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#91
I too was having a problem with this, I wanted a nice clean install of win10 rather than the upgraded win7->win10 option.
I did the upgrade succesfully from win7 pro to win10 pro. win 10 reported that it was activated and everything was good. I used the win 10 tools to create USB install media and then did a fresh install on the same machine. At no point would it activate. I tried all of the tricks mentioned here and decided to contact Microsoft support. The chat logs are below.
in summary, they have essentially said that you need to purchase a new key for a clean install as your older win7/8 keys will only be valid for upgrades.
re-installing a clean win 7 so i can upgrade..... yay fun!
Hi, thanks for visiting Answer Desk! I'm Alyssa B..
12:52 pm
How may I help you?
12:53 pm
good afternoon. I am facing a problem with a windows 10 upgrade/install. I upgraded a win7 pro x64 install using an OEM license to windows 10, after which windows license status was activated. I then performed a clean install of windows 10 (to clear any clutter from the install), but it will not accept my OEM key and activate.
12:54 pm
I am sorry for the inconvenience that this might have caused you.
12:55 pm
Do you still have the Product Key for Windows 7?
12:55 pm
I do.
12:56 pm
if I provide my win7 key in win10 it gives me error code 0xc004f050.
12:56 pm
Are you using the same PC?
12:56 pm
Let me check for the error.
12:57 pm
Yes. The clean install was performed on the same machine that I previously upgraded
12:57 pm
would you like the license key?
12:57 pm
I see, I would advise you to use the Windows Update on upgrading to Windows 10 to not get any error, because when you did clean install you will encounter issues on Activating Windows 10.
12:58 pm
Yes please
12:58 pm
the license key is XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
12:59 pm
Thank[ you
12:59 pm
I was under the impression that once you had performed a valid upgrade, the key could be used to validate a clean install of win 10 on the same computer. is this incorrect?
1:00 pm
Because, if you want to upgrade to Windows 10 just follow the right path on upgrading to Windows 10.
1:02 pm
Like using the Windows Update on upgrading
1:02 pm
what are my options with regards to activating the clean install of windows 10 on the same computer?
1:04 pm
Using Windows updates and install all the available updates
1:04 pm
the windows 10 install is fully up to date
1:05 pm
Just Install all updates and upgrade to Windows 10
1:06 pm
it's already on windows 10...
1:06 pm
I see, To be able to assist you more effectively with your Windows concern, I will do a Remote Session on your computer which will allow me to access and gain full control of your PC, but this is only temporary and I won't touch any of your personal files that are not needed to resolve your issue. Is that okay with you?
1:07 pm
I am not chatting to you from the computer having the issue, I have no objections to you connecting to the computer I am trying to validate.
1:08 pm
O I see, if you are on the PC, try to revert back to your previous OS and install first all the updates and upgrade to Windows 10.
1:10 pm
so.. it isn't possible to activate a clean copy of windows 10 if you've performed an upgrade from an earlier OS?
1:13 pm
If you are dealing to do a clean install it will required a key which is key for Windows 10 and you really need to purchase a full version of windows 10, that's why other customer follow the right process on how to upgrade to windows 10 to get it free and activated.
1:13 pm
ok, so if I ever needed to reinstall in the future I must always install win7 first, then upgrade it?
1:14 pm
How? -- by installing the previous OS make sure it is activated, then install all the windows updates, then after you fully installed all the updates it will notify you to upgrade to windows 10.
1:15 pm
so, just to confirm. there is no way to do a clean install of windows 10 and validate it, even if it is on the same computer that was upgraded previously? it must always be upgraded from an earlier operating system? is that correct?
1:17 pm
There's a way for you to do a clean install but the thing is you need a valid Product Key for Windows 10
1:18 pm
and that requires purchasing a new win10 license, rather than using my previous windows 7 license?
1:19 pm
Yes, correct.
1:19 pm
ok. thank you for clarifying.
1:20 pm
You're welcome
1:20 pm