My laptop operating system has died.

I can get into the bios, but in order re-install I need to delete the partitions as they're corrupted.

But I don't want to lose my free upgrade from Win8 to win10.

 

Is there any way to get the Win10 key from the bios - or to reinstall Win8, then go to Win10 and keep my free upgrade?


Thanks

 

 

Often there's a sticker on the bottom of a laptop which has the installation key printed on it.

 

It's easily overlooked and not always there but definitely worth a check.

 

As for getting this information from the BIOS, I've never heard of that before, I believe it's stored on the disk somewhere.

I maybe wrong but you should be able to do a clean install of win 10 and still have the win key be automatically applied in the process if you have previously had a win 10 OS system with apukka windows key.

 

Apparently there is something in your PC that records that you had a genuine win 10 installation and  then automatically applies it to your clean install so you do not need to worry too much. 

I am sure the experts  will put me right or wrong on this

 

 

Yes, Microsoft stores the digital upgrade licence on its servers. If you reinstall Win 10 on a device with the same motherboard and processor then it should activate automatically once connected to the internet. Failing that you can normally do it online or over the phone by quoting the licence key for whichever version of Windows you upgraded from.

 

If you change your motherboard or processor it may become more problematical. MS do say that the Win10 free upgrade is not transferable to another PC, in which they include one with many new parts, though in my experience MS phone activation people are quite flexible and helpful.

Thanks for the replies.

This was a free upgrade from 8 to 10.

I was eventually able to reinstall the OS using a generic 10 drive, but now its asking me for the 10 license. Which I don't have. I wasn't able to extract this from the BIOS before the system crashed.

I had to delete the partitions to get the OS to install.

 

Anyone know how I can get back my free upgrade license?

 

 

Also

I have a Win7 key, which enables me to install Win7 on any PC, and get upgrades - widely used in Thailand.

Is there a WIn10 key out there?

 

 

Thanks

I *think* you install with any valid (i.e. not hacked/altered) Windows 10 medium (e.g. downloaded ISO, DVD, USB-drive, etc) and when it asks for the product serial number, you can skip that page.  Then, after installation and connected to the internet, Win10 will automatically activate based on the hardware (as @210mp and @KittenKong mentioned above).

 

You can install genuine Windows 10 directly from Microsoft:   https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows10

 

 

6 hours ago, t8769 said:

This was a free upgrade from 8 to 10.

I was eventually able to reinstall the OS using a generic 10 drive, but now its asking me for the 10 license. Which I don't have. I wasn't able to extract this from the BIOS before the system crashed.

 

It isnt in the BIOS so dont bother looking. You can either skip past that step or use your Win8 key. Either way you will be able to use Win10 for 30 days which should allow plenty of time for Win10 to activate automatically once you are connected to the internet. If that fails just call them.

Thanks for the info.

 

I put in 10, but it hasn't recognised my free upgrade key, and its still unregistered.

 

I don't know if Microsoft have a helpline for people like me, I can try...

 

 

The WindowsLoader I got in BKK for Windows 7 systems was great, if anyone has a Windows 10 Loader, please let me know.

 

Thanks

 

I just did a duckduckgo search on " apukka windows key" from message #3 and lo and behold this TVF thread came up!

 

I bought a new laptop with Win 10 pre-installed (Asus, from a reputable dealer) and there was no sort of MS number of any kind on the sealed box or machine.. I called Asus and they told me if I really wanted that number I'd have to send the machine in.  I believe the Win 10 product key can be retrieved using a utility called ShowKeyPlus.

 

 

2 hours ago, t8769 said:

Thanks for the info.

 

I put in 10, but it hasn't recognised my free upgrade key, and its still unregistered.

 

I don't know if Microsoft have a helpline for people like me, I can try...

 

 

The WindowsLoader I got in BKK for Windows 7 systems was great, if anyone has a Windows 10 Loader, please let me know.

 

Thanks

 

 

To which machine are you installing? Exact model details or if it isn't branded, exact Motherboard. Purchased in Thailand or elsewhere?

From whence did you get "10"? Directly from Microsoft? Of course you needed to install the exact same version that was installed previously.

Anyway rather than to continue with your constant software hacks,come up with the machine details which I've requested.

4 hours ago, t8769 said:

Thanks for the info.

 

I put in 10, but it hasn't recognised my free upgrade key, and its still unregistered.

 

I don't know if Microsoft have a helpline for people like me, I can try...

 

 

The WindowsLoader I got in BKK for Windows 7 systems was great, if anyone has a Windows 10 Loader, please let me know.

 

Thanks

 

 

Windows loader (if it is the same one I'm thinking about) is not a legit way of activating a windows operating system. That said, if a 'loader' has been used, and the system registered as activated, it was possible to do the W10 upgrade from there with the W10 upgrade activated and registered by MS for that particular machine.

 

As long as no hardware on the device has been changed, there should be no reason to input any key and the system will be reactivated when connected to the internet. When reinstalling, the same W10 OS (Home or Pro, or whatever variation) needs to be used; this can be downloaded from the MS website and install media created by the Windows Media Creation Tool.

5 hours ago, t8769 said:

I put in 10, but it hasn't recognised my free upgrade key, and its still unregistered.

 

I don't know if Microsoft have a helpline for people like me, I can try...

 

This tells you everything you need to know:

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12440/windows-10-activation

Just for a bit of info on how to remember your windows keys and  always have them to hand  and any other activation keys for software on your computer .

 

I downloads either "Speccy" or "Belarc" to get a full report on the whole of the contents of my PC.

 

https://www.piriform.com/speccy

 

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

 

Then I copy and paste all the listed  activation keys from the reports into an email and send it to myself and then "save" into my  PC folder in my email account.

 

Wherever I am I can have instant access to all this info.

 

Hope this helps others like me getting a bit old in the tooth etc ha ha ha 

56 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

 

This tells you everything you need to know:

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12440/windows-10-activation

 

As the OP has stated he did the free upgrade to W10 from 8.1, he should have a Digital License and therefore does not need the 25 digit key for a reinstall.

12 minutes ago, chrisinth said:

 

As the OP has stated he did the free upgrade to W10 from 8.1, he should have a Digital License and therefore does not need the 25 digit key for a reinstall.

 

Yes, that link does explain the difference between the various types of licence. It also explains in what circumstances you may need the key for the original version of Windows that you upgraded from (as far as I know MS store that information on their servers as part of the digital licence, and it can be used to retrieve the digital licence) and it also explains the way to start the activation process. Should cover more or less everything.

 

Make sure that the installation media that you are using is made from a recent Windows 10 ISO because then it will automatically extract the Win8/8.1 product key from the UEFI. The release and early versions of Win 10 did not do that because at that time MS tried to force free upgraders to upgrade over the top of an existing Win7/8/8.1 installation. A clean install of Win10 would not activate otherwise.

 

In fact, as already mentioned in this thread, this shouldn't matter if the machine has already had a properly activated Win10 installation. You should be able to skip entering the product key and it will activate after first connection to the internet. But if that machine has a Win8/8.1 compliant UEFI, setup will select the correct version without asking.

 

If hardware has been changed beyond the threshold and Win10 won't activate, often that can be fixed by logging in to the same Microsoft account that was used on the previous installation. If it doesn't, call MS as already suggested by others.

 

It is generally accepted in most tech-media that the free upgrade ended last July as MS said it would. This isn't true. The GWX Windows Update did end then but upgrading a Win7/8/8.1 machine using boot media still works today and it activates just fine. No need to upgrade if it is OEM Win8/8.1 you can go ahead with clean install. If Win7 (or a retail version of Win8/8.1), you will still need to either manually upgrade or use the genuineticket method to shortcut that process.

 

 

 

 

5 hours ago, chrisinth said:

 

As the OP has stated he did the free upgrade to W10 from 8.1, he should have a Digital License and therefore does not need the 25 digit key for a reinstall.

 

 

 

     I've done various re- installations after some problems and all the OP has to do is to skip the key registration. If the machine was digitally signed before, it will automatically activate from alone.

 

      But you need the same W 10 version you had before. It doesn't activate when you use a different W 10 version. 

This page may be of use:-

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12440/windows-10-activation

 

Thanks for the info

 

I installed the same version of Win10 as before (I think) it was made perhaps 5 months after I upgraded, but perhaps this is a different Win10 version. Apparently it has to be exactly the same version of Win10, which seems strange.
This may be the reason, or perhaps it was because I deleted corrupted partitions.

 

I did not make a note of my new Win10 code, something I'll do in future. This is for a Dell 3560 laptop, not bought in Thailand.

 

For some reason, Win10 is coming up as unregistered. I'll see if I can enter the key in the PC, by using the software mentioned above, perhaps that'll work.

 

The WinLoader software was great for registering Win7 PCs, always worked well allowing upgrades, I assume most people use this in Thailand, I'm not sure if there's a WinLoader for Win10. If anyone has this, please let me know.

 

 

Many thanks

 

 

 

I think you are getting confused between editions and versions of Windows 10. I don't blame you because the terms are often used interchangeably and I see that I have just done exactly that in my post above.

 

The Edition (in your case - free upgrade) means "Home" or "Professional". That needs to be correct. If you upgraded from Win8/8.1 (Core), you must install Win10 Home. If from Win8/8.1 Pro then install Win10 Pro.

 

The version of Win10 is a sequence number corresponding to the build (same for both Home & Pro). That doesn't need to be the same as your original installation. It makes sense to install the latest build available if for no other reason than it will require less initial updating.

 

Win10 installations that are activated via the free upgrade don't have a unique Product Key so there is nothing to record or remember. That isn't the way the activation works. It is explained clearly in the first few replies to your op.

 

If your reinstall of Win10 hasn't activated by now, it is never going to and no amount of entering product keys etc will help. You need to create USB installation media for the latest version of the correct Edition (Home or Pro) and do the installation again. During that install, when asked for a Product Key, select "skip" and carry on with the installation. At the end after you have connected to the internet, it will activate by itself. 

 

7 minutes ago, thedemon said:

I think you are getting confused between editions and versions of Windows 10. I don't blame you because the terms are often used interchangeably and I see that I have just done exactly that in my post above.

 

The Edition (in your case - free upgrade) means "Home" or "Professional". That needs to be correct. If you upgraded from Win8/8.1 (Core), you must install Win10 Home. If from Win8/8.1 Pro then install Win10 Pro.

 

The version of Win10 is a sequence number corresponding to the build (same for both Home & Pro). That doesn't need to be the same as your original installation. It makes sense to install the latest build available if for no other reason than it will require less initial updating.

 

Win10 installations that are activated via the free upgrade don't have a unique Product Key so there is nothing to record or remember. That isn't the way the activation works. It is explained clearly in the first few replies to your op.

 

If your reinstall of Win10 hasn't activated by now, it is never going to and no amount of entering product keys etc will help. You need to create USB installation media for the latest version of the correct Edition (Home or Pro) and do the installation again. During that install, when asked for a Product Key, select "skip" and carry on with the installation. At the end after you have connected to the internet, it will activate by itself. 

 

 

 

I've met a guy who showed me a W 10 N version on his notebook and told me that it would be the best version they ever invented. A little bit Googling and it turned out that this version doesn't have a lot of features W 10 pro has.

 

      But Op, you should stop trying to type in a number when asked for the CD key. Microsoft will activate it for you once it was digitally approved. 

 

   zJust skip this part and click that you don't have a CD key and all will be fine. But you need the right version. 

 

  

1 hour ago, t8769 said:

Thanks for the info

 

I installed the same version of Win10 as before (I think) it was made perhaps 5 months after I upgraded, but perhaps this is a different Win10 version. Apparently it has to be exactly the same version of Win10, which seems strange.
This may be the reason, or perhaps it was because I deleted corrupted partitions.

 

I did not make a note of my new Win10 code, something I'll do in future. This is for a Dell 3560 laptop, not bought in Thailand.

 

For some reason, Win10 is coming up as unregistered. I'll see if I can enter the key in the PC, by using the software mentioned above, perhaps that'll work.

 

The WinLoader software was great for registering Win7 PCs, always worked well allowing upgrades, I assume most people use this in Thailand, I'm not sure if there's a WinLoader for Win10. If anyone has this, please let me know.

 

 

Many thanks

 

 

 

 

 

 Don't use any cracks. That will do exactly the opposite what you want. 

SUCCESS

It seems that I'd installed Home but Pro was on the PC.

 

After going throught troubleshooting, it let me update, and now its fine.

Microsoft really should have been better in communicating this but thanks to the help here I worked it out.

 

 

Thanks