Win 10 format & reinstall

[Hitman]

Hello all
Way back I got Win 10 upgrade free so don't have the CD or key for it.
I would like to do to get a clean start as they say.
So is there away to format and reinstall with out the cd or key.
Or do I need to purchase 1.
If so how what info do I need.
Thank you in advance
Ruben M.

 

[sneekypeet]

Magic jelly bean?

 

[8bitgamer757]

well you dont have to pay for a key, youll just get the watermark in the corner

 

[blobster21]

When you migrated your computer, your former windows 7 licence has been converted to a digital licence.

As long as you don't modify your hardware significantly (new cpu, new mobo), this digital licence is still tied to your computer and can be reused if you reinstall it from scratch.

Basically, all you would have to do is create a bootable windows 10 usb key using the following link:

How to install Windows 10 from USB with UEFI support

These tools help create a compatible USB flash drive and install Windows 10 on a UEFI-based PC.

www.windowscentral.com

Then boot on the usb key, go through the installation, and when prompted to type the licence number, just skip and proceed further.

In my own experience, your windows 10 copy should activate by itself as soon as your computer goes online, because your "hardware fingerprint" is already registered on the microsoft activation servers.

 

[EzioAs]

Adding to what blobster21 wrote, even if it's not activated automatically, you can just contact Microsoft support and tell them what you want (and what you did).

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

some keys are tied to a hotmail/outlook email accounts (depending on how you made the 'purchase'), this how my windows is activated currently.

When/If you do contact microsoft support, it would be help to have a previous win7/8/8.1 key on hand.

 

[newtekie1]

Adding to what blobster21 wrote, even if it's not activated automatically, you can just contact Microsoft support and tell them what you want (and what you did).

Actually, if it doesn't activate automatically with the digital license, first you should try adding the Windows 7 key in Windows 10. Then it should activate without needing to contact Microsoft.

 

[SomeOne99h]

This will show you the key for your Windows 7 ( I am also using Win7 and just tried it now and it did indeed showed me)

ProduKey - Recover lost product key (CD-Key) of Windows/MS-Office/SQL Server

Recover lost product key (CD-Key) of Microsoft Office 2003, Office 2007, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003/2008, Windows 7, and more.

www.nirsoft.net

Scroll down for the download

 

[Hitman]

Hello gents
Thank you all
I will get on it tonight
Ruben