus windows.old folder does not slow things down or affect performance I read somewhere. And I am using the original hd. Not sure how much life is left in the hd but it pretty smooth so not bad. So its not clean but pretty close and I don't even notice.
      My Computer


 

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