How can I use a Windows Pro product key from an abandoned PC to upgrade my Windows 10 Home?

Question

Hi

I have a notebook with Windows 10 Home.

I also have a long abandoned PC I had upgraded from Windows 7 Ultimate to Windows 10 Pro, but with very old hardware. It's no longer usable, barely manages to boot, extremely slow and has not been used for over 2 years. It will NEVER be used again because of this.

I retrieved the Windows Pro Key from this old PC using ProduKey & want to use it to upgrade my functioning Windows 10 Home laptop to Pro.

I however keep getting the error

"The product key you entered didn't work. Check the product key and try again, or enter a different one. (0xc0020036)".

I have so far not found any reference to that error, including => on this page on Windows errors.

There was no problem with upgrading from Windows 7 Ultimate 2.5 years ago & the allocated Windows Pro Key was activated, only that as mentioned, I abandoned the PC because it's too old to be usable, after upgrading it towards the end of its life. In fact to get the product key, since the old PC is no longer working, I had to take out the hard drive and connect it via an adapter to the notebook to get the key.

Is it possible to do what I am doing and use this key to upgrade my Windows 10 home on the notebook at all and if so, how do I go around this error message ....

... or is this Windows 10 Pro license now useless?

Even if I'm not considering a fresh installation, who knows if I used the Pro key that it would not be activated for the same reason?

Update

After restarting the notebook & trying again, I get this:

I would appreciate some clear answers to my questions.

Thank you & kind regards.

Answer 1

It depends on how Windows 10 was originally configured on your computer.

If its a full retail store bought license online or offline, it is transferable to a new computer or motherboard.



If its the free upgrade from a retail store bought Windows 7 or Windows 8 license, it is transferable to a new computer or motherboard.



If its the free upgrade from a OEM preinstalled Windows 7 or Windows 8 license, it is NOT transferable to a new computer or motherboard.



Learn more about transferring your license: 

http://www.groovypost.com/howto/transfer-window...

If its a retail license, learn how to reactivate:

http://www.groovypost.com/howto/activate-window...

If what you had was a retail store bought Windows 7 Ultimate license. Do the following:

Upgrade to Windows 10 Pro on the new computer running Windows 10 Home using the following default product key:

VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T

Review instructions how to perform an Easy Upgrade using the default key:

How to Perform an Easy Upgrade in Windows 10

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

After upgrading, proceed to enter the Windows 7 Ultimate product key.

Click Start > Settings > Update & security > Activation > Change the product key then enter the new product key then click Next to Activate

Because the license was previously in use, you might have to contact chat support:

https://partner.support.services.microsoft.com/...

Answer 2

Hello,

Activation depends on what type of license you have of Windows 7/8/10.

If Windows 7/8/10 came preinstalled with the computer, that is called an OEM license. For an OEM license, the license dies as soon as Motherboard dies. So essentially it is non-transferable. If that is the case you need to get a new license.

However, this is not same for retail licenses i.e. you purchased the license through Microsoft store. That does carry transfer rights. If that is the case, please see the below steps:

(Not applicable to you)

What you need to do is to grab the key using any Software like Showkey Plus, uninstall that key from older PC and use it on another computer.

Download Showkey Plus:

www.thewindowsclub.com/showkeyplus-product-key-finder

Uninstall the key

https://winaero.com/blog/how-to-deactivate-wind...

Use the key by Showkey Plus on the newer computer.

Alternatively, there are two more options available other than this:

(Not applicable to you ends)

Contact Microsoft at http://www.support.microsoft.com/contactus through chat support. They would take control of your PC and activate(might need a proof of purchase)

Use the Activation troubleshooter on the new PC signed in with same MS account.

Go to Settings>Update and security>Activation and run the troubleshooter.

Select I recently changed hardware on this device.

Answer 3

Hi

Thank you all for the clarifications.

I guess I have to give up on the idea.

Regards

Answer 4

>So with this explanation, is there any chance of redeeming this license?

Unfortunately no. The license from the college would surely be a MAK license which is non-transferrable.

>I guess this also means transferring the hard drive to another PC or migrating the data to another hard drive, one can not use this operating system elsewhere? (I have not thought this through, whether it's technically doable)

Yes. Because the license is tied to the motherboard. You would get Activate Windows watermark when you put the HD in the new computer.

> I just noted I cannot view this article when logged out. Never had this with previous posts. What did I do differently when posting this particular article?

Explaining it in a simple way-Your thread has been routed to a company called Directly and as per the policy when the thread routes to Directly, it is hidden from the public view until you mark the thread as answered.

You can read more about it here:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/feedback/fo...

Answer 5

Hi

Thank you for the quick response and your clarification.

• The target laptop with Windows 10 Home, which I'm using right now came with Windows 8 preinstalled. I upgraded it to Windows 10 Home
• For the old PC, which no longer works, I got this from a university department when they replaced computer pool PCs with newer ones, throwing out old ones. I have no idea what licenses they had/have, but the university buys PCs in bulk. I had to re-install Windows to be able to use it.

I used a Windows 7 Ultimate DVD backup copy. Not possible to trace the original DVD after all these years for a number of reasons. This has however been used on multiple PCs and was certainly not a 1-PC-license. All have been & always get activated with no issue on diverse PCs where it was installed as Win 7 Ultimate, including recently. Same to 3 or so, I know that made use of the free upgrade to Win 10, then.

I would like to think bearing this in mind this was a retail version.

So with this explanation, is there any chance of redeeming this license?

If Windows 7/8/10 came preinstalled with the computer, that is called an OEM license. For an OEM license, the license dies as soon as Motherboard dies. So essentially it is non-transferable. If that is the case you need to get a new license.

• I guess this also means transferring the hard drive to another PC or migrating the data to another hard drive, one can not use this operating system elsewhere? (I have not thought this through, whether it's technically doable)

Kind regards

P.S. Unrelated: I just noted I cannot view this article when logged out. Never had this with previous posts. What did I do differently when posting this particular article?