Where is the license key (win10 pro oem) ?

TechLarry

TechLarry

RIP [H] Brother - June 1, 2022
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So I built a new machine and bought an OEM copy of Win10 x64 pro from amazon. This one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZSHDJ4O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s04?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I can't find the damn license key on it anywhere. If I try to activate it, it fails. It's basically telling me it's not genuine.

When I first installed I told the windows installer I did not have a key. I figured I'd del with it later.

Well, here I am. Not sure what to do about it :)
 
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There should be a plastic card in the box. That has the license key written on it.
 
If you scroll down that very page the question is answered:

Question:
Does this come with a product key COA license sticker that can be applied to a computer?
Answer:
It does not. There is a COA sticker applied to the CD sleeve itself. Moreover, Windows 10 generally does not use COA stickers anymore and instead they embed the license in uEFI.
Click to expand...

I honestly have no idea why that is called an "OEM" copy since only OEMs use those (Dell, HP, Gateway, Lenovo, etc). As soon as I saw that in the title of the item I was immediately thinking "Ok, this is bullshit..." and I don't seem to find any reason to alter that point of view.

Call Microsoft and provide the necessary info and see what they can do, if nothing then return it.
 
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Tiberian said:
If you scroll down that very page the question is answered:



I honestly have no idea why that is called an "OEM" copy since only OEMs use those (Dell, HP, Gateway, Lenovo, etc). As soon as I saw that in the title of the item I was immediately thinking "Ok, this is bullshit..." and I don't seem to find any reason to alter that point of view.

Call Microsoft and provide the necessary info and see what they can do, if nothing then return it.
Click to expand...

You still need a key to provide initial validation, the licence isn't going to hash to the Microsoft servers with no proof of authenticity whatsoever unless the OEM device came with Windows pre installed. If you built a machine yourself and use an OEM copy of Windows supplied on separate install media you need a key to activate your copy of Windows.

In the past OEM meant a copy of Windows that could be activated on the motherboard it was originally installed on only, the licence died along with the motherboard.
 
In the past OEM meant a copy of the operating system supplied to actual hardware OEMs only and was not something consumers would have access to aka "the disc that came with my computer" but for whatever reason resellers like Newegg and others took it upon themselves to begin selling copies of OEM installation media separately. There was a System Builder version of Windows available for several years which was designed for end users and resellers "aka Mom and Pop computer shops" to use for machine configurations they themselves put together but those required a piece of hardware to be included with the sale of the OS, something as crazy as a modem card or whatever as long as it wasn't just the software alone.

Both the OEM version distributed to actual hardware OEMs as well as the System Builder version both had the limitation of one license and key for one installation that was not transportable to another hardware configuration.

The licensing terms between a hardware OEM like Dell or HP are very different from the licensing terms for the "Mom and Pop computer shops" as well and they're not really interchangeable.

Anyway, the info was provided since it's right there on the page and the advice provided to call Microsoft and see what's going on is still relevant. If the COA sticker doesn't have a Product Key printed on it (from what I gather Windows 10 COAs don't unlike previous versions of Windows) then contacting Microsoft might be the only solution to actually make use of that software and if not then it should be returned ASAP.

And just for the record I'm speaking of OEM and System Builder versions based on the licensing terms here in North America as I know you're in Australia (from what I gather) and things are most likely quite different in that country and region of the world.
 
Tiberian said:
In the past OEM meant a copy of the operating system supplied to actual hardware OEMs only and was not something consumers would have access to aka "the disc that came with my computer" but for whatever reason resellers like Newegg and others took it upon themselves to begin selling copies of OEM installation media separately. There was a System Builder version of Windows available for several years which was designed for end users and resellers "aka Mom and Pop computer shops" to use for machine configurations they themselves put together but those required a piece of hardware to be included with the sale of the OS, something as crazy as a modem card or whatever as long as it wasn't just the software alone. Both the OEM version distributed to actual hardware OEMs as well as the System Builder version both had the limitation of one license and key for one installation that was not transportable to another hardware configuration.

Anyway, the info was provided since it's right there on the page and the advice provided to call Microsoft and see what's going on is still relevant. If the COA sticker doesn't have a Product Key printed on it (from what I gather Windows 10 COAs don't unlike previous versions of Windows) then contacting Microsoft might be the only solution to actually make use of that software and if not then it should be returned ASAP.
Click to expand...

Anyone can buy an OEM copy of Windows, the licence is tied to the motherboard it is installed on and Microsoft licence terms dictate that it cannot be transferred to another machine. In comparison the licence on the retail version of Windows is transferable between machines provided it is removed from the old machine first..

You cannot initally activate any version of Windows 10 from external install media without a licence key, that includes OEM and retail versions.
 
BulletDust said:
*snip*
Click to expand...

Yes, I said all that. ;)

kaigame said:
Just for reference, you can pull the windows key from a machine that has the key embedded in it's BIOS. There is a utility called "RW Everything", and is capable of displaying the inbuilt windows key on your machine.
Click to expand...

And yes, that's useful info that most of us around here already know (but can't hurt to be repeated every now and again) but in this situation with the OP's hardware it's not an OEM machine - it's a hand-built one from purchased components so this has nothing to do with OEM hardware from a company like Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc.

If you go out and buy a motherboard to build a computer it's not going to have a Product Key embedded in the BIOS or uEFI - of course you could be buying some used OEM hardware and just re-using the components from a Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc, but retail purchased motherboards by Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, and so on aren't "OEM" parts so, no keys embedded.

The OP built a computer from purchased parts but chose to buy the "OEM" version of Windows 10 and without the Product Key it supposedly had included in the packaging or attached to it he's not going to get very far.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Tiberian said:
Yes, I said all that. ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah, you did. For some obscure reason you literally repeated everything I had already stated. So for clarification I thought I'd repeat it all again if we're all just repeating one another.

What is your problem, your a sad little bugger?
 
The thread was done basically with the third post, in case you missed it (what with the paying attention thing), and since I answered the OP's question I'm done now as well.
 
The thread was done with you claiming that OEM meant HP or Lenovo and made you think 'bullshit'?

That post made no sense whatsoever, hence the confusion. But if you're done now that's great.
 
Buy a used OEM key from Ebay. Then buy a working unused key from a real shop.
 
Ok, I found it.

It was under a 1/2 inch square section of the label that you have to scratch off (carefully!) like a lotto ticket. It's so small I just didn't see it at first.

All is well !

Thanks :)
 
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