Windows product key on label differs to retrievd key

UPDATE
found my own answer...
apparently the key on the label is the OEM key the manufacturer is obliged to give with an OEM product.

the ' embedded' key found with magicaljellybean is the volume licensing key that the manufacturer uses to bulk activate multiple PC's


Hi
not strictly a Windows 10 issue.

I did a product key search using jellybean on a Windows 7 PC I am about to upgrade to Windows 10. however the product key I obtained vqb3x .....etc is different from the product key on the sticker on the side of the PC.. .MMVJM....etc

just wondered why it is different ?
thanks

Factory Windows 7 OEM-SLP installs use a manufacturer specific key. Each Manufacturer has their own OEM-SLP key for each version of Windows 7 they ship on PC's. So for example, every HP model ABC PC that ships with Windows Home Premium will have the same HP Home Premium key. Those factory OEM-SLP installs don't activate online, they activate against a SLIC table in the BIOS added by that OEM. Those OEM-SLP keys are permanently blocked form online activation. That's so you can't use a key finder and try to use them on another PC. They will only work with the matching custom OEM install media. If you clean install Windows 7 and try to use that key it will fail activation. That's what the key on the COA sticker is for. It's a unique key for that PC only. Even then I think you have to do a phone activation the first time you use it. Just to make sure its being used on the PC it came with.

As far as I know those OEM-SLP keys are blocked by Windows 10 too if you try to enter one manually. You can't activate Windows 10 with one on a clean install. The ones on the COA sticker will work though. If you do an upgrade from a currently installed Windows 7 that is using an OEM-SLP key it will be accepted though. It just checks activation status on an upgrade and doesn't really care about the key in use. It's a legally activated install so you get a digital entitlement with your upgrade.

very informative reply thanks

Your welcome.

when OEM's where required to place the coa on the pc..
you got two PC activations for the price of one...

one via OEM pre-activation and the other via coa product key