Windows 10: product key needed after hardware upgrade?

I do not have the original product key this was a store-bought computer from over 15 years ago. This is the second time I've upgraded my Hardware from the originally purchased computer. I had no issues after the first hardware upgrade.I've already gone to Home >Settings >Security >ActivationEdition: Windows 10 home activation: Window is not activated product ID: 00326-30000-00001-AA788Product key: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-H8Q99Error code: 0xC004F0&4I'm given the option to update to Windows 11 but I am unsure if this will fix the issue.

:)

 

Valid Win7 Product Key not accepted by Win 10 upgrade

Hi,

I did not realise I had been at all vague, my apologies.

Unfortunately my neighbour now has his laptop back as I got nowhere. I have suggested he wait until the windows 10 upgrade system makes it available through windows update (it is in the queue).

As stated, I have tried running from the media created by the media creation tool to a USB (this is what I used to successfully upgrade my laptop and surface Pro). I have also run the media creation tool and opted for it to upgrade directly rather than save the files.

The operating system is Win7 Home premium OEM version. The key is valid and I re-validated it to be sure with the MS online actvation system. The laptop is 64-bit.

On each occasion it goes through the initial install steps and then gets to the screen where it asks for the product key.

On this screen there is no skip option and as the product key is not accepted, the only option is to cancel the install.

For some reason the upgrade seems to be taking a different path on this machine and does not give the skip option.

Regards
Mike

 

Cannot upgrade to Windows 10 - Unique Product Key situation

No... let me try again.

• Old computer is running Win7 Pro (SP1) with a Product key I have from a few years ago. The Product is activated already, but I do NOT use this computer at this point, so I didn't worry about using the Product key when moving to the new computer (see below).
  
• New computer is running Win10 Pro, with data and OS migrated from the Old computer, (same Product key as above), then Upgraded to Win10 (without getting a new Product Key).

What I am trying to do now...

• I want to upgrade the OLD computer (Win7 Pro) to Windows 10... using a new Product Key I just purchased.
• I have tried to do this internally, and also using the ISO burned to a thumb drive. But it does not want to work.
• Steps:
  • Start from USB drive.
  • Enter New Product Key (or click "I don't have one").
  • Install initiates and then tells me to restart from Windows and then open the installer again to continue.
    • At this point, I actually need to Quit the installation to restart the machine.
  • When restarted, I go to the USB drive and restart/resume the installation process.
  • I have tried to download and not to download updates, but when the installation fails, I see the message, "Something happened" and "Setup has failed to validate the product key".
  • NOTE This happens if I enter the NEW Windows 10 Product Key, or if I skip that step (which I assume means that it will use the old Windows 7 Key for the upgrade).

 

Windows 10 Product Key

Hi Oscar,

Since the laptop has no battery compartment wherein the product key is usually located, we recommend that you follow these steps to find your Windows product key:

• Press Windows + X and select Command Prompt (Admin).
• Enter this command: wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey
  and hit Enter.

Also, if you're looking to reinstall Windows 10 after a hardware replacement, we recommend that you follow the steps provided in this

article.

Let us know if performing these steps resolved the issue.