activation key..?

[BillMorrow]

trying to upgrade win 8.1 on a thinkpad tablet 2..
because i can easily revert the tablet back to win 8.1..

win10 upgrade asks for activation key..
which is no where to be found on this tablet..
so i d/l a free utility that digs the key out of the registry or someplace..
try again, enter the key.. no dice..

so now what..?

[JPOESQ]

trying to upgrade win 8.1 on a thinkpad tablet 2..
because i can easily revert the tablet back to win 8.1..

win10 upgrade asks for activation key..
which is no where to be found on this tablet..
so i d/l a free utility that digs the key out of the registry or someplace..
try again, enter the key.. no dice..

so now what..?

Are you using the ISO?

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/softwar ... /windows10

Also, do any of these situations apply?

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/wind ... windows-10

[BillMorrow]

hey john..

nice to hear from you..
how are things in sacto..?

err, re. win10..
i was using a memory stick aka thumb drive.. with both 32 and 64 bit versions on it..

i THINK i used the media creation tool..
on the X1 since this box is so fragile with win7..

the thinkpad tablet 2 has win 8.1.. the 8.1 was an upgrade to the preloaded win 8..

so this win 8.1 does not meet any of the conditions in the second document you linked to that would preclude it loading..

so i'm still

maybe i screwe d it up someplace..
i'll re-read the free win10 thing again and look at the thumb drive again..

meanwhile, its near 4am here and i must head for bed, so i'll read more from thonse links in the day..

[wileE]

When you do an upgrade fron 7, 8 or 8.1 you can skip the part where W10 asks for a key every time. You do not need it.
Windows 10 will generate a key based on your hardware footprint.

When you do a clean install with W10 on that machine in the future, you can also skip the key input. W10 will activate after the Microsoft server recognizes your machine.

[JPOESQ]

Hi Bill,

Sacto is still here with Jerry running the drought the best he can. SF is still full of loons, but that's par for the course. We need to catch up sometime.

I believe that I read somewhere that upgrading to Windows 10 from an upgraded version of 8.1 can be a problem because the Windows 10 upgrade isn't supposed to work with 8.0. There may be an issue with your 8.0 to 8.1 upgrade, so try reactivating 8.1 and see if that might be the problem.

[Kilowatt]

I've 'upgraded' about four of my Thinkpads and windows always emailed me a seven figure number to enter before Windows 10 would load.

Sorry got confused, that was update to Win 8.1

With Windows 10, I had to go into command prompt to change compatibility to AHCI for SSD, now all running OK on X220 and Flex 10

[pianowizard]

If you go through the Windows 10 Upgrade icon in the system tray, then you don't need to provide a Windows 10 activation key -- this is the only way to upgrade for free. If you clean install from a DVD or USB flash drive, then you do need an activation key.

[BillMorrow]

If you go through the Windows 10 Upgrade icon in the system tray, then you don't need to provide a Windows 10 activation key -- this is the only way to upgrade for free. If you clean install from a DVD or USB flash drive, then you do need an activation key.

have only seen this on one computer.. the h/p notebook with the ultrabright 17 inch(?) display i picked up in a local pawn shop for $200 i let my wife use..

i was waiting to see how the upgrade worked on the thinkpads but none of them have this upgrade icon..

[JPOESQ]

Bill,

I am a moderator on another tech forum and many of the have been upgrading offline. For example, one member reported that he burned the ISO to DVD and updated three systems without issue. He also used the media creation tool to make USB update media updated two other systems. I think that something odd may be going on with your 8.1 build and activation. It should upgrade.

[Temetka]

Go to this site:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/softwar ... ndows10ISO

Download the Media Creation Tool

Download the ISO

Burn to medium of choice

Upgrade

Enjoy

[BillMorrow]

Go to this site:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/softwar ... ndows10ISO

Download the Media Creation Tool

Download the ISO

Burn to medium of choice

Upgrade

Enjoy

i'll give this a try..

i might just make a spare SSD for the X1 from the recovery media and see what it does without messing with the existing SSD..

Bill,

I am a moderator on another tech forum and many of the have been upgrading offline. For example, one member reported that he burned the ISO to DVD and updated three systems without issue. He also used the media creation tool to make USB update media updated two other systems. I think that something odd may be going on with your 8.1 build and activation. It should upgrade.

john..
it could be that i'm being a bit overcautious when trying to upgrade a tablet 2..

i'll see what the win10 upgrade icon that appeared on the h/p laptop hands me..

[Norway Pad]

For your information, Bill, my Tablet 2 does show the Upgrade to Win10-icon in the system tray. So this should work on the Tablet 2. Mine is a Win8, upgraded to 8.1.

Btw, after Win10 was launched, I opened the upgrade link for fun, and it claimed that the Tablet2 couldn't be upgraded to Win10, as the graphics accelerator is incompatible. I'm not too worried about that, but was surprised, as this device is less than two years old. I have no intentions of upgrading it now anyway, as I'm afraid I will loose the "Metro" version of Internet Explorer, which is really useful on a touch based device. So if you succeed in upgrading, I would be happy to hear about your experiences.

[BillMorrow]

For your information, Bill, my Tablet 2 does show the Upgrade to Win10-icon in the system tray. So this should work on the Tablet 2. Mine is a Win8, upgraded to 8.1......

thanks
will check the system tray closely and maybe ask it to update but these seem to update without asking..

[RealBlackStuff]

Just stumbled upon this W10 Activation article from ZDNet: Your Windows 10 license is stored online and linked to your device.