Perhaps the biggest change is that users won’t have to enter a product key anymore after successfully upgrading to Windows 10, as the activation status will get stored in the cloud. This is a significant step forward coming from previous version of Windows that required you to manually enter the product key on each new installation. Even though, this is a good news, many users were caught by surprise, as many people proceeded to move to Windows 10 doing a clean install, instead of performing an in-place upgrade first, and it caused the activation to fail. It’s worth pointing out that OEM activation and the process of activating value licensing copies didn’t change, everything here works the same. The activation process can be a little confusing, so let’s go a step back and go over how the Windows 7 and Windows 8 activation process works. For years, the process to activate a copy of the operating system was based on a unique ID that was generated by measuring the hardware in your PC. The identification was not reversible and not tied to any Microsoft service, as such it couldn’t be used to identify you. In Windows 7 and Windows 8, when you activate for the first time, the unique ID calculated using your hardware was stored on the activation database together with your product key. If you needed to reinstall the operating system on the same hardware, using the same product key, the activation will happen automatically. However, if you tried to use the same product key on another machine, the activation will simply fail. Fast forward to Windows 10, the upgrade setup checks your current activation status and sends the report to Microsoft. If everything checks, meaning if your copy is genuine and not a pirated version, then the activated servers will generate a Windows 10 license certificate, which is something the software giant calls “digital entitlement” and stores it with your unique ID and the edition you are trying to activate (Windows 10 Home or Pro). As you can see, the setup process didn’t need a product key to activate Windows. The process only checked that your copy was genuine. After the upgrade is complete, you can reformat or even use a brand new hard drive and perform a clean installation of Windows 10. Although, the Windows Setup will prompt you to enter a product key, you can simply skip the step, and after the installation, you’ll find that Windows 10 will be properly activated.
Keep in mind the following scenarios
If you have created an USB media using the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool, and then you try to perform a clean install of the operating system, then the activation will fail. If you have a properly activated copy of Windows 7 Service Pack 1 or Windows 8.1 Update, and you use the “Get Windows 10” app to do the upgrade, then the operating system will be activated. After the upgrade, if you try to wipe the hard drive and do a clean install using an USB/DVD installation media, and even after skipping to enter the product key, then you’ll notice that Windows 10 will continue to be activated properly.
Remember that these scenarios are only to illustrate how to activate a free copy of Windows 10, you can always purchase a brand new copy and install it any way you like and the activation should work.
Perform a clean install without upgrading and remain activated
Here’s a trick, if you don’t want to go through the process of upgrading before performing a clean install of Windows 10. Here is where the magic happens, as part the setup process you’ll get a clean installation of Windows 10, but the setup will also verify the activation status of the previous version of Windows, and it will create a new licensing certificate. After the installation, you can check Settings > System & update > Activation, and it should read “Windows is Activated”, and just like that you’ll never have to enter the product key again. Now, if you did a clean install of Windows 10 without upgrading first, you have two choices: use the recovery media that came with your computer or use the full back you created before upgrading to go back to Windows 7 or Windows 8, and then follow try again. Or you can buy a new product key to install Windows 10 – Windows 10 Home costs $119.99 and Windows 10 Pro costs $199.99. Have you encounter any issues activating your free copy of Windows 10? Tell us in the comments below. Source ZDNet All content on this site is provided with no warranties, express or implied. Use any information at your own risk. Always backup of your device and files before making any changes. Privacy policy info.
