Windows 10 - Product Key/code Finder for upgraded version
I have upgraded to Windows 10 from Widows 8.1 (pre-installed) , on my "ACER Aspire E1 472P- 6491" laptop by taking advantage of the free upgrade offer and successfully activated Windows 10 . I therefore do not have a Windows (8.1 or 10) product key , as the Windows was pre-loaded on the laptop .
How & where I can find the Microsoft Product Key/code for Windows 10 installed on my laptop ? Is there any Product Key/code Finder/Viewer help/programme for upgraded version of Windows 10 ? This will be useful if system fails and/or HDD crashes in future. Thanks
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Windows 8.1 key is embedded in bios. Run showkeyplus to extract it.
Windows 10 does not actually use a key - licence is tied to hardware, so the key you see for Windows 10 is a dummy generic key.
Once Windows 10 has been installed and activated once, the MS activation servers remember your hardware and automatically activate future reinstalls. Occasionally, this glitches, and yuh can use old 8.1 key to reactivate.
Also best protection against hdd failure is to make an image backup using Macrium Reflect Free or similar.
Thanks for your reply . Still there are a few questions .
1.0 Can I use System Image via Windows ( Backup & Restore under Control Panel ) ? Or Macrium Reflect is necessary/ more useful.
2.0 If the Mother Board or any other hardware has to be replaced in future , what has to be done ?
3.0 What is the prime hardware , which is identified by Microsoft for Windows ?
Thanks .
1) yeah you can use the inbuilt image package (ignore Windows 7 reference). However Macrium is far superior, more reliable (in my experience), faster and makes smaller images, and has lots of additional functionality eg boot repair tools.
2) if you replace mobo, you would need a new licence as your 8.1 licence is oem and not transferable. Windows 10 inherits original lcence features ie oem or retail. Other upgrades eg ssd, gpu, ram will not affect licence.
3) As a rule any device that runs 8.1 will usually run 10 ok as 10 is effectively built on the 8.1 technical base.
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Hi ! , Thanks a lot .