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Pre-installed Windows, how to do a clean install?

M76

M76

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Jun 12, 2012
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I haven't dealt with any computer that came with a pre-installed windows. They don't supply a key with it, so how do I re-install it without loosing the license? There is only a small windows logo sticker on the laptop.
 
If it's Win10 you don't need any key. Microsoft has registered your hardware so that they know your computer when you reinstall and other situations where they want to track you :) In some OEM computers the key is actually embedded in the BIOS/UEFI. If it's older you can use jellybean key finder etc. tools to find the key.
 
Thanks, I remember dealing with a few computers that had their XP keys embedded into the bios, and it was impossible to install any other version of windows on them until I removed the embedded keys via bios update.

Didn't know that was still a practice.
 
XP had OEM strings, not keys, in the BIOS for pre-activation. It then used manufacturer specific OEMBIOS files to tell Windows what string to look for and where in the BIOS to look for it. Limitations with installing other versions more likely had to do with non-compliant ACPI implemenations. Vista and 7 were more strict about ACPI compliance than XP was, so a lot of computers had to have BIOS updates to fix that.

Because OEM strings were extremely easy to exploit for pirating Windows, Vista/7 changed the OEM string to embedded manufacturer specific license signatures in a new set of ACPI tables for activation.

Inserting new ACPI tables was harder than just putting a string in the BIOS image, but it too was eventually broken. So with Windows 8 and up MS started having OEMs embed unique keys directly into each system's BIOS instead of on a COA sticker. To my knowledge this hasn't been broken, yet.
 
I probably still have a Fujitsu Siemens Win7 install dvd somewhere that activates without a product key on any computer :)

A bit of a slip on someones part I guess.
 
M76 said:
I haven't dealt with any computer that came with a pre-installed windows. They don't supply a key with it, so how do I re-install it without loosing the license? There is only a small windows logo sticker on the laptop.
Click to expand...

With Windows 10 you can also reset the OS to its original state and it does a pretty good job.

I believe it resets the OS to the original MS configuration and removes any bloatware. Not 100% on this though. I suppose if an OEM gave enough of a shit they could bork the reset as well
 
ryan_975 said:
So with Windows 8 and up MS started having OEMs embed unique keys directly into each system's BIOS instead of on a COA sticker. To my knowledge this hasn't been broken, yet.
Click to expand...
With XP, Vista, and 7 you had to use install media that contained the files needed to tell the OS to look at the BIOS for activation. But I've never done an "OEM" reinstall of 8. What type of media do you need to do a true "OEM" activated reinstall of 8. Do you need the same type of files on the installation media? If so, can you create the media with the appropriate files like you could with XP, Vista, and 7?
 
bigdogchris said:
With XP, Vista, and 7 you had to use install media that contained the files needed to tell the OS to look at the BIOS for activation. But I've never done an "OEM" reinstall of 8. What type of media do you need to do a true "OEM" activated reinstall of 8. Do you need the same type of files on the installation media? If so, can you create the media with the appropriate files like you could with XP, Vista, and 7?
Click to expand...


Windows 8 I skipped, but it's probably the same as on 10, I've reinstalled on my sons' laptops (Dell XPS's ) using the same USB stick I used for my DIY builds and they activated just fine without having to put in a key or anything.

Vista and 7 didn't require any special files on the install media. You could grab the license certificate from the Windows system32 folder (or find it online) and reinsert it using slmgr after reinstalling and it would activate provided you used the appropriate product key (which you could also change using slmgr).
 
ryan_975 said:
Windows 8 I skipped, but it's probably the same as on 10, I've reinstalled on my sons' laptops (Dell XPS's ) using the same USB stick I used for my DIY builds and they activated just fine without having to put in a key or anything.
Click to expand...
Well, 10's activation is also stored online so that is where it would be activated from. Check the Activation Status and it probably says "activated with a digital license".

Vista and 7 didn't require any special files on the install media. You could grab the license certificate from the Windows system32 folder (or find it online) and reinsert it using slmgr after reinstalling and it would activate provided you used the appropriate product key (which you could also change using slmgr).
Click to expand...
The license certificate is the special file :)
 
B00nie said:
If it's Win10 you don't need any key. Microsoft has registered your hardware so that they know their computer when you reinstall and other situations where they want to track you :) In some OEM computers the key is actually embedded in the BIOS/UEFI. If it's older you can use jellybean key finder etc. tools to find the key.
Click to expand...
FTFY ;)
 
You can do a reset of the PC and it will remove all of the bloat. When I prep machines at work it is the easist way to do it on some models. Go into settings and search for Reset. Then click Get started. The machine will reboot and ask you if you want to keep your stuff or nuke it from orbit. Go find something to do for a while.
 
How well does the Reset built into Windows 10 work these days? Never had a chance to use it.

2sNXqMp.png
 
criccio said:
How well does the Reset built into Windows 10 work these days? Never had a chance to use it.

View attachment 51545
Click to expand...

Like a champ lol. Just removes all the apps and programs and restores the machine to a fresh Windows state. You do have to go back and remove the junk Windows installs, like Bubble Witch Saga and all that.
 
Spaceninja said:
Like a champ lol. Just removes all the apps and programs and restores the machine to a fresh Windows state. You do have to go back and remove the junk Windows installs, like Bubble Witch Saga and all that.
Click to expand...

more than that, you can even select clean state so it will install without any kind of bloat (not even sponsored games)
 
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