I'm with Brink here ..
Did you check that the key you used is Pro? You can use this ShowKeyPlus - Windows 10 Forums
... like I posted I got Pro with the Win7 COA Pro key I used.
Backup is essential ('cos certain things are a given -- like paying taxes, fixing MS mess up's etc )
I used Showkey and the OEM Key shown at the end is NOT the same key as The PC came with.
It also does not match any of the Win 7 keys I have. Under Original Key is stated MA K not available.
I entered the key I used from a Win 7 Pro package I bought some years ago. That was a CD in a sealed package with COA label. When installed in an earlier PC (still working) it got the Genuine notice on activation on that PC and still is.
Showkey shows that as Windows 7 Professional OEM:NONSLP
To repeat - That key is from the genuine MS product I bought from a retailer. It was not from a PC with an installation !
Also, the Key showing on my Windows 10 that was Home but now shows Enterprise (Which I certainly never chose!) does not match ANY of the many MS keys I have.
I also checked Showkey for the key that was in this PC I bought with a preload of Win 10. That is shown as Win 10 RTM Core OEM.DM
I am shocked that I have this HUGE problem. The first thing that the upgrade system asked for was a product key for the upgrade. After some minutes it went ahead with the upgrade. There was NO, repeat NO, message telling me that the key was unusable for activation. Disgusting.
Before I attempt any changes I am going to collect together all the information I have on my systems, including a backup copy of all my licenses, install downloads, system, hard drive and anything else that comes to mind. On an external drive backupper of course. If I knew of any way of contacting MS management, I would love to give them a bollocking
Tony
Last edited by Snugglebugs; 16 Mar 2019 at 14:16.
I always have problems with getting the digits entered correctly - I am hard of hearing and trying to understand the synthesised voice through a telephone and hearing aid is hard! I have several times used the system before and have never been able to complete the sequence on the first attempt
It is difficult to remember poorly heard words when needing to go from step to step. Do you know what the script for the introductory instruction message is? If I could have that beside the phone then I would be more certain that I am doing each step correctly.
Thanks
Tony
I always have problems with getting the digits entered correctly - I am hard of hearing and trying to understand the synthesised voice through a telephone and hearing aid is hard! I have several times used the system before and have never been able to complete the sequence on the first attempt
It is difficult to remember poorly heard words when needing to go from step to step. Do you know what the script for the introductory instruction message is? If I could have that beside the phone then I would be more certain that I am doing each step correctly.
Thanks
Tony
In that case, you could try to activate with Microsoft Chat Support instead.
Activate Your Windows 10 License via Microsoft Chat Support
@Snugglebugs,
To be clear, you purchased a Win 7 Pro package which was an OEM version, as Showkey proves. You installed that on a PC which is still working and now you want to install that same product key on a second computer? Did I read that correctly?
@Snugglebugs,
If this is true, then you won't be able to activate with that key on another computer since you can only activate an OEM key on the exact same computer it was first activated on and no other.
That's why an OEM key is cheaper than a full retail key.
Not the way I see it! MS on various webpages state that a Win 7 Pro key can be used for the UPGRADE PROCESS for a Win 10 Home installation. That is therefore not an install of Win 7 Pro but a way of authorising the upgrade process only from Win 10 Home to Win10 Pro. If that is NOT what is meant, then the MS information needs drastic correction!
Firstly, I have already stated this but it seems to have been missed - When the upgrade process started the first step was for me to enter a product key. If the one I entered was not valid for that purpose, then the MS process should never have continued. If I had received such a statement, then the upgrade should have stopped and my original Home installation would not have been destroyed.
Secondly, again as I have written, the upgrade actually ended up from Home to Enterprise. How on earth did that happen? Even more damaging to my installation!
Thirdly, I bought a complete Microsoft sealed package with genuine COA for Win 7 Pro years ago from a shop. If that is not buying retail, then I don't know what is!
I am very angry - I followed the MS instructions and now face weeks of work to get a valid system back. Unless MS acknowledge their responsibility and give me an activation key that will work on my current damaged installation.
Tony
First of all, Tony, it appears as if you are trying to use the same Windows 10 license on two computers at the same time. You stated:
"I entered the key I used from a Win 7 Pro package I bought some years ago. That was a CD in a sealed package with COA label. When installed in an earlier PC (still working) it got the Genuine notice on activation on that PC and still is."
One license = one install activated at a time. You are trying to run it on two different computers at the same time. Violates the EULA.
2. It was an OEM version of Windows 7 Pro to begin with. The license agreement for Windows 7 Pro OEM version prohibits personal use. It is intended for pre-installation on a computer system that is going to be sold to a third party. That third party becomes the end user. They are the ones permitted by the license agreement to actually use the Windows 7 on that computer, not the "system builder" who built the computer.
3. OEM licenses are non-transferable. That means you are prohibited by the license agreement from moving it from motherboard to motherboard.
You can be angry all you want to be. YOU are violating the license agreement with Microsoft. If you want to be angry at someone, it should be the retailer that sold you the OEM Windows 7 Pro - not Microsoft.
Good day to you, sir.
In addition:
With Windows 7, you could have purchased a retail OEM or full retail box version of Windows 7.
The retail OEM is treated the same as a preinstalled OEM copy of Windows 7 on an OEM computer. The license is only good on that computer and no other.
It sounds like the retailer sold you a retail OEM copy.
Well, as I have already stated; I am angry for two reasons. When I started the upgrade to Pro I had FIRST to enter the product key I intended to use before the process would continue and NO warning was given that the key was invalid for the purpose. As a result, it was only after my install was ruined that I discovered, through this forum not from MS, that the upgrade wold make my computer subject to being unusable after a short while. And then I found that it had upgraded to Enterprise (which I had never chosen).
I thank you for your explanation, although, like MS information, it is still unclear what a simple word like Retail, means to the lawyers at MS!
Oh well, onwards and upwards! I still think the addendum to Brink's messages are sensible.
Tony
Last edited by Snugglebugs; 18 Mar 2019 at 09:39.
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