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Windows 10 Activation with a Windows 7 OEM Key

Anonymous
2023-10-11T13:48:18+00:00

Hello everyone,

I am trying to upgrade a PC from windows 7 Pro (OEM_DM) to windows 10 Pro.

I did so by unpacking the ISO and running the Setup.exe

it ran the upgrade and everything looked good, then i saw there was no license added.

I did copy my Windows 7 Pro key and tries to use that but it gave me an error:

0x803fa067 or 0xC004F050

I the only thing it suggests is to buy a new key or try again.

but Windows Upgrades are normal things I've done before,

after searching the internet i found many contredicting explainations, even within the same forum.

Some said OEM's cant upgrade, while others siad they can: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/is-it-legal-from-windows-7-pro-oem-license-key-to/95386f82-e2db-417d-b90b-3a4798b48596

Others noted an Expired upgrade period:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/windows-7-product-key-to-activate-windows-10/4d738d3a-805a-4c96-b330-4ae32e85e645

while yet more said that isn't true, i myself upgraded a PC earlier this year without problems.

Can someone please clear this up for me?

i also did try microsoft (home) support,

however that was just a copy/paste version of the windows warning

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Licensing and activation

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-10-11T14:29:46+00:00

    Hello John, this is Emily.

    Microsoft did indeed end the free upgrade from Windows 7 to 10 back in 2016. However, the upgrade path was never removed until last month. This is why many claimed that they could continue to upgrade without problem. Here is the official public release: https://devicepartner.microsoft.com/en-us/commu...

    To clarify, you cannot use the original Windows 7 OEM key to activate Windows 10. If you have claimed the free upgrade in the past from Windows 7 to 10, that process assigned you a digital license instead for Windows 10. This article explains it here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/act... And I quote in the screenshot.

    So if you did claim the free upgrade before the permanent removal of upgrade path, your Microsoft account at that time is your new license now. So if you are at a step where it asks for product key, select "I don't have any product key", continue your installation. Once installation is done, go ahead and sign into your computer using that same Microsoft account to activate it.

    If you have never claimed your free upgrade in the path, then I am afraid you are a bit too late to do so now that Microsoft has permanently removed the upgrade path.

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-10-27T05:57:28+00:00

    I am reinstalling my windows 10, but its not taking the OEM sticker anymore, should i be going to consumer court or commerce commission to file the complaint or is there a way to call and get the digital key?

    9 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2023-12-15T08:26:14+00:00

    You can't even reinstall Windows 7 apparently. They shut down the entire thing, so a valid key from my old Windows 7 Ultimate retail copy is not working.

    I can't use Windows 11 on these old PCs, they are not supported for some silly reason.

    I have a perfectly working i5 3570K that would do its job as a browsing and office PC just fine, but its pretty much junk now as I never upgraded. Or can I install a windows 10 copy I have, activate it after install, and buy a digital license for it?

    Also have an old Zenbook with an i7 3517U that still work fine...

    I find this whole process by MS anti consumer and neither sustainable nor environmentally friendly.
    The result might be that MS push people to try Linux and this might move them over completely, which means less people using Windows. So less profit for MS. Doesn't make sense to me.
    Could wonder if they have some agreements with hardware manufacturers to try a force people to buy new PCs.

    8 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2023-10-29T18:13:41+00:00

    I have a win7 boxed key. I had previously upgraded to Windows 10 for free. I used it without any problems. But now I cannot activate it on the new computer I bought. I linked my Microsoft account. When I try to activate it using the troubleshooting tool, I only see the information of the previous computer and I cannot activate it.

    7 people found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2023-12-14T12:51:44+00:00

    Do this also apply to people with a retail Windows 7 Ultimate license?

    What about those old PCs that can't run windows 11? How do you get Windows 10 for those?
    Or are we just going to throw those PCs in the bin. Not very environmentally friendly by MS.

    6 people found this answer helpful.
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