Install W10 Pro without having a key yet ?

RobDownUnder said:

Sorry if I was not clear.
The original drive (the one that came with the Asus laptop) is 750GB. It originally had W8, and during the free period it was auto updated to W10 Pro 64bit.
That drive is disintegrating (severely), and cannot boot (continuously attempts to repair, and cannot complete that)
I had a 40GB lying around, that probably had XP in it in the past.
I have replaced the 750GB with the 40GB, and I wish to install W10 Pro 64bit into it

Then it will activate automatically - no need to buy a new licence.

Plankton said:

Since this is a laptop....odds are that it's an OEM install and most likely wont self activate using the ISO from the media creation tool. More than likely a phone call to MS to reactivate it is going to be needed. And for that you can use this link.......
Activate Office 2010 - Office Support

Just a side note!

My customer experience with the MS service desk, regarding a new reactivation for a Win 8 OEM license I moved from a Mac Pro 3.1 to a Mac Pro 5.1 - so different hardware - was top notch! My MS NPS=10 therefore. [emoji41]

Good Luck & Cheers

Bree said:

The original RTM 10240 called it a 'digital entitlement'. The name later changed to a 'digital licence', but as far as the activation servers are concerned it's one and the same thing.

Yes but there was one difference in 10240. If you installed Windows 10 (instead of upgrade) using a product key, you did not get granted digital entltlement, and had to re-enter key upon a new install.

In later versions (can't remember if TH2 or AU), you got granted a digital licence if you used a product key to install it, and no longer needed a product key. So at least from AU onwards, you do not need to re-enter product key any more.

It is all irrelevant now, as OP has confirmed PC was upgraded to Windows 10 before drive failed from Windows 8 so will have a digital licence.

HippsieGypsie said:

(Snicker) I suppose legally there is a difference between digital entitlement vs digital license, but MS seems to have trouble naming things either of themselves or by others. Remember the SkyDrive fiasco?

It was simple rename as the term entitlement was unclear.

Hit cancel or back, and it should go back, and then click link near bottom to enter an offline account (local account). Then you can choose to enter any name and password you like. You can change it to an MS account after installation.