An in-place upgrade of a valid activated Windows 7 Pro should activate and get a digital licence for 10 Pro linked to this PC and stored on Microsoft's activation servers. After that you are free to do a clean install of 10 Pro without providing a key and it should activate from the digital licence.
what I was told by one of the windows 10 support techs was that Enterprise cannot be upgraded to windows 10, per policy, for reasons Alphanumeric already covered. Further, if a Product Key - in this case a windows 7 valid/activated key, was utilized in a Refurbishment, that key will not be accepted. So you'll get one form or another of "failed to validate the product key". The easy path is with the key that was originally tied to the hardware.
I suspect YMMV
a P.S. - having done a lot of this sort of thing for various customers, it is not always apparent when a "refurb" key is in play. As noted by other posters above, the 'key' on the old windows 7 paper labels were almost never the key with which the system was activated as these are 'sprayed on' via install servers at the assembly point. I cannot find a way to determine if the actual product key on a working system which is activated is the first/only key ever activated on that hardware. Bottom line is try it... if it fails to validate the reason may be because it was a secondary key, not the original
A windows 7 PC with a factory OEM install will be using that OEM's SLP key, not the one on the COA sticker. The factory OEM SLP key will only work with custom OEM factory install media, on a PC with a matching OEM SLIC table in the BIOS. The OEM-COA key on the sticker is for use with standard install media. And from my experience, will require phone activation first time used.
If you use a key finder utility on a factory Windows 7 OEM install it will retrieve the OEM-SLP key which is totally useless. Its a generic key tied to that OEM. You cannot activate Windows 7 with it, it will not work with standard install media. Factory Windows 7 OEM installs do not activate online, they activate against the SLIC table I the BIOS. You also can't use those OEM-SLP keys to activate Windows 10 when clean installing Windows 10. Those OEM-SLP keys are blacklisted on the activation server. The only way they will be accepted with the free upgrade is if you actually upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10, an in place upgrade.
I think you're mostly correct. Which editions are you addressing? Enterprise only? -which wouldn't likely have an OEM key -[thinking of the OP]. Home Edition off a retail shelf? Windows 7, both home and Pro, will activate a "retired" key from OEM A on a refurb of OEM B. By retired I mean the original system was junked, not in service, and the key not posted on everyone's favorite forum. That operation is a one&done. Cannot upgrade.
Re 10 upgrade, I thought what I was told was that if the version and OEM match the key and the key is not blocked its a go. From what you're saying that would be the unicorn
I'm talking about any edition other than Enterprise. Everything except Enterprise can be installed by an OEM using an OEM-SLP key. Enterprise will never ever have an OEM key, it is Volume Licence only.
You should be able to use the OEM-COA key, the one on the COA sticker from a dead PC to activate Windows 10. Assuming they still allow free upgrades. It was announced as over a while back. The OEM-SLP key will be blocked.
Strictly speaking, what was announced as being over was the GWX app.
https://support.microsoft.com/help/1...10-upgrade-faqThe Windows 10 free upgrade through the Get Windows 10 (GWX) app ended on July 29, 2016.
A few weeks ago I did a clean install of Windows 10 on a machine that had never been upgraded to 10. It was built with a Windows 8.1 key embedded in the firmware. Windows 10 activated from that key. A clean install using a qualifying key, or an upgrade of an activated Windows 7/8 system still seems to get a digital licence from the activation servers.
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