Windows 10 Re-install on new SSD

[PhantomChevron]

Hi all, so I have been having quite a lot of issues with the current HDD I have in an older Pre-built system that I rebuilt into a new case with a new psu and gpu, it does boot however it does have a boot error, which I have done the steps to attempt to fix and even re-install windows on it using a boot installer, and nothing worked, I honestly do feel like I accidentally cooked the drive when I had it running in an airflow restricted space.

 

Anyways I got an SSD for the system and I'd just like to know when I re-install windows using a Pre-built (Acer) motherboard, would I need a new windows 10 key? Or will it self activate as the motherboard is still the same? And if I need a new key would I be able to use my old Windows 10 key that I used for my current PC build? Because I upgraded the current system to W11 and was wondering if the key would work again for W10 on the pre-built, any help would be appreciated.

 

Also if I end up needing a new key, any recommendations where I could get one relatively cheap and fast? If only physical options then I would source one locally. 

 

System Specs:

CPU: i5-3470

Mobo: Acer H61H2-AD

Storage: 1TB HDD - Changing to 1TB Crucial SSD

[Mayday793]

I've seen some laptop motherboards have their windows keys attached right to the hardware but not any mobo ones. 
If you kept any of the packaging of your original pre built the code might be in there!

I would first install windows on your new ssd without a key and then see if you can run chdsk command on the drive if that wasnt already part of your attempt to fix it. 
Amazon has some windows 10 keys you can get for like 30$, ive bought one before and it worked fine for me. The supplier emails you a key, just make sure you look at the reviews to make sure theres enough people verifying the product is legit (if its not legit you can probably just get a refund via amazon ez pz)
 

[flibberdipper]

16 minutes ago, Mayday793 said:

I've seen some laptop motherboards have their windows keys attached right to the hardware but not any mobo ones.

It started to get increasingly common starting with Ivy Bridge. By the time 7th gen rolled around I'd argue that a majority of laptops and prebuilt desktops had embedded keys.

 

As for you OP, you can fire up regedit, go to the following location, and find your product key there. You should be able to reuse it just fine.

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform\BackupProductKeyDefault

 

[PhantomChevron]

39 minutes ago, Mayday793 said:

I've seen some laptop motherboards have their windows keys attached right to the hardware but not any mobo ones. 
If you kept any of the packaging of your original pre built the code might be in there!

I would first install windows on your new ssd without a key and then see if you can run chdsk command on the drive if that wasnt already part of your attempt to fix it. 
Amazon has some windows 10 keys you can get for like 30$, ive bought one before and it worked fine for me. The supplier emails you a key, just make sure you look at the reviews to make sure theres enough people verifying the product is legit (if its not legit you can probably just get a refund via amazon ez pz)
 

Alright I will give it a shot, though I kinda threw away the case like a week ago.. Didn't think before hand, I will see if I can find the box though if not I will try amazon and report back, appreciate the response!

 

23 minutes ago, flibberdipper said:

It started to get increasingly common starting with Ivy Bridge. By the time 7th gen rolled around I'd argue that a majority of laptops and prebuilt desktops had embedded keys.

 

As for you OP, you can fire up regedit, go to the following location, and find your product key there. You should be able to reuse it just fine.

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform\BackupProductKeyDefault

 

Can I do this via command prompt in the troubleshoot settings? Cause issue is I can't even boot into windows without getting the error code 0xc000001, I have tried both the auto repair plus the command prompt method, but eventually will just lead to path not found.

[flibberdipper]

9 hours ago, PhantomChevron said:

Alright I will give it a shot, though I kinda threw away the case like a week ago.. Didn't think before hand, I will see if I can find the box though if not I will try amazon and report back, appreciate the response!

 

Can I do this via command prompt in the troubleshoot settings? Cause issue is I can't even boot into windows without getting the error code 0xc000001, I have tried both the auto repair plus the command prompt method, but eventually will just lead to path not found.

Not as far as I'm aware, unfortunately. I've tried digging but every single guide there is only shows the command to get a key that's embedded into the BIOS, which you may or may not even have.

[PhantomChevron]

41 minutes ago, flibberdipper said:

Not as far as I'm aware, unfortunately. I've tried digging but every single guide there is only shows the command to get a key that's embedded into the BIOS, which you may or may not even have.

Ah alright, well tbh I forgot to update the trend, so I installed the new SSD into the system and skipped the key part, and somehow it just said it was activated in the OS itself, I got a feeling it was due to the mobo or some strange magic haha, computers are weird but at least everything is going well now. The original hard drive completely can't boot anymore even to windows repair, just a black screen with text saying drive has failed, either way case closed.

[flibberdipper]

42 minutes ago, PhantomChevron said:

Ah alright, well tbh I forgot to update the trend, so I installed the new SSD into the system and skipped the key part, and somehow it just said it was activated in the OS itself, I got a feeling it was due to the mobo or some strange magic haha, computers are weird but at least everything is going well now. The original hard drive completely can't boot anymore even to windows repair, just a black screen with text saying drive has failed, either way case closed.

Sounds like you got lucky then and Acer was also one of the smart companies embedding product keys in that time period. Really handy feature to have and in a way I'm sad there's not a way to get it to work on consumer boards (at least that I'm aware of).

[PhantomChevron]

On 7/22/2022 at 11:43 PM, flibberdipper said:

Sounds like you got lucky then and Acer was also one of the smart companies embedding product keys in that time period. Really handy feature to have and in a way I'm sad there's not a way to get it to work on consumer boards (at least that I'm aware of).

Yea that's the issue I face too as I was thinking of swapping my board last time to one with USB C compatibility for cases, but didn't want to buy a new oem license so I just got a case without USB C.

 

BTW do you think if I swap out the motherboard in this system (Acer) would the windows 10 activation still stay? since it's installed in the SSD now, cause I am debating to upgrade it in may a years time or so depending on if my fam who's using it needs a tiny bit more power. But thats all strictly future haha

[flibberdipper]

32 minutes ago, PhantomChevron said:

Yea that's the issue I face too as I was thinking of swapping my board last time to one with USB C compatibility for cases, but didn't want to buy a new oem license so I just got a case without USB C.

 

BTW do you think if I swap out the motherboard in this system (Acer) would the windows 10 activation still stay? since it's installed in the SSD now, cause I am debating to upgrade it in may a years time or so depending on if my fam who's using it needs a tiny bit more power. But thats all strictly future haha

Probably not, Windows tends to kill activation when you swap out motherboards. Sometimes you can get lucky, sometimes you can't.

[PhantomChevron]

10 hours ago, flibberdipper said:

Probably not, Windows tends to kill activation when you swap out motherboards. Sometimes you can get lucky, sometimes you can't.

Ah alright, well can't fault em I guess considering that would be a way to keep oem copies forever. just swap each part one by one haha, anyhow thanks for all the help