Hello,
I have upgraded my 7 install to Windows 10 this morning. All works fine & 10 says my copy is genuine and validated.
After that, I decided to create a copy of 10 install on DVD with the Windows 10 tool.
At lauch of install, Windows doesn't recognize my old 7 key. I thought "ok maybe it will activate at the end of install"
But NO ! I get my clean & fresh install of 10 but it doesn't activate my copy.
So Win7/8 users who wants Win10, you should install your old version and make the upgrade manually. each time...
Boring !
Thanks Microsoft
Seriously whats up with that. Same thing happened to me. Why is Microsoft so dumb? why didn't they just activate our key so we can install a fresh windows of windows 10 and activate it, instead of doing a stupid upgrade. well people who want to do the upgrade they can. but Microsoft should at least let us do a fresh install of windows 10.
When you upgrade with the free reserved copy from the GWX app on an activated Windows 7 or 8.1 PC, Windows 10 has a generic key included that will activate it.
If you clean or upgrade install Windows 10 without doing the above first, Windows 10 will not be activated.
Can I reinstall Windows 10 on my computer after upgrading with free upgrade?
Once you’ve upgraded to Windows 10 using the free upgrade offer, you will be able to reinstall, including a clean install, on the same device. You won’t need a product key for re-activations on the same hardware. If you make a meaningful change to your hardware, you may need to contact customer support to help with activation. You’ll also be able to create your own installation media like a USB drive or DVD, and use that to upgrade your device or reinstall after you’ve upgraded.
Will an activated copy of a successful Windows 10 upgrade have a new, valid Win10 license number for that computer that we can pull up by using Magic Jelly Bean's (warning bloatware unless uncheck in custom!) Keyfinder? Or is it like Brink says, no key needed? If no key is needed, this will be a huge change for me to wrap my mind around! MS using a algorithm to create a magical key from device IDs and MAC addresses. Back to the old days of calling India and talking with "Susie".
Is it no longer necessary to mention how a Microsoft Account sign-in is involved as it was in the Insiders program?
That was quoted from Microsoft, so no key needed if you upgraded with the free offer on an activate Windows 7 or 8.1.Will an activated copy of a successful Windows 10 upgrade have a new, valid Win10 license number for that computer that we can pull up by using Magic Jelly Bean's (warning bloatware unless uncheck in custom!) Keyfinder? Or is it like Brink says, no key needed? If no key is needed, this will be a huge change for me to wrap my mind around! MS using a algorithm to create a magical key from device IDs and MAC addresses. Back to the old days of calling India and talking with "Susie".
I'm just wondering here if we need to can we use the old Vista Trick and install a minimum install no updates etc. then run a Clean install off of that.
This is what i did. I created a DVD boot and when i was in windows i up in the CD and ran the setup exe. Then i clicked on DON't save any files because i already had a partition that had my backup files. then i upgraded. I saw that it still created a Windows old file and it was activated. So i rebooted the computer and RAN the CD boot. I reformatted and deleted all the extra partitions and saved my backup partition and i installed windows in boot partition and once installed i logged into my account and it was activated. everything went smoothly
Are you guys making sure you are trying to install the correct version of windows 10 i.e. home or pro? Had a guy caught in this same loop because he was trying to install pro onto a system with 8.1 w/bing using Pro but it only gets the pro upgrade. Switched to a Home thumb drive and boom he wasn't asked for a key and was good to go.
Just thought worth checking. I have done about 30 PC's now from 7, 8, 8.1 with upgrades and clean installs and the only issues have been driver specific things with higher end things like Alienware laptops.
I don't recall being given a choice: only two links were available 32 or 64 bit.Are you guys making sure you are trying to install the correct version of windows 10 i.e. home or pro? Had a guy caught in this same loop because he was trying to install pro onto a system with 8.1 w/bing using Pro but it only gets the pro upgrade. Switched to a Home thumb drive and boom he wasn't asked for a key and was good to go.
Just thought worth checking. I have done about 30 PC's now from 7, 8, 8.1 with upgrades and clean installs and the only issues have been driver specific things with higher end things like Alienware laptops.
