Windows 10 Activation: I wasn't able to find info about this online, so... I took my son's old Dell desktop running Vista and put my disk drives in it and also did a clean install of...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I wasn't able to find info about this online, so...

I took my son's old Dell desktop running Vista and put my disk drives in it and also did a clean install of Win10. Now it wants me activate Win10, but it won't accept the key from Vista, Win7, or Win8. I thought Win10 was free, and the activation key wasn't a concern. The other two Dells with clean installs activated automatically. Any ideas? My next step is a Chat with MS.

plaza Loc: london uk

jerryc41 wrote:

I wasn't able to find info about this online, so...

I took my son's old Dell desktop running Vista and put my disk drives in it and also did a clean install of Win10. Now it wants me activate Win10, but it won't accept the key from Vista, Win7, or Win8. I thought Win10 was free, and the activation key wasn't a concern. The other two Dells with clean installs activated automatically. Any ideas? My next step is a Chat with MS.

i think for the free upgrade you have to download it from there web site thats how i did mine

Kuzano

Vista won't work. It was never included in the free upgrade pack. I think your idea to chat with MS is good. There was a period a short while back when there was a Windows Pro 7 posted online to overcome the dilemma you are talking about. There have been some variations of how to overcome this situation, come and gone over the last three - four month. MS has been fairly liberal in either chat or phone discussions with them.

marty wild Loc: England

The key only works on a upgrade not a fresh install. Ring MS they will talk you through it! Read the help page that they have put out. Also eBay have plenty of full copies (legitimate) with keys for around 60$ Make sure you have quad core with 8 Gig memory 500 gig h/d to run smooth. If your spec is less it may work but it will be lumpy. You will have to download your software to upgrade with Windows 7 key upwards. Windows vista key will never work. It has not being offered in MS's plan to get every body on to Windows 10.

JimBart Loc: Western Michigan

The free upload to windows 10 is not available for Vista users Per Microsoft Vista is going to be non supportable as of the third quarter of this year I discussed this with them when my vista computer crashed and it was also confirmed by Dell Sorry I can't be of more help

BBurns Loc: South Bay, California

Call Microsoft. Tell them you updated from Win7(DO NOT say from Vista) and give them that key. They should then give you a valid key.

GPappy Loc: Finally decided to plop down, Clover, S.C.

You can upgrade Vista to win7 pretty cheap, then you can get free upgrade to win10. Vista was not included in the free upgrade.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Kuzano wrote:

Vista won't work. It was never included in the free upgrade pack. I think your idea to chat with MS is good. There was a period a short while back when there was a Windows Pro 7 posted online to overcome the dilemma you are talking about. There have been some variations of how to overcome this situation, come and gone over the last three - four month. MS has been fairly liberal in either chat or phone discussions with them.

I downloaded the ISO of Win10 and did a clean install - like it was on a bare drive, so Vista shouldn't enter into it. Actually, the C drive in this computer is from my old machine, which was running Win 7 or 8. The Vista drive is sitting on a shelf.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

GPappy wrote:

You can upgrade Vista to win7 pretty cheap, then you can get free upgrade to win10. Vista was not included in the free upgrade.

This is an old machine - 2008 or 2009 - so I don't want to put any money into it. I took the C and D drives out of my secondary computer an put them into this machine. That secondary Dell from 2012 got new C and D drives and a clean Win10 install, and my son is using it.

Bultaco Loc: Aiken, SC

plaza wrote:

i think for the free upgrade you have to download it from there web site thats how i did mine

True

1Feathercrest Loc: NEPA

plaza wrote:

i think for the free upgrade you have to download it from there web site thats how i did mine

(Their) website which is not here but (there).

cucharared Loc: Texas, Colorado

jerryc41 wrote:

This is an old machine - 2008 or 2009 - so I don't want to put any money into it. I took the C and D drives out of my secondary computer an put them into this machine. That secondary Dell from 2012 got new C and D drives and a clean Win10 install, and my son is using it.

I asked this on another thread of yours. How do you do a clean install? I thought that required a set of Win10 disks but it sounds like you did it with a download. ?? My laptop is also an '08 or '09, Toshiba Satellite. I'm clueless.

Ron

Earworms Loc: Sacramento, California

1Feathercrest wrote:

(Their) website which is not here but (there).

There, their, they're!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Earworms wrote:

There, their, they're!

All bases covered!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

cucharared wrote:

I asked this on another thread of yours. How do you do a clean install? I thought that required a set of Win10 disks but it sounds like you did it with a download. ?? My laptop is also an '08 or '09, Toshiba Satellite. I'm clueless.

Ron

I did the clean install on three Dell desktops, all 64-bit Core i7. Google the topic, and you will taken to a MS site where you can download the ISO file to a USB drive or a disk. I used both on different machines. Follow the directions, and it works - usually. I can't get my 32-bit old Dell laptop updated because I can't download the 32-bit version. I get, "There's a problem, but we don't know what it is."

EDIT: Here are some links. Look them over a decide which technique you want to follow. I didn't back anything up because it wasn't necessary, so that made it simpler.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=do%20a%20clean%20install%20of%20windows%2010