Nw problem -I have a lot of Dell Latitude 10 ST2 tablets

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  1. Posts : 14,046
    Windows 11 Pro X64 22H2 22621.1848
       #1

    Nw problem -I have a lot of Dell Latitude 10 ST2 tablets


    As in my previous post, these were donated to the thrift store from our church school. Guess they upgraded all their tablets for the kids.

    Problem I'm seeing now is install is not reading the key from BIOS. I've only tried two tablets so far, and both installed but I had to use the generic 8.0 Pro key (turns out they are pro, not home or core or whatever they were called in 8.0 days).

    I even ran ShowkeyPlus and it said OEM Key not present in firmware. These tablets came with Windows 8.0 Pro installed so the key should be embedded in BIOS. Any idea what is going on?

    Is this some kind of a KVM/VLK thing between Dell and the school? If so that's going to put the kibosh on 70 tablets to sell from the thrift store which would be a real bummer.

    I'll talk to their tech guy but I don't have a lot of hope as he said he didn't know how to reload the tablets to wipe existing data.

    I have the official Windows 8 for Dell flash drive that I used to reinstall Win 8.0 but it still didn't read the key from BIOS. Tried Win 8.1 Pro also, same problem.
      My Computers


  2. Posts : 15,028
    Windows 10 IoT
       #2

    Current Windows 10 install media does not read the OEM embedded Windows 8.0 Core key in my ASUS laptop. I forget what build but it just stopped reading using it. Fine by me to be honest. Showkey still found it, last time I ran it on that PC. That was a while ago and an older version though.

    Did they activate? If you put a PID.txt file with the generic pro key in the sources folder of your install media, Pro should be installed by default with no prompt for a key or chose edition.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #3

    1903 is still reading the product key in BIOS on my computer. Also, please note this from the OP:

    Ztruker said:
    I even ran ShowkeyPlus and it said OEM Key not present in firmware.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 15,028
    Windows 10 IoT
       #4

    NavyLCDR said:
    1903 is still reading the product key in BIOS on my computer.
    Others have reported the same thing, I have no idea why mine is ignored? It was read and used with early Windows 10 builds. I had to add a PID.txt file to install Pro instead of Home.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 14,046
    Windows 11 Pro X64 22H2 22621.1848
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Using the Windows 8 for Dell flash drive, one tablet installed and activated 8 Pro. Another asks for a key and will not continue unless I provide one. Same exact tablet from the same pile of donated tablets. I just brought two more home to play with. Will see what I can find out.

    I'll talk to the school tech guy (not really an IT guy) and see if he has any ideas. Maybe if I can login I can do a reset using the Windows 8 for Dell flash drive. That would suffice and clean the tablet so I can then sell it.

    I've made an ISO from the Windows 8 for Dell flash drive using ImgBurn. I'll create a flash drive from it and see if it works the same as the original. That way I'll at least have a backup in case problems come up.
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 15,028
    Windows 10 IoT
       #6

    If said device does not already have a DL for the (edition) genric key you enter, it will not accept with the generic key.
    IMHO that was a change done to stop people from upgarding to Pro (via the generic key) and then not being able to actiavte Pro.
    Do that in the past and you had to clean install Home to get back to an actiavted Home install. Change product key will not let you go from any edition back to Home.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 14,046
    Windows 11 Pro X64 22H2 22621.1848
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Taking an alternative path, I was able to change the password on Administrator then login locally as Administrator and leave the Domain. After that I could create a new account, delete old accounts and clean up the system so I now have a clean Windows 8.1 Pro.

    Looks like it's going to take me 4 or 5 hours per tablet to do this but as I get more proficient at it I may be able to get that down to a couple hours. I have 70 (67 now) to do so it's going to take awhile. Macrium image then restore would be far preferable but I don't know what to do about the key.

    When I ran ShowKey Plus from KYHI's rescue ISO on a different tablet, it got a different response than previously:
    Nw problem -I have a lot of Dell Latitude 10 ST2 tablets-img_20190721_200731311.jpg
    Would the OEM key be from BIOS/Firmware? I'm going to check a few more and is they are different then I have a shot at clean installing 8.0 Pro then upgrading to 8.1 Pro which I think is a better solution, or with the key I could try the Macrium image approach and use the key from each tablet.

    Fun times.
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 15,028
    Windows 10 IoT
       #8

    @Superfly can tell you for sure if that key is BIOS or not. I haven't run showkey in a while but I thought the wording was different for the BIOS key versus one you entered manually?
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 11,247
    Windows / Linux : Arch Linux
       #9

    Hi there

    @Ztruker

    If the hardware is identical why not try restoring the image from one tablet (the one that activated) to another one and then see if it will activate -- chances are that a digital license will be generated for the next tablet and activate -- if that works then keep restoring the image to the tablets.

    Turn off / disable secure boot though if you can - then AFAIK Windows won't bother with any "embedded key". Disabling secure boot doesn't mean that you have to disable UEFI boot BTW.

    I've restored loads of images to different hardware with decent success rates -- restoring to identical hardware should be a breeze. !!!!

    Cheers
    jimbo
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 31,480
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #10

    Ztruker said:
    When I ran ShowKey Plus from KYHI's rescue ISO on a different tablet, it got a different response than previously:
    Nw problem -I have a lot of Dell Latitude 10 ST2 tablets-img_20190721_200731311.jpg
    Would the OEM key be from BIOS/Firmware?

    According to @Superfly's ShowKeyPlus thread that 'OEM:DM' means yes, it's an embedded key...

    OEM: DM = PC specific keys found embedded in the Microsoft Data Management (MSDM) table of the firmware of Windows 8 and Windows 10 factory installed PC's.
    ShowKeyPlus
      My Computers


 

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