New
#1
Now on Windows 10 .. and preparing for a future clean re-install
I have successfully "upgraded" ( via Window's Update) four machines to Windows 10. All good.
I now want to prepare a bit , for a clean install down the road. In the past, out of habit, I always created installation media ( USB/ISO etc) and kept a paper ( and electronic record of the Windows activation/product key ( the one it sometimes prompt you for after a clean install, especially after a hardware change. I have created Win 10 install media, but have a question about product activation keys.
I read the tutorial here Windows 10 - Clean Install - Windows 10 Forums , and If I understood correctly,
-I wont need a product key for a future clean reinstall
-But, if I make a meaningful change to hardware, I may need to contact customer support to help with activation
So is there really no product activation key I can keep on file?
I do get some numbers ( different from WIn 8.1 number)s if I run various utilities right now, ie
-WinKeyFinder reports back that my 25 character key is T49TD-...
-Speccy and Belarc report back a different number, YTMG3-...
-and SLMGR at the dos prompt reports back a Partial Prodcut key of 8HVX7..
Are any of these valid, or am I at the whim of a future call to Microsoft customer support? Wont the line be busy with all those billions of users out there??