Windows 7 on old laptop used to get Windows 10 on new build?

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Disarray

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
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Ive got a retired laptop with windows 7 on it. Can I use that key to get 10 on my new build?
 
Its unlikely since those keys are tied to the OEM. Doesn't hurt to try though.
 
I've used several on-machine Win7 key stickers to install Win10 and they've all worked.
 
yeah it will work and i enter them during setup. i have also used them with windows "change product key".
 
unless its a retail key i cant see how it would work on a new build from scratch....cause that sounds like a oem type key to me
 
I’m sure it would be an OEM key. If I want to give it a shot, what would be the best way to try? Dumb it down for me, haven’t installed an OS since my XP days. I have no disks currently. 7 or 10
 
Disarray said:
I’m sure it would be an OEM key. If I want to give it a shot, what would be the best way to try? Dumb it down for me, haven’t installed an OS since my XP days. I have no disks currently. 7 or 10
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oem keys are NOT transferable AFAIK....Thats what retail keys are sold for
 
primetime said:
oem keys are NOT transferable AFAIK....Thats what retail keys are sold for
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as far as i knew oem key stickers were there only for reactivation. so if they never got used they arent tied to anything. ya they may not be legit but they will work.
 
pendragon1 said:
as far as i knew oem key stickers were there only for reactivation. so if they never got used they arent tied to anything. ya they may not be legit but they will work.
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i always figured they were already tied to the device;) I guess thats part of why they moved away from the stickers. Me i lucked up and got a deal on retail keys back in the day when win7 was brand new so havent had to mess with oem to much. The day retail keys stop working i figure its time to move to Linux
 
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The first step is to always get the machine activated with 10 then you can reinstall as many times as you want with or without a key. This can be done using a clean install method of inserting the 7 key into the Windows 10 installer, or performing an in place upgrade to 10 from an activated 7/8 machine. Either way, you wind up with an activated 10 that can be reinstalled without the product key.

In your case, if I were handling it, I would upgrade the OS to 10 first, then reinstall (wiping driving in the process) from bootable media. This way I am ensured that I am activated on 10 before wiping the device, just in case the product key doesn't work for some reason.

To do this, use this <LINK> to download the upgrade assistant. The system will perform an upgrade on the laptop and activate itself with a digital license. Once the hardware has a digital license you can go back to that link and download the ISO to reinstall from scratch and just skip entering the key. If during the initial upgrade process you receive a hardware compatibility error (it will tell you before you begin) then installing 10 from bootable media and the 7 key is the only option.
 
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Also, you can still do in-place upgrades on Windows 7 and 8, just did 5 machines for a client the other day and all upgraded and were automatically activated.

I haven't tried to use an OEM key from a sticker to activate 10 though.
 
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