Restore OEM windows key

[UnPanda]

Hi 

Greetings!

Backdrop:

I had bought the HP pavilion notebook pc laptop with windows embedded in it from an onsite seller (genuine HP seller).

It was windows 8/8.1 then and i got it upgraded to windows 10. All was going good until recently i gave my laptop to a friend of mine. He has run some softwares or some unauthorized keys, which is now showing me to "Activate Windows".

Q1. How can i get my previous windows OS key so that i can legalize my copy of windows OS?

Q2. Once i get the key by the virtue of answer to the Q1 above, will my system continue with windows 10 or will it downgrade to Windows 8/8.1?

Thanking you for the assisstance in advance

[CherylG]

 I assume you took the free upgrade? If so you have free lifetime reinstallation rights with a digital key stored on MS servers.

Microsoft provides the free Media Creation Tool to download files and create a Windows 10 usb flash drive. At least 8gb flash drive required:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Select Download tool now, and select Run.
If you agree to the license terms, select Accept.
On the What do you want to do? page, select Create installation media for another PC, and then select Next.
Select the language, edition, and architecture (64-bit or 32-bit) for Windows 10.
-------------------------------
When the flash drive is prepared insert it in a usb port. Power on the laptop and immediately start tapping Esc key. From the menu tap F9 key and use the arrow keys to move to and select usb. Tap Enter key.
When installing choose Custom and delete each partition. Continue with installation.If it asks at any point for license/product key just choose "I don't have a key". It will continue and should activate once you are online.

[mdklassen · Accepted solution]

> I had bought the laptop with windows embedded in it from an onsite seller (genuine HP seller).

> It was windows 8/8.1 then and i got it upgraded to windows 10.

When Windows 10 was first activated, you were granted a "digital entitlement" to reinstall Windows at any time, at no cost, onto the same computer.

> All was going good until recently i gave my laptop to a friend of mine.

> He has run some softwares or some unauthorized keys, which is now showing me to "Activate Windows".

Can you use "System Restore" to time-warp your computer back to a date before he mucked with it?

> Q1. How can i get my previous windows OS key so that i can legalize my copy of windows OS?

First, when you do try to activate, does it activate, or do you get an error-message?

Second, from a command-line prompt, what do you get from the command:

    wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey

???

Third, there are free utilities to "peek" into the motherboard, to extract the original Windows 8/8.1 product-key.

> Q2. Once i get the key by the virtue of answer to the Q1 above,

> will my system continue with windows 10 or will it downgrade to Windows 8/8.1?

If the activation is successful, then the currently-installed Windows 10 will be activated -- not Windows 8/8.1.

If the (hidden) "System Recovery" partition on your disk-drive is still intact, and you run "System Recovery", then the original factory-loaded operating system, namely Windows 8/8.1, will be installed.

But, you can leverage your entitlement to upgrade to Windows 10.

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[UnPanda]

Hi CherylG

Thank you for taking time out and for proposing the solution. Due to time constraints, i sought to a shorter path. Went ahead with the below post and it worked.

Appreciate your help 

Thanks

UnPanda

[UnPanda]

Hi mdklassen

Thank your for proposing the solution

i tried the below highlighted steps and it worked like a charm. Can't thank you enough. 

"

Q1. How can i get my previous windows OS key so that i can legalize my copy of windows OS?

First, when you do try to activate, does it activate, or do you get an error-message?

Second, from a command-line prompt, what do you get from the command:

    wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey

"

Thanks

UnPanda