BinaryData Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Hey Guys and Gals, So I'm having a problem with a friends laptop. I nuked his C:\ drive because it was LOADED with viruses, and malware. He didn't need/want anything on there because he uses it specifically for gaming. I didn't even think about trying to pull his serial key from Windows using ProduKey, so I'm kicking myself for that. Here's my problem.Using the Windows 10 Key I have, which is the Free 64bit Key MS gave out, it tells me "Microsoft Activation Server has Blocked the key". I'm not sure what to do. Thoughts? I've tried several different keys, nothings worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binaryzero Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Purchase a license? The Evil Overlord 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Veteran Posted October 6, 2015 Veteran Share Posted October 6, 2015 Microsoft didn't give out any keys. The free upgrade key is generic and cannot be used on its own. The license itself is actually tied to the motherboard so you will have to upgrade from Windows 7/8 to activate it initially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+virtorio MVC Posted October 6, 2015 MVC Share Posted October 6, 2015 (edited) If you're clean installing on a machine that's already had Windows 10 installed (and activated), skip entering the product key whenever prompted during installation and it should activate itself after installation is complete. Once a system has been activated once it will re-activate again based on the hardware unique hardware ID. At least, that's my understanding of how it works. Shiranui and +devHead 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binaryzero Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 This has only been explained, I don't know, couple dozen times over the past month or two. +devHead 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BinaryData Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 This has only been explained, I don't know, couple dozen times over the past month or two. I've never worked on any Windows 10 Rigs before. I used my Windows 7 Key for my Windows 10 Upgrade on this machine I'm using now. It no longer works or is registerable. Gives me an error code. Guess I'll wait until my DreamSpark Account is activated through my college. I forget, can you upgrade from Vista? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Elі Subscriber² Posted October 6, 2015 Subscriber² Share Posted October 6, 2015 You need to put back the original Windows 7/8/8.1 in there then upgrade to Windows 10, Once Windows 10 is there and fully activated you can clean install Windows 10 in that machine if you wish, but yeah, you cannot simply clean install Windows 10 and expect it to activate, you need to upgrade from a supported OS first to be able to activate 10 for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binaryzero Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 ^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BinaryData Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 You need to put back the original Windows 7/8/8.1 in there then upgrade to Windows 10, Once Windows 10 is there and fully activated you can clean install Windows 10 in that machine if you wish, but yeah, you cannot simply clean install Windows 10 and expect it to activate, you need to upgrade from a supported OS first to be able to activate 10 for free. I figured that much after I installed it. Whats strange is, my Windows 8 / 8.1 Key wouldn't activate either. It's an MSDNAA Key, however it still has 4+ months on life time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Anarkii Subscriber² Posted October 6, 2015 Subscriber² Share Posted October 6, 2015 The only way to activate it and not purchase a key is to set his machine to the slow ring of the insider program. Long as hes testing the Windows builds, the computer will be activated. And its also a legit way of doing it if he is too cheap to buy an actual licence. But in all honesty, if hes Windows 7 was activated, you should of upgraded that to windows 10, THEN nuke the pc and start over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+devHead Subscriber² Posted October 6, 2015 Subscriber² Share Posted October 6, 2015 You need to put back the original Windows 7/8/8.1 in there then upgrade to Windows 10, Once Windows 10 is there and fully activated you can clean install Windows 10 in that machine if you wish, but yeah, you cannot simply clean install Windows 10 and expect it to activate, you need to upgrade from a supported OS first to be able to activate 10 for free. How many times do people have to clue others in on this. At this point, you can Google this and figure it out. But whatever. Ian W 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+devHead Subscriber² Posted October 6, 2015 Subscriber² Share Posted October 6, 2015 I figured that much after I installed it. Whats strange is, my Windows 8 / 8.1 Key wouldn't activate either. It's an MSDNAA Key, however it still has 4+ months on life time. If Windows 10 was activated on the machine already, you can just reinstall Windows 10 clean, click Skip when it asks for the product key, and it will activate when he's online the next time. Ian W, +InsaneNutter and binaryzero 3 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+devHead Subscriber² Posted October 6, 2015 Subscriber² Share Posted October 6, 2015 (edited) Hey Guys and Gals, So I'm having a problem with a friends laptop. I nuked his C:\ drive because it was LOADED with viruses, and malware. He didn't need/want anything on there because he uses it specifically for gaming. I didn't even think about trying to pull his serial key from Windows using ProduKey, so I'm kicking myself for that. Here's my problem.Using the Windows 10 Key I have, which is the Free 64bit Key MS gave out, it tells me "Microsoft Activation Server has Blocked the key". I'm not sure what to do. Thoughts? I've tried several different keys, nothings worked. Bro, if his machine is loaded with viruses and malware, he wasn't using it specifically for gaming. So, did he have Windows 10 on it, or something else? You never mentioned. There was no free 64bit key that Microsoft gave out. Actually, I don't even know what that means; there aren't specific keys for 32 or 64-bit Windows. It sounds like it's a pirated key that wouldn't have worked. But if he had Windows 10 on that rig already, there's no need to input a key. You've tried several different keys? Where are you getting them from? Your methods sound shady all around. Ian W 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+devHead Subscriber² Posted October 6, 2015 Subscriber² Share Posted October 6, 2015 The only way to activate it and not purchase a key is to set his machine to the slow ring of the insider program. Long as hes testing the Windows builds, the computer will be activated. And its also a legit way of doing it if he is too cheap to buy an actual licence. But in all honesty, if hes Windows 7 was activated, you should of upgraded that to windows 10, THEN nuke the pc and start over. There are no more ways to join the Preview program if you weren't in it from before Windows 10 was released. But he doesn't have to; he can just download Windows 10 from Microsoft's site and upgrade his Windows 7 to Windows 10. Provided that he has a valid Windows 7 or 8 key. Which it sounds like he doesn't. Ian W 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circaflex Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 There is an edit button, and no need to yell (at least that's is how the large text comes off to me). OP, if you reload the system to either Windows 7 and use the key on the bottom of the laptop, or if it was Windows 8 it could be tied to the UEFI which will auto-inject if you install the correct version of Windows 8. Make sure it is activated, then upgrade to Windows 10. Make sure once the upgrade goes through, that the system is Activated, from there you can either setup the unit, or nuke it and do a clean install. Now the hardware id is tied to the activation so you can clean install in the future without any keys, or doing an upgrade, that step wont be needed anymore. +Anarkii 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+devHead Subscriber² Posted October 6, 2015 Subscriber² Share Posted October 6, 2015 I figured that much after I installed it. Whats strange is, my Windows 8 / 8.1 Key wouldn't activate either. It's an MSDNAA Key, however it still has 4+ months on life time. Why are you using your Windows 8/8.1 key for your friends PC? Doesn't he have a valid license for Windows on it? You couldn't just use that? Circaflex and Ian W 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BinaryData Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 There is an edit button, and no need to yell (at least that's is how the large text comes off to me). OP, if you reload the system to either Windows 7 and use the key on the bottom of the laptop, or if it was Windows 8 it could be tied to the UEFI which will auto-inject if you install the correct version of Windows 8. Make sure it is activated, then upgrade to Windows 10. Make sure once the upgrade goes through, that the system is Activated, from there you can either setup the unit, or nuke it and do a clean install. Now the hardware id is tied to the activation so you can clean install in the future without any keys, or doing an upgrade, that step wont be needed anymore. I've ignored what devHead has said. There's no reason to be a jerk. I didn't have the time to stop and spend 20 minutes Googling to see what was going on. I had a proctor'd exam I had to take, and I couldn't miss. Frankly, I think devHead needs a 72 hour post gag for spamming, and being a jerk. I'm installing Windows 8 now, I'll be upgrading to Windows 10 afterwards, running DoNotSpy10, and O&O Shut Up 10. Circaflex 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binaryzero Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 (edited) LOL! You could've just done a search in the forums... Plenty of threads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dashel Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 But you had time to nuke his rig first? If you want to take advantage of the 'free' license upgrade, you have to start from an activated and supported OS. "But in all honesty, if his Windows 7 was activated, you should of upgraded that to windows 10, THEN nuke the pc and start over." QFT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BinaryData Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 But you had time to nuke his rig first? If you want to take advantage of the 'free' license upgrade, you have to start from an activated and supported OS (Win7, Win8.1). I just noticed that the recovery drive is still intact. Wonder how much HP will charge for discs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dashel Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Recovery partition you mean? If you didn't nuke it, do a factory restore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian W Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 I've ignored what devHead has said. There's no reason to be a jerk. I didn't have the time to stop and spend 20 minutes Googling to see what was going on. I had a proctor'd exam I had to take, and I couldn't miss. Frankly, I think devHead needs a 72 hour post gag for spamming, and being a jerk. DevHead asked some legitimate questions; it wouldn't hurt you to answer them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BinaryData Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 (edited) Recovery partition you mean? If you didn't nuke it, do a factory restore. Windows 8 is activated. I'll just roll with this. Edit:After upgrading to 8.1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circaflex Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 great to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BinaryData Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 great to hear. Yeah, it is. He's my brothers friend, and he's going back to school. So I upgraded his RAM, cleaned his PC, re-applied thermal paste. It was like clay, it was terrible. Apparently, he left it running on his bed/couch/chairs, etc.. Circaflex 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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