Why do I find two different Windows7 product keys on the same laptop?

I have a Samsung RF511 laptop, which I bought brand-new. It came with Windows 7 Home Premium as the OEM installed operating system.

I'm preparing to upgrade it to Windows 10, so I have been doing the preparatory reading of all the excellent tutorials by @Brink on the ways to do so.

I've made one curious discovery, and wonder if anyone can explain it.

The laptop has the genuine CoA sticker, which gives a Microsoft product key for the Win7 Home Premium OEM install.

Just for interest, I ran ShowKeyPlus. In fact the latest version (1.1.14.1) wouldn't run - it just showed the revolving "loading" symbol. Maybe @Superfly can explain why? (EDIT: I just noticed the note in Github that in 1.1.14.1 "Windows 7 is no longer supported (apart from key checking)").

So I ran version 1.0.5730. That gave me the expected details for the Win7 OS - product name, product ID, installed key.... and notes that the OEM key has the marker present in the firmware.

The curious thing is that the installed key revealed by ShowKeyPlus is different from the key on the CoA sticker.

Now, if I simply do an in-place upgrade to Win10 using the Media Creation Tool (I would like to keep my apps, settings and data) I hope and believe that the product key will be applied automatically as it is in the firmware, and Win10 will be activated without the need to manually enter a product key.

But if for any reason now or later I want to do a clean install, and anyway because it seems a wise precaution to have a separate note of the product key, which of the two product keys (the CoA or the ShowKeyPlus one) is in fact the one to keep on file? And what is the explanation anyway for the existence of the two different keys?

I've seen the same and usually one was the OEM's generic key used when building the computer. Some time ago I'd seen an article about OEMs having disk writing setups that wrote the drives en masse from a single source, all were the same until the licensed key on the COA sticker was used. Having to prepare a large number of computers for shipping would otherwise take too much time to be profitable, having started building computers back in mid-'90s in a shop [in second career] brought that to light.

The COA Product Key or a Retail key is the one to use, have never been able to use the embedded key. Win8 started with the change to usually not needing to enter a key until after Win10 was installed, if ever.

br1anstorm said:

It came with Windows 7 Home Premium as the OEM installed operating system.
I'm preparing to upgrade it to Windows 10, so I have been doing the preparatory reading of all the excellent tutorials by @Brink on the ways to do so.

If your Windows 7 is currently activated then you can just run the upgrade without doing anything with any product key.
Upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 - TenForumsTutorials
When you next connect to the internet, your Windows 10 will get activated automatically. You will not be asked for any product key.
Any subsequent re-installations will also get activated automatically [you just skip the installation dialog that asks for a product key].
Clean Install - TenForumsTutorials

br1anstorm said:

I've made one curious discovery, and wonder if anyone can explain it.
The laptop has the genuine CoA sticker, which gives a Microsoft product key for the Win7 Home Premium OEM install.
…
The curious thing is that the installed key revealed by ShowKeyPlus is different from the key on the CoA sticker.

That is all perfectly normal.
- Your OEM Windows 7 uses an internal key to activate.
- So, if you were to reinstall Windows 7, you would not normally need to enter any product key.
- If that internal key were ever to fail to function correctly, you would be able to use the one on the CoA to activate your Windows 7. It's a replacement key and is always different to that internal one.


Denis

br1anstorm said:

...I ran version 1.0.5730. That gave me the expected details for the Win7 OS - product name, product ID, installed key.... and notes that the OEM key has the marker present in the firmware.

The curious thing is that the installed key revealed by ShowKeyPlus is different from the key on the CoA sticker....

No, it's not curious at all. As others have already said, the OEM preinstalled Win7 will have a generic OEM SLP key specific to that particular OEM. When reinstalling from a factory reset image or the OEM's recovery DVD then this generic key, in combination with the SLP marker in the bios, allows the OEM Win7 to self-activate without any need to go online.

The CoA key is only ever needed if you don't have access to the OEM recovery partition or have an OEM recovery DVD. It allows you to use standard Win7 install media from Microsoft, but will require online activation if used. As you still have the OEM pre-installed OS, looks like your CoA key has never been used.

OEM SLP and COA SLP product keys, are issued by large computer manufacturers and use SLP (System Locked Pre-installation) technology to bind the license to the original motherboard via the BIOS and software.

The OEM SLP keys self-activate if the corresponding data in the BIOS is correct. OEM SLP keys, which the user can read in the MGADiag report or software like KeyFinder, cannot be used by the end user to manually activate Windows. The COA SLP key is printed on a sticker affixed to the side of the computer case (desktops), or on the bottom of the case (laptops), or in the battery compartment (newer laptops). This is the key for the user to enter manually should he need to activate Windows himself.

https://social.microsoft.com/Forums/...enuinewindows7

br1anstorm said:

...So now I know, and can mark the thread Solved. Thanks again.

As confirmation, I think you'll find your installed generic OEM key for Samsung's W7 Home Premium is this one:

CQBVJ-*****-*****-*****-2BT4J

br1anstorm said:

Yup, @Bree, that's spot on.

I'm tempted to say you must be psychic.... but I'm guessing there are lists or databases somewhere which contain the details of the generic OEM keys used by all the various manufacturers.

Yes, I just looked it up in a copy of one such list that I downloaded a while back