Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion

Windows 10 Clean Install Instructions

<< < (4/4)

Innuendo:
Came into this thread to say what michaelkenward said. Every Windows 10 key you'll find in PC registries is the same key.

When I installed Windows 10 clean, I just skipped every prompt for a product key during installation & I booted into a fully activated Windows 10. No key entry is needed.

4wd:
I'm probably missing something obvious then but what stops people with non-genuine versions of, eg. Windows 7, doing a clean install of 10?

I thought that while even pirate/non-genuine copies would/can get upgraded to 10 they still wouldn't be recognised as genuine copies.  Being able to clean install into an activated version, with or without entering a product key, seems a bit strange.

cchian:
I also had Windows 7 and followed the prompts to upgrade to Windows 10, once upgraded and activated I performed a clean install of Windows 10 on a different drive skipping any prompts to enter my Windows 10 key (which I don't know). My copy of Windows automatically activated after I connected to the internet wirelessly and without entering a key or providing my email or any personal information.  As michaelkenward stated looks like once your machine is activated Microsoft stores your PC's "fingerprint" on their activation servers and will automatically activate Windows on the same machine.  That same day I tried a clean install of Windows 10 in a different language and it also activated automatically after I connected to the internet.

wraith808:
Relevant: http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-quietly-rewrites-its-activation-rules-for-windows-10/#ftag=YHFb1d24ec

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[*] Previous page