Whats with this gatherosstate

[Moltuae]

And I dragged out another today. Installed 1909, no keys entered, connect to the internet and it activates.
So what am i doing wrong?

Interesting. I've had loads that don't activate. Must be an Aussie thing.

I'm gonna try holding a laptop upside down next time, see if that makes a difference

 

[nlinecomputers]

Most of these computers never saw Windows 7 let alone Windows 10
It's one from the stock of old towers and laptops i keep in a back room for older people who want something for light duty.
All the HDD's are zeroed and reformatted from other old junkers so as for "apparently got upgraded to Windows 10 in the past" i think not.
And I dragged out another today. Installed 1909, no keys entered, connect to the internet and it activates.
So what am i doing wrong?

The data on the hard drive has nothing to do with it.

When Windows 10 is installed a hardware hash is created based on the motherboard of the machine. Once done you NEVER have to enter any key ever again. You could wipe the system and load linux on it and then drop a new hard drive in it and load 10 on it and you will not need a key.

 

[britechguy]

The data on the hard drive has nothing to do with it.

When Windows 10 is installed a hardware hash is created based on the motherboard of the machine. Once done you NEVER have to enter any key ever again. You could wipe the system and load linux on it and then drop a new hard drive in it and load 10 on it and you will not need a key.

Yup. The very first thing in my step-by-step tutorial for Doing a Completely Clean Reinstall of Windows 10, is this:

Important Reminder 1:

If your computer has ever had a valid, licensed copy of Windows 10 installed, even if that's been later replaced by, say, Linux, you can still do a completely clean install of Windows 10 without having to acquire a new license. Windows 10 licenses are stored electronically on Microsoft servers, and are linked to your computer's motherboard. The installer will locate that existing license if you are reinstalling Windows 10.

---------------------------------------------------

There were lots of people who didn't want to go to Windows 10 back in the early days and that took Microsoft's statements about the free upgrade period ending in July 2016 who intentionally did an upgrade to get a license linked to their machine on the Microsoft servers, and then immediately either used the rollback feature or a full system image backup to take their machine back to Windows 7 for ongoing use.

If a given machine has ever once had an activated copy of Windows 10 on it you can install whatever other OSes you might like over time on that hardware and come back to Windows 10 whenever you like, and never be asked for a product key.

 

[britechguy]

Actually you don't need to enter anything. Just click "I don't have a key" and continue.
It'll be activated by the time the desktop comes up.

If and only if Windows 10 had been activated on that machine (motherboard) at some time in the past.

What's really interesting to me is that Microsoft is allowing Windows 10 to run with virtually full functionality unactivated for extended periods of time. There are watermarks here and there on screens and the like, but as far as the vast majority of the end users' day to day tasks go, they can roll merrily along. I'm not suggesting this is best practice, by any means, but it does work.

 

[Porthos]

If a given machine has ever once had an activated copy of Windows 10 on it you can install whatever other OSes you might like over time on that hardware and come back to Windows 10 whenever you like, and never be asked for a product key.

As long as you install the right version. (Home or Pro etc.)

 

[britechguy]

Well, there is no "installing the right version," per se.

The Windows 10 ISO/installer has all the components for Home and Pro included, and, in fact, installs everything needed for Pro in a Home installation, but the Pro features lie dormant because they are not activated. That's why you can use Settings, Update & Security, Activation, Change product key link to upgrade from Home to Pro, completely without internet connection and without needing to download a blessed thing. It's all already there, it just goes through the process of activating it.

When it comes to a reinstall, what gets reinstalled on any system is whatever Microsoft's servers indicate is the "highest licensed" version ever installed for that machine/motherboard. If you had Pro, you'll get Pro back. Same for Home. But if you once had Home, and upgraded to Pro at some point, a later reinstall will always get Pro if you do not supply a license key since that's what Microsoft knows that machine to be licensed for.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Yup. The very first thing in my step-by-step tutorial for Doing a Completely Clean Reinstall of Windows 10, is this:

Important Reminder 1:

If your computer has ever had a valid, licensed copy of Windows 10 installed, even if that's been later replaced by, say, Linux, you can still do a completely clean install of Windows 10 without having to acquire a new license. Windows 10 licenses are stored electronically on Microsoft servers, and are linked to your computer's motherboard. The installer will locate that existing license if you are reinstalling Windows 10.

---------------------------------------------------

There were lots of people who didn't want to go to Windows 10 back in the early days and that took Microsoft's statements about the free upgrade period ending in July 2016 who intentionally did an upgrade to get a license linked to their machine on the Microsoft servers, and then immediately either used the rollback feature or a full system image backup to take their machine back to Windows 7 for ongoing use.

If a given machine has ever once had an activated copy of Windows 10 on it you can install whatever other OSes you might like over time on that hardware and come back to Windows 10 whenever you like, and never be asked for a product key.

Yes I dropped blank HDD in several systems to do the same thing. Install win10 get activated and return the old HDD back.

 

[Porthos]

Well, there is no "installing the right version," per se.

The Windows 10 ISO/installer has all the components for Home and Pro included, and, in fact, installs everything needed for Pro in a Home installation, but the Pro features lie dormant because they are not activated. That's why you can use Settings, Update & Security, Activation, Change product key link to upgrade from Home to Pro, completely without internet connection and without needing to download a blessed thing. It's all already there, it just goes through the process of activating it.

When it comes to a reinstall, what gets reinstalled on any system is whatever Microsoft's servers indicate is the "highest licensed" version ever installed for that machine/motherboard. If you had Pro, you'll get Pro back. Same for Home. But if you once had Home, and upgraded to Pro at some point, a later reinstall will always get Pro if you do not supply a license key since that's what Microsoft knows that machine to be licensed for.

That only works with computers that shipped either 8 or 10. (bios chip determines that) If the computer came with 7, since assuming the machine was already on 10 and you are doing a clean install and you choose to skip key, the installer will ask what version to install. If you do not know what was on it the COA will tell you if it is readable. If not, you can install Home and see if it activates. You can always upgrade in place with the generic Pro key(unplug from the net first trust me). Generic Pro key for those that don't know it -VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T

If someone upgraded their OEM(bios) install to Pro later you will have to create a disk/USB with ei.cfg modified so it will offer pro

 

[Galdorf]

That computer apparently got upgraded to Windows 10 in the past then. Otherwise it wouldn't just activate.

It would if it had a volume license say dell,hp or acer it would just activate.

 

[fincoder]

Never had the auto-activation without a key on a clean install upgrade personally (except obviously Win8 machines). I believe that it may happen occasionally though. If it happens, must be a glitch at the activation server end. They might have cut corners somewhere in the server code, or possibly they activate without checks occasionally if the server is under heavy load, or some machine identifier hashes are identical to another in the world.

Or someone forgot they got the automatic upgrade a few years ago because they downgraded immediately (or didn't agree to terms which results in a downgrade, or there was an upgrade error and it was backed out automatically).

However, nobody should tell others that it activates automatically without a key, because the majority of times it doesn't.