- #HOW TO REFORMAT WINDOWS 10 WITHOUT PRODUCT KEY REDDIT HOW TO#
- #HOW TO REFORMAT WINDOWS 10 WITHOUT PRODUCT KEY REDDIT LICENSE KEY#
- #HOW TO REFORMAT WINDOWS 10 WITHOUT PRODUCT KEY REDDIT INSTALL#
- #HOW TO REFORMAT WINDOWS 10 WITHOUT PRODUCT KEY REDDIT UPDATE#
In the pop-up that appears asking if the app is allowed to make changes to your device, click Yes.ģ. Right-click the Windows icon in the bottom-left corner of your screen, and in the menu that appears, click Command Prompt (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin).Ģ. The easiest way to find your product key is using the Command Prompt or the PowerShell app.ġ.
#HOW TO REFORMAT WINDOWS 10 WITHOUT PRODUCT KEY REDDIT HOW TO#
How to find your Windows 10 product key using the Command Prompt or PowerShell If you bought a digital copy of Windows 10 from the Microsoft online store - not the Windows Store app - your product key will be included in the confirmation email you received after paying.
#HOW TO REFORMAT WINDOWS 10 WITHOUT PRODUCT KEY REDDIT UPDATE#
Click Update & Security, and then Activation in the left sidebar.Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings app.As long as you connect to the internet at some point later, you won't be asked for it again. If you have a digital license, when Windows asks you for the product key, click Do this later to skip the step. Even better, it's built into the OS - this means that if you need to reinstall or upgrade Windows, you won't need to enter it. This digital license serves all the same purposes as the product key. But if you got Windows 10 by upgrading from Windows 7 or 8.1, or by buying it through the Windows Store app, you also have a "digital license." digital licenseĮvery PC has a product key. Here's how to find your product key - as well as see if you have a digital license. Note: You can still use Windows without the key, but it'll have some annoying DRM features. Same goes for major updates, like upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11. If you ever need to reinstall Windows, you might need to enter it. Your product key is important for a few reasons. Every Windows computer has its own unique 25-character product key, and it's formatted like this: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX. Your Windows 10 product key is a special receipt that shows you have an "activated" copy of Windows. But without a receipt, how do you prove that you actually own Windows? Windows 10 is installed thousands of times a day on computers both new and old. You might need to provide your product key when upgrading Windows or troubleshooting.You can find your Windows 10 product key through the Command Prompt, or by checking the packaging.Your Windows 10 product key serves as proof that you actually own Windows 10.
#HOW TO REFORMAT WINDOWS 10 WITHOUT PRODUCT KEY REDDIT LICENSE KEY#
Bear in mind that this does not act as a genuine license key and only extends the grace period included with Microsoft's Windows 10 OS. Still, it does allow you to banish the watermark for that session, allowing you to screenshot or stream a game without it appearing all over your screen. It's a hangover from older Windows operating systems. It will then prompt you to reboot, and then the watermark will be gone for now.
Still, there is an option to remove this temporarily if you need to grab a screenshot or similar. The watermark's transparency helps it blend in with what else is going on across your monitor most of the time, and you'll be surprised how quickly you get used to it. The words 'Activate Windows' scrawled in the bottom right corner of the screen may prompt you to upgrade, though.
All you have to do is head to Microsoft's official Windows download site, grab the tool, and create a USB drive to boot your new build from and kick-start the installation process. However, functionality is limited without a genuine key. That's the bit of Microsoft's OS that you actually need to buy as the OS itself has a longer grace period.
#HOW TO REFORMAT WINDOWS 10 WITHOUT PRODUCT KEY REDDIT INSTALL#
It's actually free to install Windows 10 without a license key.