Installation :: Upgrade Requires Product Key - No Skip Option
Sep 16, 2015
I have a newly installed Windows 7 Professional x64 (not single language) with SP1 that is fully updated, genuine and activated. If I slip the Win10 CD used to upgrade several Win 7 Home Premium PCs in and ask it to upgrade me it requires a product key to continue. There is no option to skip this. The Win7 product key fails, the Insider key fails, the Next button is greyed out. The same issue irrespective of whether I take recent updates or not. I am logged on to a local admin account.
I clicked the flag in the system tray to register for Win 10 but that tells me my report is not ready yet. This after 8 hours of continuous connection to the internet. SFC shows no corruptions.
Just want to check something, I am running 8.1 and 10 in dual boot, but when the time comes to running 10 on it's own how do I get rid of the OS boot selection option at start up?
I know that MSCONFIG has options but it will not allow me to set the timeout less than 3 seconds.
What about the start up and recovery option in the advanced tab in system settings? Would this get rid of the selection screen?
I am trying to upgrade GENUINE Windows 8.1 PRO x64 to Windows 10 Pro x64 from the ISO I made from the Microsoft RTM files. I am upgrading from within the 8.1 OS and choosing the option to keep "nothing" of my settings and personal files.
I have two problems.
The first is that the installation asks for a product key. On the other hand, when I upgraded my Windows 7 machine to 10 from within the OS it didn't ask for a product key. Why do I need to provide the product key to upgrade my 8.1 system, but not my 7 system?
Second problem is that I can not upgrade from 8.1 PRO to Win10 PRO. When I put in the general product key for the Win10 HOME edition the install proceeds, but it does not take the other (different) product key corresponding to the Win10 PRO version, even though it should. Why can't I go 8.1 PRO -> 10 PRO?
I am interested in the OS and want to try it out, moreover, some sources tell me that the OS will neither update nor block counterfeit (cracked) softwares, and how to skip logging in to my Microsoft account during OS installation (which I got stuck with when installing Windows 8.1).
As I stated in the subject line, Windows 10 setup, whether using the regular update method, running the ISO from within Windows, or using the Media Creation Tool, only asks for product key and there is no option (button) for 'Upgrade'.
This may sound confusing so I want to make it clear that I am NOT trying to do a clean install on a system that hasn't been activated yet. I'm talking about the very first upgrade install. It won't work.
A couple of days ago I DID see the 'Upgrade this PC' (or something like that) and the install started but failed due to the ever popular Pentium G3258 CPU problem. There was advice all over the 'Net that all you had to do was disable one of the CPU cores in the BIOS and the install would complete just fine.
So I disabled the core and tried to start the install again.
Now the installation procedure won't even begin. It just sits there. It says 'Product key" in big letters and "Windows isn't activated on this PC. This means you'll have to enter the Windows 10 product key below or exit" and the only two buttons are Back and Next, both of which are grayed out.
I thought maybe the Windows 10 installation files were corrupt or something so I wiped the system and reinstalled 7 from scratch (Oh yeah, that was really a fun part of my day) and re-downloaded and used the Media Creation Tool again and selected (whatever it says) to begin the upgrade installation and now it's still doing what it was before, asking for a product key instead of running the upgrade installation.
I want to make it clear one more time because I'll get TL;DR answers such as "You can't do a clean install, you have to do the upgrade method first so Windows 10 can generate your hash and activate":
I am NOT attempting to do a clean install. I'm trying to run the initial 'Upgrade' method. I fully understand that you can't do a clean install without the upgrade being completed first. Why it's asking for a product key instead of starting an upgrade installation?
I am using Windows 7 SP1 [ Genuine ]. My upgrade to windows 10 is ready via windows update but i don't want to install it. how to remove this option so that normal system updates can be install.
I recently upgraded to windows 10, and decided to do a clean install. So I made a image of my system (when it was windows 8.1), wiped my Hard drive (which still had the original windows 8 install,), and stuck a ios file on a usb stick. However during the install to my SSD (Which is different from my hardrive) the computer asked for a product code, something I do not have, and did not think I needed (my understanding was that windows 10 registered your hardware). If I skip it, it goes though the prossess of installing, but then restarts after finishing moving the files. I dont want to have to attempt to go though the effort of putting windows 8 back on the laptop, moving it over to the ssd, upgrading to windows 10, getting a product key that may or may not work, and trying it again.
New PC build on MSI Gaming 5 motherboard. Put in an OEM System Builder Windows 8.1 Pro disc and clicked upgrade, not install. Now the machine won't install Windows and if I re-enter setup, it tells me invalid product key. Any way to reverse this or how can I get the OS installed?
Im not trying to do anything illegal or anything but i want to create a skipable installation iso. Ive been able to successfully do this with windows 8/8.1. The reason for me to do this is I work at a computer repair shop and we do a lot of installs. To keep up a fast pace i find it easier to skip the product key initially and activate it later. I cant seem to find the ei.efg file to edit. Perhaps they changed the format of the install.
According to my computer, Windows7 is activated and is a genuine product. But when I attempt to download W10, it does not recognize the 25 digit Product Key. I don't know what to do.
I have a new computer with windows 10, at the first boot the computer did some things to prepare itself for use, but then I was asked to give my credenitals to account, I used my windows account, but there was some error and I had to reboot. Since then this is what happens: when I boot up there is (probably, cause English is not my native language)
Then I choose my language and click next, after that it asks for a product key, after I confirm that (or skip) and use express settings it goes into "just a moment" than the computer reboot and I am at the begining again.
I have just restored a saved version of a VM Windows 10 upgraded from Windows 7. It had a digital entitlement but the restored machine required activation. I chose what I thought was the Product Key of the Win 7 machine prior to the upgrade but it was rejected. I now realise that I may have used the wrong key but it raises a question.
How can you tell what Product Key you have used to activate an installation of Win10 which shows as activated?
Will windows 10 update provide a product key for clean install? If so how/where?
If not when performing a clean install, will skipping the product key prompt, then activating once desktop appears automatically activate and inject a product key?Lastly rather than extract the esd file, where to get a genuine Microsoft iso's on release date?
MacBook late 2009 running parallels. Originally upgraded when Win 8 was installed. Win 10 upgrade loaded Home. Removed Win 10, upgraded to Win 8.1. Now when I try to reload Win 10, it will not install Pro, only Home.
When I go to change product key under activation, it will not let me change serial number. (Old Win 8.0 Serial Number)
Clarification: Cannot even select change product key. I only get a "ding".
When I first got Windows 10, I experienced frequent crashes and hangs, and I frequently had to restart, because something wasn't working right. About a month ago, the system finally became reasonably stable. Yesterday, I upgraded to build 10586, and so far at least I haven't had any crashes or hangs, but every time I turn the computer on, I have to restart to get everything to work right. Is it possible to just ignore those build upgrade notices, so I can enjoy a stable OS for a while?
Okay before I go on, I've already reserved my copy of windows 10 before. But I recently just purchased a new SSD for my computer so now I have 2 SSD drives in my computer.I've just done a clean install of windows 7 on my new ssd and I've also installed all windows updates. I've also have a new 2tb hardrive Seagate hardrive in my computer. So am I still able to reserve my copy of windows 10? or am I screwed and yes my windows 7 is genuine
I had the Win 10 icon on my, Win 7 Home Premium, 64bit machine before I had to replace the HDD. I have now replaced the HDD and reinstalled, from the recovery disks, Win 7 Home Premium completely i.e. clean installed not just repair.
I also installed Windows Upgrade KB3035583 and have got the icon. I click on the icon and click on the Reserve WIn 10 option but do not get the following option to add an email address to receive confirmation of the reserve, so I don't know if I have reserved the upgrade.
I clicked the icon on another Win7 32bit machine I have and did get the email option; for other reasons I downloaded the 32bit .iso and upgraded from that - it went well.. Do I need to install any other Windows Upgrade for another KB article?
Can the "Replace or Skip Files Confirmation" window be changed to the way it was in Windows 7? The one on windows 10 is inconvenient and even at times confusing (Like when backing up text files from my hard drive to a flash drive into a fold of the same name)
I upgraded about a month ago. My laptop locked me out entirely shortly after the upgrade so I had to take it to be wiped clean. When I got it back everything was in working order with Windows 10 except the top row of keys that control volume, brightness and the ability to pause, rewind and skip songs now solely does the standard system commands of f1-f10 *caret browsing on/of, find in page, etc* Im not sure if they worked the first time I tried to upgrade because I couldn't even log on to my computer after I upgraded the first time so I reformatted.
Upgraded to Win10 from Win7 a month ago. All was good. Today when I rebooted, Win10 required a password and I've never used one. I had to sign on as a different user, but here all my programs, stuff are missing.
I have four systems, each with a regular+cyrillic keyboard and have been using them for years with Windows 7 & 8.1, switching between the two formats, without a problem. As an aside, a couple of the systems, having bought them in Bulgaria, have non-English messages but the few that occur, although annoying, I have tolerated.
Now, having updated one of the Win 7 systems to Win 10 and having tweaked language so, at least at the user level, I get everything in English, I have a strange situation where the " key will not produce the character until another key is pressed. It is the only key that reacts like that. I'm not sure if the tweaking or Windows 10 itself is the problem.
I am not a user of Windows 10 but my dad (who is not good with computers) now has a computer with Windows 10. Everything was fine with his computer yesterday but he says he turned it off last night but kept the powercord plugged in. This morning, when he went to turn it on, his computer no longer required at password at startup, his background picture of his dog was no longer there and it was replaced with a tree. Also, his desktop icons are no longer there.
I have a few issues with the Windows 10 install on my Asus X200 laptop and want to rollback to Win 8.1.
However, when I go into Settings/Update and Security/Recovery the only 2 options I have are 'Reset this PC' and 'Advanced setup'. The 'Go Back to Windows 8.1' option is not there.
Is the only option a reinstall of 8.1 from the USB backup I made?