Windows 10 seems to have activated itself...

[TheStyne]

Just built my computer today. Loaded up windows 10 installer, selected the "I don't have a product key" button when prompted to enter my product key during setup. Figured I'd do it when I got into the actual OS. Anyway, got in, loaded up my drivers, and then I went into settings to activate Windows, only to find it said it was already activated. I had a product key from an old laptop ready to go, but I didn't even need it.

 

Produkey says the product key being used ends in 3V66T. Upon looking it up I found that this product key is sometimes given to people who upgrade from an older version of windows.

 

Anyway, my question is, why the heck does my completely new system have a product key already? Glad I didn't buy my product key, or I'd be pretty annoyed.

 

Thanks, Alex.

[Guest]

Did you log into the computer with your windows/microsoft account? Sometimes accounts have keys tied to them.

[iamdarkyoshi]

Is the board new or used? If its used, windows probably picked up on an earlier registration based off the UUID of the board.

[Windows7ge]

Was it a SSD/HDD with no OS/formatted or did you overwrite an existing installation of Windows 7 or similar?

[TheStyne]

15 hours ago, Some Random Member said:

Did you log into the computer with your windows/microsoft account? Sometimes accounts have keys tied to them.

Nope, fresh local account. Never signed into a MS account.

 

15 hours ago, iamdarkyoshi said:

Is the board new or used? If its used, windows probably picked up on an earlier registration based off the UUID of the board.

Bought it new from Canada Computers, though I suppose it could have been returned. There was no tape of any kind sealing any of the motherboard boxes there, but I was told it was brand new. Everything seems brand new too, SATA cables were still in their original wrapping.

 

15 hours ago, Windows7ge said:

Was it a SSD/HDD with no OS/formatted or did you overwrite an existing installation of Windows 7 or similar?

SSD is definitely brand new, broke the seal on the box myself. It's one of those ones where it leaves behind a checkered pattern, so I'm sure nobody else has ever even opened it.

[GoodBytes]

8 minutes ago, iamdarkyoshi said:

Is the board new or used? If its used, windows probably picked up on an earlier registration based off the UUID of the board.

Under such case, it looks at the rest of the sepcs.  Based on tests on my sides, without using a MS account, same board, clean install, same hardware, with the exception of the wireless card. Windows would not activate until I put the same one in (and have the drivers for it installed). It is picky if you don't use a linked MS account. But then again, it might have behaved like so as the board is reallly old pre-Win7 days, and might not have enough to make a unique key and goes for other hardware specs.

[iamdarkyoshi]

2 hours ago, GoodBytes said:

Under such case, it looks at the rest of the sepcs.  Based on tests on my sides, without using a MS account, same board, clean install, same hardware, with the exception of the wireless card. Windows would not activate until I put the same one in (and have the drivers for it installed). It is picky if you don't use a linked MS account. But then again, it might have behaved like so as the board is reallly old pre-Win7 days, and might not have enough to make a unique key and goes for other hardware specs.

I've had an ivy bridge bridge board self activate with nearly any specs, provided you install win10 home. It has no bios key.

 

Windows is weird...

[KHII]

Okay so this was a used computer. In that case the key is Bound to the board at OEM and will reinstall. I have this issue when i reinstall windows 10 after a system failure and I have to re upgrade my windows install.