Fresh Install of Win 10 without Serial Key?

Flogger23m · Dec 3, 2017

Looking to reformat a laptops HDD, and then reinstall Win 10 fresh. The problem is it came pre-installed with Win 8 and I did the free upgrade to Win 10. How exactly would I re-format the HDD, reinstall Win 10 and ensure it reactivates properly? I don't see a Win 8 serial key anywhere in the contents of the box.

dj-electric · Dec 3, 2017

If the key is embedded (look for a windows sticker underneath the laptop) than it would actually perform activation automatically with a big chance of never asking you for a product key during installation.

source: did it about 50 times so far with WIN8-era laptops

pigulici · Dec 3, 2017

Just install the win10 with network activated.

Vayra86 · Dec 3, 2017

If you did the regular upgrade its auto activated on 10. The key is tied to your motherboard.

Kursah · Dec 3, 2017

Microsoft Windows KMS client install keys work well fie these situations and test lab situations as well:

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj612867(v=ws.11).aspx

That will let you install a Windows OS legitimately with a Microsoft provided install key.

They will not activate the OS, an activation key would be needed for.

:toast:

Readlight · Dec 3, 2017

I use on win 8 laptop 8.1 because software is designed for it. You now they spy, google follows on you same as android need to start using LINEAGE. or Raspberry or Linux.

micropage7 · Dec 3, 2017

you need to fresh install?
have you tried
https://www.howtogeek.com/220723/how-to-uninstall-windows-10-and-downgrade-to-windows-7-or-8.1/

FireFox · Dec 3, 2017

Vayra86 said:
The key is tied to your motherboard

That.

It happened to me when i upgrade motherboard, just for curiosity i reinstalled the old motherboard and it didn't ask me to activate windows.

Processor	7800X3D
Motherboard	ASRock X670E Lightening PG
Cooling	Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120SE CPU cooler, 3x 140mm, 1x 120mm case fan
Memory	32GB G.SKILL Flare X5 DDR5 6000 (PC5 48000) F5-6000J3038F16GX2-FX5
Video Card(s)	ASUS RTX 4070
Storage	2TB Sandisk SSD, 2TB P31 SK Hynix, 4TB WD SN850X, WD Black 6TB, WD Red Plus 12TB
Case	Fractal Design Definse S
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus 750
Mouse	Logitech Pro
Keyboard	Corsair Strafe Cherry MX Silent w/red LED
VR HMD	HTC Vive
Software	Win 10 Pro

Processor	i7-9700
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO
Memory	32GB DDR4
Video Card(s)	msi 1080
Storage	Samsung SSD 850 pro 2TB+1tb hdd 7200rpm+ 1tb 970pro
Software	Mageia 6 + Windows 10

Processor	i7 8700k 4.6Ghz @ 1.24V
Motherboard	AsRock Fatal1ty K6 Z370
Cooling	beQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 3
Memory	16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200/C16
Video Card(s)	ASRock RX7900XT Phantom Gaming
Storage	Samsung 850 EVO 1TB + Samsung 830 256GB + Crucial BX100 250GB + Toshiba 1TB HDD
Display(s)	Gigabyte G34QWC (3440x1440)
Case	Fractal Design Define R5
Audio Device(s)	Harman Kardon AVR137 + 2.1
Power Supply	EVGA Supernova G2 750W
Mouse	XTRFY M42
Keyboard	Lenovo Thinkpad Trackpoint II
Software	W10 x64

System Name	Kursah's Gaming Rig 2018 (2022 Upgrade) - Ryzen+ Edition \| Gaming Laptop (Lenovo Legion 5i Pro 2022)
Processor	R7 5800X @ Stock \| i7 12700H @ Stock
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix X370-F Gaming BIOS 6203\| Legion 5i Pro NM-E231
Cooling	Noctua NH-U14S Push-Pull + NT-H1 \| Stock Cooling
Memory	TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32GB (2x16) DDR4 4000 @ 3600 18-20-20-42 1.35v \| 32GB DDR5 4800 (2x16)
Video Card(s)	Palit GeForce RTX 4070 JetStream 12GB \| CPU-based Intel Iris XE + RTX 3070 8GB 150W
Storage	4TB SP UD90 NVME, 960GB SATA SSD, 2TB HDD \| 1TB Samsung OEM NVME SSD + 4TB Crucial P3 Plus NVME SSD
Display(s)	Acer 28" 4K VG280K x2 \| 16" 2560x1600 built-in
Case	Corsair 600C - Stock Fans on Low \| Stock Metal/Plastic
Audio Device(s)	Aune T1 mk1 > AKG K553 Pro + JVC HA-RX 700 (Equalizer APO + PeaceUI) \| Bluetooth Earbuds (BX29)
Power Supply	EVGA 750G2 Modular + APC Back-UPS Pro 1500 \| 300W OEM (heavy use) or Lenovo Legion C135W GAN (light)
Mouse	Logitech G502 \| Logitech M330
Keyboard	HyperX Alloy Core RGB \| Built in Keyboard (Lenovo laptop KB FTW)
Software	Windows 11 Pro x64 \| Windows 11 Home x64

System Name	Fujitsu Siemens, HP Workstation
Processor	Athlon x2 5000+ 3.1GHz, i5 2400
Motherboard	Asus
Memory	4GB Samsung
Video Card(s)	rx 460 4gb
Storage	750 Evo 250 +2tb
Display(s)	Asus 1680x1050 4K HDR
Audio Device(s)	Pioneer
Power Supply	430W
Mouse	Acme
Keyboard	Trust

Fresh Install of Win 10 without Serial Key?

Flogger23m

dj-electric

pigulici

Vayra86

Kursah

Super Moderator

Readlight

micropage7

FireFox

The Power Of Intel

Processor	Intel i7 10700K
Motherboard	Asus ROG Maximus XII Hero
Cooling	2x Black Ice Nemesis GTX 480 - 1x Black Ice Nemesis GTX 420 - D5 VPP655P - 13x Corsair LL120 - LL140
Memory	32GB G.SKILL Trident Z RGB 3600Hz
Video Card(s)	EVGA GEFORCE RTX 3080 XC3 Ultra
Storage	Samsung 970 EVO PLUS 500GB/1TB - WD Blue SN550 1TB - 2 X WD Blue 1TB - 3 X WD Black 1TB
Display(s)	Asus ROG PG278QR 2560x1440 144Hz (Overclocked 165Hz )/ Samsung
Case	Corsair Obsidian 1000D
Audio Device(s)	I prefer Gaming-Headset
Power Supply	Enermax MaxTytan 1250W 80+ Titanium
Mouse	Logitech G502 spectrum
Keyboard	Virtuis Advanced Gaming Keyboard ( Batboard )
Software	Windows 10 Enterprise/Windows 10 Pro/Windows 11 Pro
Benchmark Scores	My PC runs FiFA

System Name	micropage7
Processor	Intel Xeon X3470
Motherboard	Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. P55A-UD3R (Socket 1156)
Cooling	Enermax ETS-T40F
Memory	Samsung 8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3
Video Card(s)	NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800
Storage	V-GEN03AS18EU120GB, Seagate 2 x 1TB and Seagate 4TB
Display(s)	Samsung 21 inch LCD Wide Screen
Case	Icute Super 18
Audio Device(s)	Auzentech X-Fi Forte
Power Supply	Silverstone 600 Watt
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Sades Excalibur + Taihao keycaps
Software	Win 7 64-bit
Benchmark Scores	Classified