Can I still do a clean install with a Windows 10 Product Key?


mccnavy

mccnavy

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Years ago (now) I took advantage of the free in-place upgrade from Windows 10 to 11. My machine originally came with Windows 10 Pro, and that is the product key I have. When the free upgrade program ended, I have been apprehensive about doing a clean install of Windows 11 on my machine...unclear whether I would now need to buy a Windows 11 product key or not. Can I still do a completely clean install of Windows 11 and then use my Windows 10 Pro product key to activate?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-7700K
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime Z-270A
    Memory
    32GB 2666Mhz (Kingston Hyper X Fury)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus Nvidia 1050Ti
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung C27F390
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1TB Western Digital SN770 (System) and 2TB Western Digital SN770 (Storage)
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell/XPS 15 9510
    CPU
    i9-11900H
    Motherboard
    Unknown
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel and Nvidia 3050Ti
    Sound Card
    Integrated (Realtek)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    None
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (non-Touch)
    Hard Drives
    2TB SK Hynix P41 Platinum
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
Your Windows 10 product key will work for both W10 and W11. However, your machine should now be registered with Microsoft and a product key should be unnecessary. You should be able to do a clean install and be automatically activated.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 16 9640
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
    Memory
    32GB LPDDR5x 7467 MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 8GB GDDR6
    Monitor(s) Displays
    16.3 inch 4K+ OLED Infinity Edge Touch
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2400
    Hard Drives
    1 Terabyte M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
    Cooling
    Vapor Chamber Cooling
    Mouse
    None
    Internet Speed
    960 Mbps Netgear Mesh + 2 Satellites
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge (Chromium) + Bing
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Security (Defender)
    Other Info
    Microsoft 365 subscription
    Microsoft OneDrive 1TB Cloud
    Microsoft Visual Studio
    Microsoft Visual Studio Code
    Microsoft Sysinternals Suite
    Microsoft BitLocker
    Microsoft Copilot
    Macrium Reflect X subscription
    Dell Support Assist
    Dell Command | Update
    1Password Password Manager
    Amazon Kindle for PC
    Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation
    Lightroom/Photoshop subscription
mccnavy said:
My machine originally came with Windows 10 Pro, and that is the product key I have. When the free upgrade program ended, I have been apprehensive about doing a clean install of Windows 11 on my machine...unclear whether I would now need to buy a Windows 11 product key or not. Can I still do a completely clean install of Windows 11 and then use my Windows 10 Pro product key to activate?
Click to expand...
The end of the free upgrade only applied to Windows 7/8/8.1 keys.

As TraderGary says, the unique hardware ID of your machine is registered on the Microsoft activation servers as having a digital licence for W10 Pro. there is no difference between W10 or W11 as far as a digital licence is concerned, for activation purposes they are regarded as the same OS. A clean install or W10 Pro or W11 Pro will activate from your existing digital licence.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, and 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package. In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media. Also running Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine.
Thanks to both of you for confirming.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-7700K
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime Z-270A
    Memory
    32GB 2666Mhz (Kingston Hyper X Fury)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus Nvidia 1050Ti
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung C27F390
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1TB Western Digital SN770 (System) and 2TB Western Digital SN770 (Storage)
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell/XPS 15 9510
    CPU
    i9-11900H
    Motherboard
    Unknown
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel and Nvidia 3050Ti
    Sound Card
    Integrated (Realtek)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    None
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (non-Touch)
    Hard Drives
    2TB SK Hynix P41 Platinum
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
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