After a power outage, Windows 10 got corrupted (it lost microsoft edge, windows menu button functionality and windows settings functionality) - one error was along lines of "no association for ms-settings). Tried powershell route of refreshing ms-edge but it didn't work

Tried windows repair that found nothing wrong, tried a windows refresh that said it couldn't, tried a windows reset that said it couldn't so thought I might as well do a windows 10 clean install.

Unfortunately the product key (refurb Windows 7 home premium) will not work with Windows 10. Tried reinstalling windows 7 and that won't recognise the product key either.

It looks like the product key has been de-registered from Windows 7 but not registered with Windows 10 update.

I think I have got ways to get round this but I'm wary of losing more product keys.

Any suggestions?

HISTORY

The computer was upgraded to Windows 10 from a 64 bit system.

After hard drive failure I realised that the installed system hadn't been using the product key on the case.

Windows 7 32-bit was installed with the case's product key, then the computer was re-upgraded to Windows 10.

Computer worked fine.

Same product key, same windows 7 disk, same hard drive - everything exactly the same apart from the video card and monitor.

Thought I found something that might help (but it didn't) - Microsoft Volume Activation Management Tool - can check a product key with Microsoft, just tried it on a working Windows 7->10 upgraded product key and it only came back with Windows 7.

Download Linux (free), burn to DVD, install. Sorry Andy, but you're on a loser on so many fronts with Windows 10.

The Win7 product key you have might be the one used by the OEM is not actually valid for a reinstall. If the machine is still able to boot to the desktop, download and run this:

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html

It does not need installing - just run it.

If this finds a Win7 product key, this is the one you need to reinstall Win7. It will be different to the one on the label on the machine.

Win10 is now supposed to accept Win7 keys, but this is Microsnot we're talking about. If it doesn't and you really, really do want Win10, you'll have to reinstall Win7 and do the upgrade again.

ps. I run Win7 Pro and am not letting Win10 anywhere near this PC despite M$'s ever more desperate attempts to foist it on me (including downloading 6GB of install files and hiding them on my hard disk without my knowledge or consent.)

Im on my phone, i did read how to reinstall windows 10 after upgrading, or reinstalling windows 10 as a clean install.

Im not much help at the mo.

Ive gone as far as win 10 on my laptop but as mike says production pc can wait. 7 is happy.


Will be intresting to see how this pans out as im sure your not going to be the first.

Win7 uses MBR and WIN10 uses GBR. Seagate have a download to set up MBR format etc. to install operation system, it used to be a maximum of five changes but might be different now.Worth a look.This may be the glitch MBR/GBR

Windows installs and runs ok, its just the product key it rejects.

Do you mean GPT not GBR, as I'm using 32-bit windows it must be using MBR I assume. I avoid 64-bit windows as compatibility issues hits you when you least want them.

@MikeT - I ran linux exclusively for about a year not that long ago, I gave up, some aspects are brilliant but despite my previous Unix experience some things just took too long to read (or find) the documentation to achieve relatively menial tasks.

As stated, I have installed before and used this product key previously on this computer.

I'll probably just have to use up one of my spare Windows 7 product keys and cross my fingers, if another one gets wiped out I will be annoyed.

Windows 7 will end up in the same situation as Windows XP ie a security hazard due to publicised bugs not being eliminated, might as well update to Windows 10 while its free as opposed to paying for the privilege in the future (though I suspect the upgrade may remain free).

The only significant problems I've encountered with Windows 10 is the clean install and it seems more prone to corrupting the disk on power failure (my own computer is on a UPS partly because of that problem).

I sit corrected, Guid partition table it is. too complicated for me.
UAC CSM UEFI GPT

DD - Windows installs and runs ok, its just the product key it rejects.

Stupid one but be sure there is an internet connections and any firewalls are not preventing the loop back.

Sometimes back to basics finds away.

Yes, I have the same problem whether I try to enter the product key early in the installation process or retrospectively after Windows is up and running.

iirc the product key verification stage doesn't need an internet connection but the authentication stage does - though I realise that now makes one of my assumptions above incorrect.

I'm now doubting if I used the cases's product key last time, I might have to hunt through my scribble sheets and see if I noted something down - my memory of what happened might just be a "senior" version of reality.

Cheers Mark - gives me something to look at even if it is the doubting-my-own-sanity stage - I hate computers!!!!

Ah, found out that I need to download a fresh copy of Windows 10, Microsoft allow the old product keys to be used on clean installs using the latest builds.

SOURCE

Hopefully that will prevent the grief that millions of people have come across trying to do a clean install.

https://www.wikiwirral.co.uk/forums...re-everything-windows-10.html#Post949529



I knew i had seen it lol.

They always said you could do a clean install once you had done an upgrade but the first way they tried meant loads of unlicensed windows could exploit it so they stopped that method.

Next their database shut down.

Then they just seemed to give up and leave everyone in the lurch.

I had this issue a few times with Windows 7 and 8. Online Activation didn't work but using the automated "over the phone" activation worked every time.

Yes, XP over the phone activation seems to be a blanket yes now, I've transferred product keys across different computers.

I think 7 and 8 says yes but it gets withdrawn if another computer tries to use the same one.

I've yet to see Windows 10 offer telephone activation, normally the computer gives you a code to use.

TX9XD-98N7V-6WMQ6-BX7FG-H8Q99 HOME
VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T PROFESSIONAL

TRY THESE PRODUCT KEYS THEY ARE FOR WINDOWS 10

Those are temporary activation keys that have been killed off.

All the windows product keys I use are belong to licenses that I have bought. No point in using ones that are going to die at a later date.

Progress has been made, after a wee chat to Microsoft I have one of my product keys re-instated, Windows 7 has now been installed and activated, just waiting for over 200 updates to install then I'll upgrade again to Windows 10.

Waited 7 hours for Windows update to come back and say there were no updates yesterday, then today 218 updates have popped up on the first pass. Windows update was showing 0k download but 206 started to install on shutting down.

I think they are messing Windows 7 users around to convince them to use Windows 10.

Just about got this sorted, Windows 7 updates locked up twice, failed once (and un-installed 80% of the updates) then Windows 10 setup update locked up twice but Windows 10 is now up, running and authenticated. Just a small problem that zonealarm a+f doesn't install properly and doesn't even properly warn that its not completed, I think Windows Defender is blocking it. Zonealarm and Windows defender are supposed to be Windows 10 compliant and the handover should run smoothly as it has the numerous other times I've done it, maybe something to do with the latest updates

I would prefer now to do a clean install but I haven't got the bottle to go through another 3 days of faffing around if it goes wrong again.

Zonealarm? Not used that in years.

Zonealarm is one of the best, went out of fashion for a while partly due to a few mistakes as did most of the security softwares, the difference was that zonealarm picked their feet up and have been almost impeccable since. Their partnership with kaspersky has worked out very well.

People don't understand how the economic/business model of freeware works and so think its no good because its free but the figures say it all CLICKY inside the top 1000 companies for profit and market value.

I've only ever had one thing slip through zonealarm and it was undetected by everything else as well (including malwarebytes) I found it but there was no information on the net - I spotted it by fluke because it had a filename that popped up in a directory name search that I had programmed incorrectly, its location and name were very suspicious and obviously designed not to be found. Zonealarm detected it two days later, others were still not detecting it months later.

The free version has got limited amount of user control but more than enough for someone that isn't prepared to adjust settings manually on a regular basis.

Avira is ridiculously slow when you switch on all the options which are necessary for reasonable protection.

AVG I gave up on with ongoing compatibility problems for years on end.

Norton was a joke, slow and useless

McAfee went from one of the best to one of the worst, three different infections sailed through in a month at work.

Some of these have possibly picked up their performance by now but until zonealarm lets me down I have no reason to look around.

This new update there rolling out (Nov 2015) is supposed to fix a lot of activations issues and also relax on many that were blocked.

Yes, that is what the link I put up stated, however it still didn't work.

The difference was that on entering the product key it didn't fail on a local check as the older versions did, it interrogated the remote Microsoft database and then failed it.

My suspicions are that somehow the product key had been registered against the wrong version of Windows 10 - perhaps someone else had used it from a keygen or whatever.

There are at least four versions of Windows 10 home ...

Windows 10 home
Windows 10 home N
Windows 10 home KN
Windows 10 home single language

While its easy to find out what version of Windows 7 the product key belonged to there is no method to find out what version of Windows 10 it has been registered with on the Microsoft Database other than trial and error (ie hairloss)