Windows 10 Product Key

[Cenksenci]

I am sorry if question sounds silly. I recieved my laptop a week ago and with Windows 10 Home edition option. But I wonder where is my Win10 product key? Cannot find it anywhere else so what will happen to my product if I reinstall my laptop? In Microsoft's website says, purchased keys should be sent by e-mail but I haven't recieved any key.Thanks in help!

 

[AgentCooper]

I am sorry if question sounds silly. I recieved my laptop a week ago and with Windows 10 Home edition option. But I wonder where is my Win10 product key? Cannot find it anywhere else so what will happen to my product if I reinstall my laptop? In Microsoft's website says, purchased keys should be sent by e-mail but I haven't recieved any key.Thanks in help!

Don't worry, you're not the first person with this query and you won't be the last. There is no 'key' as such, the license is actually tied to the BIOS. So if you need to do a clean install it'll be picked up when re-initialising

 

[Deleted member 41971]

I am sorry if question sounds silly. I recieved my laptop a week ago and with Windows 10 Home edition option. But I wonder where is my Win10 product key? Cannot find it anywhere else so what will happen to my product if I reinstall my laptop? In Microsoft's website says, purchased keys should be sent by e-mail but I haven't recieved any key.Thanks in help!

way I understand it if you ordered with windows the key is already in the bios, if you were to reinstall all it needs is being connected to the internet and it will automatically activate, what @AgentCooper said

 

[NoddyPirate]

I have used the following to retrieve the key from BIOS in the past - as I wanted to have a record of it - although as stated this isn't necessary if you are simply reinstalling Windows on the same machine.

Entering the following into Command Prompt will normally call it up for you:

wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey

 

[ubuysa]

I have used the following to retrieve the key from BIOS in the past - as I wanted to have a record of it - although as stated this isn't necessary if you are simply reinstalling Windows on the same machine.

Entering the following into Command Prompt will normally call it up for you:

wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey

Unfortunately that doesn't work if Windows is activated with a digital license because then there is no product key. I'm also fairly sure that it doesn't produce a valid key on OEM versions of Windows 10 with the activation key burned into the firmware. AFAIK you can now only recover the product key on a retail copy of Windows?

 

[NoddyPirate]

Unfortunately that doesn't work if Windows is activated with a digital license because then there is no product key. I'm also fairly sure that it doesn't produce a valid key on OEM versions of Windows 10 with the activation key burned into the firmware. AFAIK you can now only recover the product key on a retail copy of Windows?

Seeing as it's you @ubuysa I have every expectation that you are correct!

However, I was able to retrieve the key using the Command Prompt from a mini Laptop we bought a few years ago with an OEM licence - I couldn't see any sticker on the chassis with the key and I wanted it before I converted the laptop to Linux in case we wanted to revert to W10 - even though this was techincally unecessary as already stated above.

Perhaps this doesn't work for newer machines though as you suggest......and yes would not work with a digital licence of any sort.

 

[ubuysa]

Seeing as it's you @ubuysa I have every expectation that you are correct!

However, I was able to retrieve the key using the Command Prompt from a mini Laptop we bought a few years ago with an OEM licence - I couldn't see any sticker on the chassis with the key and I wanted it before I converted the laptop to Linux in case we wanted to revert to W10 - even though this was techincally unecessary as already stated above.

Perhaps this doesn't work for newer machines though as you suggest......

I think, and I'm not 100% certain, that for OEM builds the key that this recovers is a 'generic' key and not the actual activation key - because for OEM Windows 10 systems now there isn't one as such.

I could be wrong though. I've been wrong before.

 

[NoddyPirate]

I could be wrong though. I've been wrong before.

Jesus don't go admitting that sort of thing on here - I will have to dismantle my shrine!!!!

Following my Linux conversion, I actually used the extracted licence key to activate windows on a second machine under the hardware change route - so it seems like it was valid - but there are probably a milliion reasons why I am more likely to be wrong than you on this subject!

 

[ubuysa]

Jesus don't go admitting that sort of thing on here - I will have to dismantle my shrine!!!!

Following my Linux conversion, I actually used the extracted licence key to activate windows on a second machine under the hardware change route - so it seems like it was valid - but there are probably a milliion reasons why I am more likely to be wrong than you on this subject!

Ah. Fair enough. That makes twice I've been wrong! [emoji1787]

 

[NoddyPirate]

I think, and I'm not 100% certain, that for OEM builds the key that this recovers is a 'generic' key and not the actual activation key - because for OEM Windows 10 systems now there isn't one as such.

I could be wrong though. I've been wrong before.

Ah! I think I know what might have happened!!

I just realised the Laptop was actually originally a W8 mahcine rather than a W10. It was upgraded to W10 shortly afterwards but subseuqent W10 build updates were too big for the 32GB drive it had and it basically became a useless paperweight - hence the Linux conversion.

So it was actually a W8 OEM key - not W10.

See? I didn't doubt you @ubuysa ! You weren't wrong at all!! Thankfully minimal damage was done to the shrine in the the time since your earlier post - so I will quickly rebuild it now......

 

[ubuysa]

Ah! I think I know what might have happened!!

I just realised the Laptop was actually originally a W8 mahcine rather than a W10. It was upgraded to W10 shortly afterwards but subseuqent W10 build updates were too big for the 32GB drive it had and it basically became a useless paperweight - hence the Linux conversion.

So it was actually a W8 OEM key - not W10.

See? I didn't doubt you @ubuysa ! You weren't wrong at all!! Thankfully minimal damage was done to the shrine in the the time since your earlier post - so I will quickly rebuild it now......

Phew. I wish I could get rid of the other time I was wrong as easily. But my wife is always right......

 

[NoddyPirate]

Phew. I wish I could get rid of the other time I was wrong as easily. But my wife is always right......

Ah - you've got one of those too I see.

 

[Martinr36]

Ah - you've got one of those too I see.

I used to have one................

 

[Cenksenci]

So long story short: My digital license tied to BIOS hence my laptop will use the same key regardless of. Thanks guys