Installing Windows 10 on Multiple Devices?

[DRProcek]

I realize this is a forum for Windows 7, but I don't know where else to ask this question lol.

Earlier I made a thread about my mom's computer being unable to reinstall Windows 7 after a factory reset. I think I've found a possible fix for this, but I'm not entirely sure.

I'm currently in the process of installing Windows 10 on my own computer via the Windows Creation Tool, and I noticed that it gave me the option to not only install W10 on my own computer, but another's through a Flash Drive as well.

So my question: after I've installed Windows 10 on my own computer, would it be possible to also put a copy onto my flash drive to install Windows 10 on my mom's computer as well? And if so, can I bypass the product key requirement to get to the desktop? I've got some code that I used to grab my own product key in order to install Windows 10 for myself, which I can also use to retrieve my mom's product key if I can get to her desktop to open Notepad.

I've never booted a computer via flash drive, so I don't know whether or not I can do this. I don't have her product key, and I can only get it if I can access her desktop (unless there's another way, because the product key on the back of her laptop is too faded to read).

Thanks in advance!

 

[wasnotwas]

Once you've made an install flash drive (or DVD or iso) from the Microsoft site, you can use it to upgrade any number of qualifying computers (genuine activated Windows 7 SP1) to Windows 10 without needing a serial. It must be the correct edition ie Windows 7 Home Premium needs a Windows 10 Home flash drive. A sneaky upgrade attempt from Home to Pro will appear to work, but won't activate (you will prob be nagged to buy the correct serial sometime in the future).

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

re : booting from flash - I found that the upgrade didn't work in that scenario. I had to run setup.exe from within Windows 7. If a clean install is your goal, once Windows 10 is installed, you can boot from the install media (flash, DVD etc) and install again, deleting all partitions. You don't need a serial for this, because MS 'remembers' the hardware and activates it accordingly. If you do this, all data and apps are deleted.

Edit - if your mom's computer isn't actually running, you won't be able to upgrade it to W10 for free.

 

[ThrashZone]

Yep,
USB Flash Drive - Create to Install Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums

I believe option 2 you can also download Linux iso and make a bootable flash drive with rufus too to recover your moms files before chancing it with an upgrade install on a messed up boot

 

[DRProcek]

I downloaded Windows 10 on my computer, and it was just crashing over and over again at different points (most of the time before I could even log in). Safe mode would log in, but even with "Safe Mode with Networking," I didn't actually have networking (however, networking worked just fine in normal mode when the computer would actually get to the desktop without crashing first, but then I'd crash anyway a minute or so later).

I ended up reverting back to Windows 7 (through the "go back to previous build" option) because Windows 10 crashing so much was frustrating me, so now my computer is telling me that my copy of 7 is not genuine. Regardless, I've got Windows 10 downloading to a flash drive for my mom's PC, and we're going to try that. I, however, don't know how to fix the crashing issues with Windows 10 on mine, nor how to even get a genuine version of Windows 7 back.

 

[SIW2]

How far do you get before seeing "not genuine". Do you get to the desktop, or is it before you can get to desktop?

 

[DRProcek]

How far do you get before seeing "not genuine". Do you get to the desktop, or is it before you can get to desktop?

The "not genuine" message is just in the corner of my desktop when I log on.

Windows 7
Build 7601
This copy of Windows is not genuine

 

[ThrashZone]

Yikes this has not been a good couple of days
Just for the record what security do both of you have installed ?

 

[DRProcek]

Yikes this has not been a good couple of days
Just for the record what security do both of you have installed ?

We just continually renew the free trial of Avast Antivirus.

 

[DRProcek]

Update: Windows 10 has been installed onto my mom's computer, but it isn't activated and her product key is read as invalid (I used some code in a notepad to get the key, and I can paste the code here if needed).

Her computer runs fine, but we're not sure how long before it quits because she can't activate it. Also, I've read that my computer should revert back to Windows 10 after 30 days because I reverted back using Windows.old, but if it does, I still don't know how to stop it from constantly crashing on my computer (it runs perfectly fine on my mom's).

 

[ThrashZone]

Which version of win-7 did your mom have installed ?
Your option is to buy 10 Home or pro
Home is the cheapest version about 100.us 64 bit or 32 bit
10 pro is 140.us + tax/ shipping
Microsoft Windows 10 Home - 64-bit - Newegg.com

 

[SIW2]

Probably cheaper to buy win7 , then there is a year to get the free upgrade, if wanted.

It shouldn't be necessary, they already have 7 licenses,though something has gone awry.

 

[DRProcek]

Which version of win-7 did your mom have installed ?
Your option is to buy 10 Home or pro
Home is the cheapest version about 100.us 64 bit or 32 bit
10 pro is 140.us + tax/ shipping
Microsoft Windows 10 Home - 64-bit - Newegg.com

She is using Windows 7 Home Premium (well, before we installed 10). Either way, we're not paying for something we should have for free. Both of us qualified for Windows 10, and both builds show as genuine (of course now W7 is telling me it is not, but that's another story). I don't mean to sound pretentious, but if we're supposed to have these builds of Windows 10 for free, then paying for Windows 7 all over again (or paying for 10 for whatever reason) is not an option.

 

[ThrashZone]

I asked for help in a way to recover the activation key for 7
I know there's a utility one can use to do it but can't think of it

 

[DRProcek]

I asked for help in a way to recover the activation key for 7
I know there's a utility one can use to do it but can't think of it

I don't know of any utility, but I used a string of code to retrieve the product key from mine and my mom's computers. I grabbed my key when I still had Windows 7, in case I needed it when I got Windows 10 downloaded (I didn't need it though, because I was directly upgrading). I got my mom's key after Windows 10 was installed because I needed her desktop to open Notepad. However, the product key it gave us was invalid, according to Windows 10.

Maybe someone who knows code better than I can look at it. The string is:

Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
MsgBox ConvertToKey(WshShell.RegRead("HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\DigitalProductId"))

Function ConvertToKey(Key)
Const KeyOffset = 52
i = 28
Chars = "BCDFGHJKMPQRTVWXY2346789"
Do
Cur = 0
x = 14
Do
Cur = Cur * 256
Cur = Key(x + KeyOffset) + Cur
Key(x + KeyOffset) = (Cur \ 24) And 255
Cur = Cur Mod 24
x = x -1
Loop While x >= 0
i = i -1
KeyOutput = Mid(Chars, Cur + 1, 1) & KeyOutput
If (((29 - i) Mod 6) = 0) And (i <> -1) Then
i = i -1
KeyOutput = "-" & KeyOutput
End If
Loop While i >= 0
ConvertToKey = KeyOutput
End Function

 

[SIW2]

If your mum did an upgrade , you need the key from windows.old\windows\system32\config\Software hive

 

[DRProcek]

If your mum did an upgrade , you need the key from windows.old\windows\system32\config\Software hive

I didn't know there would be a key in there, but thank you. I'll check it.

 

[DRProcek]

If your mum did an upgrade , you need the key from windows.old\windows\system32\config\Software hive

Okay, I followed that path, and I shouldn't have expected to just cleanly find the key lol.

In the software hive is just a document I opened with Notepad. Now I'm looking at the biggest wall of code I've ever seen, where most of the characters aren't even English. So lost.

 

[Layback Bear]

Do you not have one of these on the computer you could use.

 

[derekimo]

If your mum did an upgrade , you need the key from windows.old\windows\system32\config\Software hive

Okay, I followed that path, and I shouldn't have expected to just cleanly find the key lol.

In the software hive is just a document I opened with Notepad. Now I'm looking at the biggest wall of code I've ever seen, where most of the characters aren't even English. So lost.

Since you mention upgrade, I think this may work for you, worth a try anyway, it's had some success in the past,

Hi thx1139,

I don't know how to do it in Jelly Bean, but I do with ProduKey:

Your Windows 7 product key is stored in the software registry hive, located here:

C:\Windows\system32\config\software

Please note, software is the file name, not a directory. It has no file extension. Your drive may have a different letter.

This is a little program that will tell you the product keys of the various software installed on your computer. What makes this different, is the ability to load keys from an external registry hive. Exactly what we want

So if you download and run ProduKey (by NirSoft):

http://www.nirsoft.n...key_viewer.html

Then press File > Select Source, you will be presented with a new menu. On this, select Load the product keys from an external Software Registry hive and you will be prompted to open a file. Navigate to the software hive on the external drive and open the hive. E.g. D:\Windows\system32\config\software. You should now have your product keys

Hope this helped.

Tom

 

[DRProcek]

Do you not have one of these on the computer you could use.


View attachment 368036

I said it in my other thread, but I guess I forgot to say it in this one. The tag with the product key is too faded to read on my mom's, and is entirely ripped on mine.

If your mum did an upgrade , you need the key from windows.old\windows\system32\config\Software hive

Okay, I followed that path, and I shouldn't have expected to just cleanly find the key lol.

In the software hive is just a document I opened with Notepad. Now I'm looking at the biggest wall of code I've ever seen, where most of the characters aren't even English. So lost.

Since you mention upgrade, I think this may work for you, worth a try anyway, it's had some success in the past,

Hi thx1139,

I don't know how to do it in Jelly Bean, but I do with ProduKey:

Your Windows 7 product key is stored in the software registry hive, located here:

C:\Windows\system32\config\software

Please note, software is the file name, not a directory. It has no file extension. Your drive may have a different letter.

This is a little program that will tell you the product keys of the various software installed on your computer. What makes this different, is the ability to load keys from an external registry hive. Exactly what we want

So if you download and run ProduKey (by NirSoft):

http://www.nirsoft.n...key_viewer.html

Then press File > Select Source, you will be presented with a new menu. On this, select Load the product keys from an external Software Registry hive and you will be prompted to open a file. Navigate to the software hive on the external drive and open the hive. E.g. D:\Windows\system32\config\software. You should now have your product keys

Hope this helped.

Tom

Looks like what SIW2 failed to mention was that to read that section, you need to have that ProduKey program. When I follow that path, I just end up with a big wall of code I have no idea how to read (thousands and thousands of lines).