Ask a new question. It seems the great deal I got buying a 2nd hand laptop included a Win10 Pro license that was part of a Volume Licensing Key I am happy with how the computer is running, and I have installed quite a few programs that I dread the thought of having to back up.

My question is:. Am I able to buy Windows 10 Pro from the Microsoft store, and simply use the new license to authorize my computer without having to do a new install? You could always just purchase a Windows 10 Pro key which will be sent to you in a confirmation email. You can then update the product key values. Please note though, we don’t know the state of the Windows 10 Pro installed, it could be using a KMS activation hack, which can sometimes be embedded with malware or keyloggers.

Step 3: How to: Perform a clean install of Windows Was this reply helpful? Yes No. Sorry this didn’t help. Thanks for your feedback. Thank you – that’s exactly what I was thinking about. I simply want the Windows 10 Pro Key in order to change my product key. This is accurate advice? My chat with Microsoft earlier today told me otherwise But, I guess I have to go through with the whole download to get the key?

How big is the download? I would rather use my computer as it is now, it is running perfectly and I have so many programs installed that I don’t want to have to go through re-installing. Threats include any threat of suicide, violence, or harm to another.

Any content of an adult theme or inappropriate to a community web site. Any image, link, or discussion of nudity. Any behavior that is insulting, rude, vulgar, desecrating, or showing disrespect.

Any behavior that appears to violate End user license agreements, including providing product keys or links to pirated software. Unsolicited bulk mail or bulk advertising. Any link to or advocacy of virus, spyware, malware, or phishing sites.

Any other inappropriate content or behavior as defined by the Terms of Use or Code of Conduct. Any image, link, or discussion related to child pornography, child nudity, or other child abuse or exploitation. Details required : characters remaining Cancel Submit 4 people found this reply helpful. No need to go through the download process, the product key is provided separately and you can enter it into your existing installation.

Because the source of the original installation is unknown, it would still be best to perform a new install, but you are not prevented from using it with a new genuine key. Choose where you want to search below Search Search the Community. Search the community and support articles Windows Windows 10 Search Community member.

Hi Everyone, My first post! I am basically starting again from scratch. My question is: Am I able to buy Windows 10 Pro from the Microsoft store, and simply use the new license to authorize my computer without having to do a new install? Thanks in advance for any help or advice This thread is locked. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread.

I have the same question Report abuse. Details required :. Cancel Submit. Andre Da Costa Article Author. I personally would perform a fresh install as a precaution. How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site. In reply to Andre Da Costa’s post on March 20, In reply to iluvchiclets’s post on March 20, In reply to Andre Da Costa’s post on March 21, Thank you so much for the clear and helpful info This site in other languages x.

Where to buy windows 10 pro license.Get Windows 10 | Microsoft

Linux is a viable option, but most prefer Windows because it runs all their favorite software, including the latest games. Installing a copy of Windows 11 or 10 for a built-from-scratch computer can be costly — if you do what Microsoft wants.

This Windows tax is profoundly unfair to PC builders, because large OEMs such as Dell and Lenovo pay much lower licensing fees to put Windows on prebuilt systems though these costs are not made public. Why you can trust Tom’s Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.

Find out more about how we test. No matter how or whether you pay for it, you can download Windows 10 opens in new tab or download Windows 11 opens in new tab for free from Microsoft.

And, in fact, you should only download it from Microsoft, as grabbing it from any other site or from a P2P network could give you malware. Microsoft offers a free media creation tool, which grabs the latest code from the Internet and then burns itself to a USB Flash drive or outputs a Windows 10 or Windows 11 ISO file you can write to a drive yourself. Once that’s done, you can boot from your installation media and start the process.

During installation, Microsoft asks you to enter a Windows 10 or 11 product key. If you are still on Windows 7 or 8, you can upgrade to Windows 10 for free. If you have an old, retail non-OEM copy of Windows 7, 8 or 10 you are no longer using on another PC, you can likely use the product key when you do a fresh install of Windows on your new PC.

However, you must first make sure it’s deactivated on the old PC it came from. See our article on how to transfer a Windows 10 or 11 license to a new PC for step-by-step information on how to retrieve and move your key.

The process of transferring a Windows license varies, depending upon whether you have digital or non-digital license. With a the former, you’ll need to log into your Microsoft account to deactivate the old PC. And with the latter, you’ll want to use a command line command to terminate the activation. Note that if the product key comes from a prebuilt computer that came from the factory with Windows on it, it has an OEM key that may not work on a different new PC. Feel free to try it, though, because if it works you have Windows 10 or 11 for free.

The good news is that you only have two serious disadvantages from not activating Windows 10 or However, if you are using a Microsoft account that syncs with another computer on which you have custom wallpaper, that wallpaper will appear on your unactivated Windows.

But come on; does anyone actually do that? Other than those inconveniences, unactivated Windows should work just fine and receive automatic updates too.

You can see if your school is eligible and download your free Windows 11 key here opens in new tab. You might be able to get them for less with a Kinguin discount code though.

These are all OEM keys and likely can’t be used on another computer after you activate them on the first one. We recommend paying a little extra to get a key that has “online activation,” which means that it should activate automatically over the Internet. Keys that aren’t marked for “online activation” may force you to call Microsoft, wait on hold and ask a phone representative for help activating.

The representative may even ask for your Microsoft account, which is not great for your privacy. Now, let’s address the elephant in the room. While we can’t vouch for all of them, websites selling cheap Windows 10 or 11 keys are likely offering legitimate codes.

Kinguin has more than three dozen merchants worldwide selling Windows keys. It’s just another marketplace. We’ve bought keys from Kinguin a few times. So we tried calling the number and waited on hold for a few minutes. We thought activating via phone would be an automated process where we just punched in the key and got an approval code, but instead we got a live representative who immediately asked for our Microsoft account ID.

Another time, we paid a few dollars more for an online activation key. Lo and behold, it activated as soon as we entered the code, with no phone call required. Are you likely to be ripped off? However, both sites play host to a number of third-party sellers whose product keys may or may not be legit.

The easiest but most expensive way to get Windows is to buy your key directly from Microsoft. You can get these either as downloads or on USB drives. If you have an old Windows key you can carry over from a previous build, that’s your best option and effectively gives you Windows 10 or Windows 11 for free. If you don’t have a key on hand, you need to decide whether you’re comfortable using an unactivated version of Windows 10 or 11, which limits your customization options, has an ugly watermark and leaves you ineligible for Microsoft support.

Many would argue that downloading Windows without paying for or already owning a product key is ethically wrong. That said, Microsoft has made this process easier over various Windows iterations and lessened the limitations and nagging that happens when you don’t activate.

We’ve even seen well-known vendors and Microsoft partners do press presentations with watermarks on their desktop. If you need to buy a Windows 10 or Windows 11 key, you can save a lot with a low-cost seller such as Kinguin opens in new tab. Get instant access to breaking news, in-depth reviews and helpful tips.

US Edition. Swipe to scroll horizontally. Be In the Know Get instant access to breaking news, in-depth reviews and helpful tips. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors. Avram Piltch. Avram Piltch is Tom’s Hardware’s editor-in-chief. When he’s not playing with the latest gadgets at work or putting on VR helmets at trade shows, you’ll find him rooting his phone, taking apart his PC or coding plugins.

With his technical knowledge and passion for testing, Avram developed many real-world benchmarks, including our laptop battery test. Topics Software. See all comments I bought a key on ebay and it turned out to be a VL key volume. Which works but shouldn’t be sold. I contacted the seller and he refunded me. Very good breakdown of the ways to activate Windows Most people don’t even realize you can still use a windows 7 key to activate, only after you get into windows, and not during the setup process.

I believe this will probably stop working Jan 1, , when Microsoft stops support for windows 7. One thing that I was hoping for some explanation on key activations, I have seen how some Youtuber’s have tied their windows 10 keys to their Microsoft account. Then they only need a handfull of keys, like one for each motherboard vendor, and during setup, then sign into their Microsoft account, and select the key that corresponds to the motherboard their are reviewing.

So they can move the keys around, and as long as it was the same brand of motherboard it would activate for that computer, and no longer be active on the old system. Any thoughts on how this works? Any limitations on how many moves, is this method valid for years so you would never have to buy another key if you stayed with one particular favorite motherboard vendor?

On the forums, we see MANY tales of woe concerning aftermarket, 3rd-party, or otherwise dicey Windows keys. Of course, using an old version’s key essentially amounts to a free upgrade, which once upon a time was often provided by software vendors, so if you can use that method, great. Any attempt to connect to www. Sorry, not getting my business. Thanks for this article. I’ve been struggling with the idea of buying another copy of Windows 10 for my media machine.

It’s a PC built from old parts and is currently running Linux. Has anyone had a good experience with this? Wait a sec TH is legitimizing kinquin? While they might activate today there is no guarantee they will activate a month from now or whenever you decide to reinstall windows from scratch. This article is causing multiple conniptions among the Moderation team. There are very good reasons why, although tolerated from a couple of well-known sources like Kinguin, none of us ever encourage people to obtain keys this way.

It isn’t illegal, so we don’t sanction for it, but like I said, the tales of woe are too numerous to go unnoticed. At least the article makes no mention of “activators,” which in most cases do represent outright piracy, not to mention the viruses and malware with which they are often laden. Discussions of those are not allowed and are deleted, and sometimes offenders knuckles get rapped with a hammer. Yes, doing this definitely constitutes a “Do at your own risk”.

If money is tight, run Win 10 unlicensed, until you can a get known legit key from someone like Newegg. Microsoft allows this, so it is perfectly fine to so, and you don’t have to risk losing your hard earned cash. Windows 10 Home Online Activation. Access to all personalization options; Microsoft support access; Free. Access to all personalization options; Microsoft support access; Equivalent to Windows 10 Enterprise; Free.

Access to all personalization options; Microsoft support access. Access to all personalization options; Microsoft support access; Refunds. Desktop watermark; Personalization options restricted; Can’t use Microsoft support. You have to be enrolled in an eligible school. There’s a chance your key won’t work, and you’ll need to get customer service.

Where to buy windows 10 pro license.How to Get Windows 11 or Windows 10 for Free (or Under $20) | Tom’s Hardware

Ask a new question. It seems the great deal I got buying a 2nd hand laptop included a Win10 Pro license that was part of a Volume Licensing Key I am happy with how the computer is running, and I have installed quite a few programs that I dread the thought of having to back up.

My question is:. Am I able to buy Windows 10 Pro from the Microsoft store, and simply use the new license to authorize my computer without having to do a new install? You could always just purchase a Windows 10 Pro key which will be sent to you in a confirmation email. You can then update the product key values. Please note though, we don’t know the state of the Windows 10 Pro installed, it could be using a KMS activation hack, which can sometimes be embedded with malware or keyloggers.

Step 3: How to: Perform a clean install of Windows Was this reply helpful? Yes No. Sorry this didn’t help. Thanks for your feedback. Thank you – that’s exactly what I was thinking about. I simply want the Windows 10 Pro Key in order to change my product key.

This is accurate advice? My chat with Microsoft earlier today told me otherwise But, I guess I have to go through with the whole download to get the key? How big is the download? I would rather use my computer as it is now, it is running perfectly and I have so many programs installed that I don’t want to have to go through re-installing. Threats include any threat of suicide, violence, or harm to another. Any content of an adult theme or inappropriate to a community web site.

Any image, link, or discussion of nudity. Any behavior that is insulting, rude, vulgar, desecrating, or showing disrespect. Any behavior that appears to violate End user license agreements, including providing product keys or links to pirated software.

Unsolicited bulk mail or bulk advertising. Kinguin has more than three dozen merchants worldwide selling Windows keys. It’s just another marketplace. We’ve bought keys from Kinguin a few times. So we tried calling the number and waited on hold for a few minutes. We thought activating via phone would be an automated process where we just punched in the key and got an approval code, but instead we got a live representative who immediately asked for our Microsoft account ID.

Another time, we paid a few dollars more for an online activation key. Lo and behold, it activated as soon as we entered the code, with no phone call required. Are you likely to be ripped off? However, both sites play host to a number of third-party sellers whose product keys may or may not be legit.

The easiest but most expensive way to get Windows is to buy your key directly from Microsoft. You can get these either as downloads or on USB drives. If you have an old Windows key you can carry over from a previous build, that’s your best option and effectively gives you Windows 10 or Windows 11 for free.

If you don’t have a key on hand, you need to decide whether you’re comfortable using an unactivated version of Windows 10 or 11, which limits your customization options, has an ugly watermark and leaves you ineligible for Microsoft support. Many would argue that downloading Windows without paying for or already owning a product key is ethically wrong.

That said, Microsoft has made this process easier over various Windows iterations and lessened the limitations and nagging that happens when you don’t activate. We’ve even seen well-known vendors and Microsoft partners do press presentations with watermarks on their desktop. If you need to buy a Windows 10 or Windows 11 key, you can save a lot with a low-cost seller such as Kinguin opens in new tab. Get instant access to breaking news, in-depth reviews and helpful tips.

US Edition. Swipe to scroll horizontally. Be In the Know Get instant access to breaking news, in-depth reviews and helpful tips. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors. Avram Piltch. Avram Piltch is Tom’s Hardware’s editor-in-chief. When he’s not playing with the latest gadgets at work or putting on VR helmets at trade shows, you’ll find him rooting his phone, taking apart his PC or coding plugins.

With his technical knowledge and passion for testing, Avram developed many real-world benchmarks, including our laptop battery test. Topics Software.

See all comments I bought a key on ebay and it turned out to be a VL key volume. Which works but shouldn’t be sold. I contacted the seller and he refunded me. Very good breakdown of the ways to activate Windows Most people don’t even realize you can still use a windows 7 key to activate, only after you get into windows, and not during the setup process. I believe this will probably stop working Jan 1, , when Microsoft stops support for windows 7.

One thing that I was hoping for some explanation on key activations, I have seen how some Youtuber’s have tied their windows 10 keys to their Microsoft account.

Then they only need a handfull of keys, like one for each motherboard vendor, and during setup, then sign into their Microsoft account, and select the key that corresponds to the motherboard their are reviewing. So they can move the keys around, and as long as it was the same brand of motherboard it would activate for that computer, and no longer be active on the old system.

Any thoughts on how this works? Any limitations on how many moves, is this method valid for years so you would never have to buy another key if you stayed with one particular favorite motherboard vendor?

On the forums, we see MANY tales of woe concerning aftermarket, 3rd-party, or otherwise dicey Windows keys. Of course, using an old version’s key essentially amounts to a free upgrade, which once upon a time was often provided by software vendors, so if you can use that method, great.

Any attempt to connect to www. Sorry, not getting my business. Thanks for this article. I’ve been struggling with the idea of buying another copy of Windows 10 for my media machine. It’s a PC built from old parts and is currently running Linux.

Has anyone had a good experience with this? Wait a sec