Finding Windows 10 Product Key
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Co worker in the grocery side of things is looking for his product key; When he puts the one from System in it says "0 is not a valid Character" and "1 is not a valid character"
is there a way to pull that via Command line? I tried pulling usingwmic bios get productkeybut it said there was an error..edit
Trying to upgrade windows 10 to 1903.
The install step requires product key for windows 10 but it's digitally licensed. -
product key for what?
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@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
Co worker in the grocery side of things is looking for his product key;
This could mean a lot of things. I'm guessing you mean his Windows 10 Product Key?
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You can't retrieve the (Windows) product key anymore, as far as I know.
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Not sure of any reliable process to get a key from Windows 10. There has to be, as Windows does it from the firmware, but it's not well exposed and isn't meant to be exposed.
More importantly, why would he want it as there is no use case for having it. There is a reason that you can't get it.
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@thwr said in Finding product Key:
You can't retrieve the (Windows) product key anymore, as far as I know.
Right, not reliably anyway. Since there is no reason to ever have it.
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He said he's trying to update from 16(?) to 1903 - using Media Creation Tool.. I have a USB with Windows 10 on it.. but he cant get past this step..
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@Dashrender said in Finding product Key:
product key for what?
For windows 10 ; he needs it to upgrade the windows 10 kernel version (right?)
to 1903. is what he told me. -
@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
He said he's trying to update from 16(?) to 1903 - using Media Creation Tool.. I have a USB with Windows 10 on it.. but he cant get past this step..
If Windows was activated before, such an update would read the key (or some kind of a hash / token) from UEFI.
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@thwr said in Finding product Key:
@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
He said he's trying to update from 16(?) to 1903 - using Media Creation Tool.. I have a USB with Windows 10 on it.. but he cant get past this step..
If Windows was activated before, such an update would read the key (or some kind of a hash / token) from UEFI.
... or some other place. Or a Microsoft account, if the old Windows installation has been tied to one.
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@thwr said in Finding product Key:
@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
He said he's trying to update from 16(?) to 1903 - using Media Creation Tool.. I have a USB with Windows 10 on it.. but he cant get past this step..
If Windows was activated before, such an update would read the key (or some kind of a hash / token) from UEFI.
that's what I thought, but it's licensed.. There's a product key in the System settings.
he just can't use that one. -
@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
@thwr said in Finding product Key:
@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
He said he's trying to update from 16(?) to 1903 - using Media Creation Tool.. I have a USB with Windows 10 on it.. but he cant get past this step..
If Windows was activated before, such an update would read the key (or some kind of a hash / token) from UEFI.
that's what I thought, but it's licensed.. There's a product key in the System settings.
he just can't use that one.That's not the actual product key. As said before, you can't retrieve it from a running Windows, AFAIK.
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@thwr said in Finding product Key:
@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
@thwr said in Finding product Key:
@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
He said he's trying to update from 16(?) to 1903 - using Media Creation Tool.. I have a USB with Windows 10 on it.. but he cant get past this step..
If Windows was activated before, such an update would read the key (or some kind of a hash / token) from UEFI.
that's what I thought, but it's licensed.. There's a product key in the System settings.
he just can't use that one.That's not the actual product key. As said before, you can't retrieve it from a running Windows, AFAIK.
ah, well.
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@thwr said in Finding product Key:
@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
@thwr said in Finding product Key:
@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
He said he's trying to update from 16(?) to 1903 - using Media Creation Tool.. I have a USB with Windows 10 on it.. but he cant get past this step..
If Windows was activated before, such an update would read the key (or some kind of a hash / token) from UEFI.
that's what I thought, but it's licensed.. There's a product key in the System settings.
he just can't use that one., AFAIK.
What does this mean?
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@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
@thwr said in Finding product Key:
@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
@thwr said in Finding product Key:
@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
He said he's trying to update from 16(?) to 1903 - using Media Creation Tool.. I have a USB with Windows 10 on it.. but he cant get past this step..
If Windows was activated before, such an update would read the key (or some kind of a hash / token) from UEFI.
that's what I thought, but it's licensed.. There's a product key in the System settings.
he just can't use that one., AFAIK.
What does this mean?
As far as I know
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@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
@thwr said in Finding product Key:
@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
He said he's trying to update from 16(?) to 1903 - using Media Creation Tool.. I have a USB with Windows 10 on it.. but he cant get past this step..
If Windows was activated before, such an update would read the key (or some kind of a hash / token) from UEFI.
that's what I thought, but it's licensed.. There's a product key in the System settings.
he just can't use that one.You just upgrade and click I don't have one. Done.
That said, I've never seen that screen if you are upgrading from within Windows 10.
So I have no idea WTF is even possibly going on here in order to cause this.
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@JaredBusch said in Finding product Key:
@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
@thwr said in Finding product Key:
@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
He said he's trying to update from 16(?) to 1903 - using Media Creation Tool.. I have a USB with Windows 10 on it.. but he cant get past this step..
If Windows was activated before, such an update would read the key (or some kind of a hash / token) from UEFI.
that's what I thought, but it's licensed.. There's a product key in the System settings.
he just can't use that one.You jsut upgrade and click i don't have one. done.
That said, I've never seen that screen if you are upgrading from within Windows 10.
So I have no idea WTF is even possibly going on here in order to cause this.
That's what I thought too; but it wont let you.
Microsoft doesn't require a product key to install/upgrade windows 10 though... according to some research.
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@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
but it wont let you.
Then he is not running a legal windows 10 system to upgrade.
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@WrCombs said in Finding product Key:
Microsoft doesn't require a product key to install/upgrade windows 10 though... according to some research.
The very first Windows 10 upgrades required the key. Either detected in BIOS or manually typed in at the beginning of the install process. The next release of the tool had the "I don't have one" button that is still there.
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@WrCombs stopping giving half the information.
Get all of the details and then post.
Or if you post and we kick back, then obviously think about getting more detail.
This is honestly a super simple problem that getting complicated because someone along the chain is stating something that is not correct.
