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I'm considering buying a PC which comes with Windows preinstalled; typically I run Linux.

If I were to format the hard drive and install Linux so that Windows was removed from the hard drive, just note the license key? Just keep or re-use the output from: wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey and then re-activate?

Assuming no hardware changes, as that seems to be a factor.

Pardon, not sure whether it's a retail or OEM license -- nor the specific version of Windows 10. (Just buying from Amazon, newish desktop PC.)

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    Windows 10 is already activated on OEM hardware there will absolutely never be an instance where you will need the Windows 10 product key. It’s not required to reinstall it, and given the hardware you want to product there isn’t any hardware that will every require you to reactivate your installation
    – Ramhound
    Commented Apr 13, 2020 at 11:15
  • Possible duplicate of superuser.com/questions/1241948/… and superuser.com/questions/1484272/recovery-windows-10-home-key/…
    – Ramhound
    Commented Apr 13, 2020 at 11:25
  • I don't know @Ramhound as it's a hypothetical at this point. Doing my research to try and understand the pitfalls here.
    – Thufir
    Commented Apr 13, 2020 at 11:45
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    Now wipe the HDD and proceed with Linux installation. Now you may connect that PC to the Internet. On another PC/Laptop install the matching edition of Windows 10 i.e. if your PC that you newly bought came with ‘Home’ then install Windows 10 Home on that another PC. Now connect it to the Internet and use your OEM key to see if it activates and then binds itself to that hardware. This will surely not work if Microsoft maintains a record of hardware hash and OEM key being tied together for an OEM pre-configured Windows 10 PC on their activation servers and uses both for verification. Continued..
    – patkim
    Commented Apr 14, 2020 at 8:47
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    In case this works, I still can not comment if it’s legally correct or if you actually are violating any of the clauses of Windows 10 EULA.
    – patkim
    Commented Apr 14, 2020 at 8:47

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I assume the question is whether having wiped out Windows 10, how to reinstall it.

If the PC came with an OEM license, then OA3xOriginalProductKey will display it. If it displays as blank, then the license is not OEM and can be retrieved by a product such as ProduKey.

The license key might also be contained in a sticker on the computer case.

In many cases, and especially when upgrading to Windows 10 from a previous version, you will not have a product key. Instead, the PC gets registered on Microsoft activation servers with a digital license (formerly called digital entitlement) that can always be used to activate Windows 10 on that PC, as long as the hardware hash does not change excessively. The "key" is then a generic one that cannot be used for re-activation.

You need to carefully examine the situation and decide on the best method for conserving the key. I suggest to also google your key, to find if this is only a generic one. For a generic key, the hardware hash is the real key for Microsoft.

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  • What is a generic key? I'll have to look into that one. Very informative.
    – Thufir
    Commented Apr 13, 2020 at 11:44
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    A generic key is one that is shared by millions of computers worldwide. It's basically a placeholder, with the real activation actually recorded on the Microsoft servers, where your computer is identified by its hardware hash.
    – harrymc
    Commented Apr 13, 2020 at 12:04

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