Upgraded from 8.1 OEM - Will I be able to activate 10 on a new drive?


  1. Posts : 10
    Windows 10
       #1

    Upgraded from 8.1 OEM - Will I be able to activate 10 on a new drive?


    Hi,

    I upgraded from 8.1 on my laptop (OEM Windows, so I don't have the actual key printed anywhere). I now want to replace my boot drive- not clone, but remove and replace it with an empty drive on which I will install Windows 10 from scratch (using bootable USB).

    According to ProduKey, I have two windows keys:
    1) Windows (BIOS OEM Key)
    2) Windows 10 Home

    Will I be able to activate the fresh Windows install using this "Windows 10 Home" key?

    Thanks!
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 3,453
       #2

    davidspivak said:
    Hi,

    I upgraded from 8.1 on my laptop (OEM Windows, so I don't have the actual key printed anywhere). I now want to replace my boot drive- not clone, but remove and replace it with an empty drive on which I will install Windows 10 from scratch (using bootable USB).

    According to ProduKey, I have two windows keys:
    1) Windows (BIOS OEM Key)
    2) Windows 10 Home

    Will I be able to activate the fresh Windows install using this "Windows 10 Home" key?

    Thanks!
    You do not need a key as your PC already has digital entitlement - when installing Windows 10 Home to the new drive, skip key entry - if online it will activate based on the existing information on MS activation servers.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 10
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Awesome, thanks!
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 3,453
       #4

    davidspivak said:
    Awesome, thanks!
    You're welcome!

    (BTW... there are better alternatives to Produkey...:) )
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 10
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Cool, which ones are those?
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 5
    Windows 10
       #6

    davidspivak said:
    Will I be able to activate the fresh Windows install using this "Windows 10 Home" key?
    You will not be able to use the generic Windows 10 product keys to activate Windows 10.

    Windows 10 Home: TX9XD-98N7V-6WMQ6-BX7FG-H8Q99
    Windows 10 Pro: VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T

    davidspivak said:
    I upgraded from 8.1 on my laptop (OEM Windows, so I don't have the actual key printed anywhere). I now want to replace my boot drive- not clone, but remove and replace it with an empty drive on which I will install Windows 10 from scratch (using bootable USB).
    Source: Activation FAQ for Insider Preview Build 10565, 10576 and above - Microsoft Community

    Q: How do I activate a clean install of Build 10565 or higher?

    If Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 was pre-installed on your device by the OEM, you will not need to enter a product key -- the product key is provisioned in firmware and it will be used automatically in setup.
    So you do not receive the following screen.

    Upgraded from 8.1 OEM - Will I be able to activate 10 on a new drive?-install_windows_10_build_10586.jpg
    Last edited by Goosebumps; 13 Dec 2015 at 14:25. Reason: added picture
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 3,453
       #7

    davidspivak said:
    Cool, which ones are those?
    Solved Showkey - Windows 10 Forums
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 10
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #8

    Everything went smooth, thank you guys again :)
      My Computer


 

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