Why You Can't Just Use a Simple Product Key . Related: How Does Windows Activation Work? The free Windows 10 license works very differently from previous Windows licensing systems. These all required a product key. Even modern Windows 8 and 8.1 PCs--and new PCs that come with Windows 10--have a Windows product key embedded in their UEFI Once you run ProduKey, press the F9 key to open the Select Source menu. Select the radio button next to "Load the product keys of external Windows installations from all disks currently plugged to your computer." Click OK to display the product key. The key from the Windows 8 hard drive will appear next to "Windows 8." 2. If Windows 8.1 was on your laptop when you bought it, you must use your laptop's dedicated recovery media to reinstall Windows or ask the laptop vendor for help with the product key. However, I suspect we are not talking about an OEM copy. In your title, you've said "Windows 8" while in your message body, you exclusively said "Windows 8.1". Oct 11, 2023, 10:52 AM PDT. Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge. Microsoft is now blocking Windows 7 and Windows 8 keys from activating a copy of Windows 11. It’s been a loophole that No, you can't use your new Win10 Pro PK to activate your Win8.1 Pro licence. You effectively own TWO Win10 Pro PKs. The first PK is linked to your laptop's Win8.1 Pro licence, and the other one is the one you've just bought. They are different PKs and can be used on (two) separate PCs. I apologize, unfortunately, the Microsoft free upgrade to Windows 10/11 is only applicable if you have genuine Windows 7/8. It is not possible to use a Windows Vista license key to activate Windows 10/11. Best regards, Van. Van S. MKqm. It should work as Windows 10 product keys is compatible for Windows 11 and that is the one that is used by the users who already did the install or upgrade and also the other way around in the event that you are looking to go back to Windows 10 then it will still work. Regards, Click Command Prompt (admin) In Windows 10: Press Windows key + X. Click Windows PowerShell (admin) Enter the following command: wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey. Hit Enter. The product key will be revealed, copy the product key then enter it. Press Windows key + R. Make sure the indicator light on this key is off. Some gaming keyboards also let you press the Function (Fn) key and a function key (like F12) to enable or disable the Windows key. Refer to your keyboard user manual to determine if your dashboard has that keyboard shortcut feature. Repeating the keyboard shortcut will enable the Windows key. First, update your KMS host to support Windows 10 computers. See Windows 10 Volume Activation Tips for details. What is product activation? Product activation is a process during which a product key is input to allow the use of the software. Activation establishes a relationship between the software's product key and a particular installation Windows 10 product keys work with Windows 11, meaning you can use a Windows 10 key to activate Windows 11. Additionally, Windows 11 is a free upgrade from Windows 10 if you already have it on your

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