Windows 8.1 to Windows 10: Mistake?
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My Acer Aspire R14 laptop came with Windows 8.1. When Windows 10 was released I reserved my copy and within a few weeks it updated normally.
Here of late, I've noticed some lag issues and such. So I decided to refresh the Windows 10 install.
Instead of going back to Windows 8.1 and then upgrading, I chose to install Windows 10 directly. Now, it is asking for the Product Key.
As now Product keys are not printed, but embedded in the UEFI firmware, I didn't have that to input. But now I have to activate Windows 10..
I actually just performed this basic task on my old Dell that had been running Windows 7. It is showing that it Activated, will this install also activate in a day or so?
Opinions as I continue to search..
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Note: I used the Windows Media Creation tool to create the USB Installer for Windows 10 Pro
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Error I'm getting
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Did you have Windows 8.1 Pro on the laptop when it upgraded to Windows 10? If not, you can only activate Windows 10 (home edition) for free. You'll have to download the ISO and install again.
FYI, Windows (starting in Windows 8 I believe) has a new feature called Refresh. It is suppose to perform an in place clean install of the OS, though I'm sure you can't actually change anything about the partitions to have it work.
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I have reinstalled both home and pro machines after accepting the upgrade. Both auto activate after installation is completed. You just choose the options to skip/give code later during the install.
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Maybe it is a sign, time for Linux!
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Were you truly running the OEM key when you upgraded?
My desktop was running a Technet or MS Partner 8.1 key when I originally upgraded from that ot 10. I ran into the same issue when I went to do a fresh install.
I installed back to 7 (the original key on the box) and then upgraded to 10. Then nuked the system and installed fresh again and it activated just fine.
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@JaredBusch said:
Were you truly running the OEM key when you upgraded?
My desktop was running a Technet or MS Partner 8.1 key when I originally upgraded from that ot 10. I ran into the same issue when I went to do a fresh install.
I installed back to 7 (the original key on the box) and then upgraded to 10. Then nuked the system and installed fresh again and it activated just fine.
What would you call the key used from ACER, Dell, HP, etc.
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Use SysSpec from Alex Nolan it's a very simple tool that can pull this key for you.
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As I understand it Microsoft automagically assigns your computer a new key when you upgrade from Windows 8 to Windows 10... If you log in to the machine with your Microsoft account it should retrieve that key for you, assuming you actually logged in to your old machine with a Microsoft account.
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@dafyre said:
As I understand it Microsoft automagically assigns your computer a new key when you upgrade from Windows 8 to Windows 10... If you log in to the machine with your Microsoft account it should retrieve that key for you, assuming you actually logged in to your old machine with a Microsoft account.
IT has nothing to do with your account. The machine ID is tied to the hardware.
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@gjacobse said:
What would you call the key used from ACER, Dell, HP, etc.
That is the OEM key. My question was are you sure your system was using that key prior to the upgrade?
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@JaredBusch That is correct. I think it is stored in your account. I upgraded from 8 to 10, and then wiped, and installed 10 from scratch and it installed without asking me for a key or anything.
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@dafyre said:
@JaredBusch That is correct. I think it is stored in your account. I upgraded from 8 to 10, and then wiped, and installed 10 from scratch and it installed without asking me for a key or anything.
You can give the machine to someone else. They can wipe and reinstall and log in with their account and it will be licensed. The license is tied to the hardware and does not know anything about the account.
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@JaredBusch said:
@gjacobse said:
What would you call the key used from ACER, Dell, HP, etc.
That is the OEM key. My question was are you sure your system was using that key prior to the upgrade?
I have no reason to think that the key would have been changed.
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What version of Windows 10 is on it now? what version of Windows 8.1 was on it before?
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@Dashrender Me? Home Premium and the Win 10 Home Premium edition, I think... I wish they'd take a play out of Apples play book... One Desktop OS without the 10871320487210437 different licensing options.
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@dafyre said:
@Dashrender Me? Home Premium and the Win 10 Home Premium edition, I think... I wish they'd take a play out of Apples play book... One Desktop OS without the 10871320487210437 different licensing options.
I thought there were only three versions of Windows 10. Home, Professional, and Enterprise?
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@coliver said:
@dafyre said:
@Dashrender Me? Home Premium and the Win 10 Home Premium edition, I think... I wish they'd take a play out of Apples play book... One Desktop OS without the 10871320487210437 different licensing options.
I thought there were only three versions of Windows 10. Home, Professional, and Enterprise?
There are 5. Add Education and IoT to your list
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@nadnerB Yepp... and that is 4 too many.
