Activation with old key?

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

    deeaa said:
    original key: Xhq8m----
    original edition: Win 8.1. Professional retail
    oem key: Oem key not present in firmware

    xhq8m-c3mcj-rqxb6-wchyg-c9wkb ???

    That product key is all over the internet.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 89
    Win 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #12

    Hmm...I installed ShowKeyPlus again now on this new machine...

    Windows 10 Pro
    Product ID: 00330---- (BUT end is different)
    Installed Key: VK7JZ---- (Exactly the same as on old machine, also exact same on all my machines. No wonder it didn't work it must be just a generic key it shows).

    OEM Key: OEM key not present in firmware


    - doesn't say anything about the 'original key' or original edition any more....Strange that the product ID has changed too...but I see it is actually different in all my W10 machines.

    It doesn't appear to have the OEM key in firmware in any of my machines, although all 3 of them ARE updated from OEM W7 to W10.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 89
    Win 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #13

    NavyLCDR said:
    xhq8m-c3mcj-rqxb6-wchyg-c9wkb ???

    That product key is all over the internet.
    Yep, that's it. Maybe it's a generic code as well??? Well then especially obviously it wasn't the real key I installed it with originally, but some bogus key ShowKey presents.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 89
    Win 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #14

    Seems to me this ShowKey doesn't show the correct codes on any of my machines, they're all the same and/or just random.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #15

    deeaa said:
    Yep, that's it. Maybe it's a generic code as well??? Well then especially obviously it wasn't the real key I installed it with originally, but some bogus key ShowKey presents.
    Showkey does not present bogus keys. Showkey presents what is either stored in your bios or in your registry. Windows 7 never had product keys stored in BIOS - that didn't start happening until Windows 8. Showkey only presents what is on the computer. All Windows 10 upgrades from Windows 7/8/8.1 get the same generic product keys from Microsoft depending on the version of WIndows 10 (Home, Pro, etc.)
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 89
    Win 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #16

    So what's the use of Show Key then, if it only shows the same generic keys for all machines, that you can't use for installing again??? I'm puzzled. I have the original keys on stickers on all my machines and none of them show in ShowKey. Only these generic same codes.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #17

    deeaa said:
    Seems to me this ShowKey doesn't show the correct codes on any of my machines, they're all the same and/or just random.
    Fine. Use Belarc Advisor:
    Belarc Advisor - Free Personal PC Audit, for software, hardware and security configuration information on your computer. Software license management, IT asset management, cyber security audits, and more.

    You'll get the same product keys.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 89
    Win 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #18

    And it doesn't seem to store the keys in Bios/firmware now either.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #19

    deeaa said:
    And it doesn't seem to store the keys in Bios/firmware now either.
    Only manufacturers of computer systems like Dell, Hewlett Packard, etc store product keys in BIOS. Windows, by itself, never did. The use of actual product keys themselves stored in BIOS did not begin until Windows 8 was loaded on those computer as the factory OS.

    deeaa said:
    So what's the use of Show Key then, if it only shows the same generic keys for all machines, that you can't use for installing again??? I'm puzzled. I have the original keys on stickers on all my machines and none of them show in ShowKey. Only these generic same codes.
    The purpose of Showkey Plus is to show the product keys stored in your bios or in your registry. It's not up to Showkey Plus to determine if those product keys are legitimate or not or where they came from. It also has an added feature that you can enter a product key and it will tell you what version of Windows it is for - but it will not tell you if Microsoft has blocked that product from use due to abuse in the past.
    @Superfly might know more about your xh8qm- product key.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 89
    Win 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #20

    Ym. I thought the idea was to revealb your orig.key if you haven't kept it safe so you could use it for reinstalling anew.
      My Computer


 

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