Hello

I have a 10 years old homebrew PC running Windows 10. It cannot be
upgraded to 11 because it does not meet the minimum demands. The plan
is to build a new PC, install Windows 11 on it, and activate Windows
11 with the product key from the old Win10 PC. But it takes time
(days) to get the new PC set up with all that is installed on the old
one, so I would like to have the old PC running until the new Win11 PC
is ready.
A question is what to do with activation of the win11 installation? I
suppose that there can be trouble if two pc's are running with the
same product key, so probably best not to activate Win11 before the
Win10 PC is shut down for good. According to Howtogeek.com there are
no real problems running unactivated for some time. So I think I will
try that. Or can I run both PC's activated for som days without any
real trouble?

Concerning the product key for Windows 10: This was bought as a
Windows 7 installation CD in 2010. Installed on a new hardware in
2013, and then some years later a free upgrade to Windows 10. In the
upgrade from 7 to 10, the product key seems to have been changed. The
one on Win10 is totally different from the one printed on the original
windows 7 package, but hopefully will activate the new Win 11 PC.

If you managed to read as far as here, I say thank you very much. If
you have any comments they are of course very welcome :-)

Best regards

--
Jesper Kaas - jesperk@neindanke.online.no

Jesper Kaas wrote:
> Hello
>
> I have a 10 years old homebrew PC running Windows 10. It cannot be
> upgraded to 11 because it does not meet the minimum demands. The plan
> is to build a new PC, install Windows 11 on it, and activate Windows
> 11 with the product key from the old Win10 PC. But it takes time
> (days) to get the new PC set up with all that is installed on the old
> one, so I would like to have the old PC running until the new Win11 PC
> is ready.
> A question is what to do with activation of the win11 installation? I
> suppose that there can be trouble if two pc's are running with the
> same product key, so probably best not to activate Win11 before the
> Win10 PC is shut down for good. According to Howtogeek.com there are
> no real problems running unactivated for some time. So I think I will
> try that. Or can I run both PC's activated for som days without any
> real trouble?
>
> Concerning the product key for Windows 10: This was bought as a
> Windows 7 installation CD in 2010. Installed on a new hardware in
> 2013, and then some years later a free upgrade to Windows 10. In the
> upgrade from 7 to 10, the product key seems to have been changed. The
> one on Win10 is totally different from the one printed on the original
> windows 7 package, but hopefully will activate the new Win 11 PC.
>
> If you managed to read as far as here, I say thank you very much. If
> you have any comments they are of course very welcome :-)
>
> Best regards
>
>
Iirc, the product key one can find(3rd party software or other
methods)in Windows 10 after upgrading from Win7 to Win10 is a generic
key, ***it is not an activation key***.

When you upgraded from 7 to 10, your pc's Win7 activation carried over
to Win10 and a digital license was assigned.

Afaik, you will need a Win11 product key(license) to activate Win11.

--
....w¡ñ§±¤ñ

On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 12:50:37 -0400, "...winston"
<winstonmvp@gmail.com> wrote:

>Iirc, the product key one can find(3rd party software or other
>methods)in Windows 10 after upgrading from Win7 to Win10 is a generic
>key, ***it is not an activation key***.
>
>When you upgraded from 7 to 10, your pc's Win7 activation carried over
>to Win10 and a digital license was assigned.
>
>Afaik, you will need a Win11 product key(license) to activate Win11.

Thanks for yor clarification.

If I understand this right, then the route to get Windows 11 on the
new PC will bet to install Windows 10, then activate it with the
product key from the old PC, and at last upgrade 2 Windows 11? Will
this work.

Best regards

--
Jesper Kaas - jesperk@neindanke.online.no

On 10/13/2023 2:31 PM, Jesper Kaas wrote:
> On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 12:50:37 -0400, "...winston"
> <winstonmvp@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Iirc, the product key one can find(3rd party software or other
>> methods)in Windows 10 after upgrading from Win7 to Win10 is a generic
>> key, ***it is not an activation key***.
>>
>> When you upgraded from 7 to 10, your pc's Win7 activation carried over
>> to Win10 and a digital license was assigned.
>>
>> Afaik, you will need a Win11 product key(license) to activate Win11.
>
> Thanks for yor clarification.
>
> If I understand this right, then the route to get Windows 11 on the
> new PC will bet to install Windows 10, then activate it with the
> product key from the old PC, and at last upgrade 2 Windows 11? Will
> this work.
>
> Best regards
>

About all I can find as an example, is this. When it is "Full Retail", the
license is transferable between PCs. At least, it gives the appearance,
that some Windows 10 transferable materials, existed. We are in the extended
support interval of Windows 10, so that's why supply of boxed software
may have dried up. If a person had installed this version of Windows 10,
it could be transferred to a second PC, then updated to Windows 11.

Microsoft Windows 10 Home - Full Retail Version (USB Flash Drive) $249.00

https://www.newegg.com/microsoft-windows-10-home/p/N82E16832350411

*******

When you find a System Builder OEM OS product for sale, it is for installation
on one PC, and the license stays with that PC. There are no transfer rights.
The product is cheaper, perhaps half price.

Due to dishonest advertising on the web, this might be advertised as

Microsoft Windows 10 Home (no other descriptors)

when it should be advertised as

Microsoft Windows 10 Home (System Builder OEM)

*******

On the dishonest web, you can find license keys for sale, for all manner
of software products. With <cough> "very low prices".

This is most likely to be where you end up, acquiring a non-transferable
license key. Reliable vendors of such, may have been discussed in this
group in the past -- I do not keep a list, because like house flies,
these companies come and go. If you acquired a Windows 10 this way,
it could be put on your new PC, then upgraded to Windows 11.

****************************************

A new PC could mean a number of things:

1) Home build of Win11 compatible machine (this is what I'm typing on).
You must be able to use a screwdriver to do this.

2) Dell/HP/Acer/Lenovo computer.

Today, some flavor of Windows 11 Home Royalty OEM NonTransferable
would already be on the hard drive. The machine would have a TPM 2 chip,
the processor would support MBEC. (The processor models, there is a list
of compatible processors on the Microsoft site, and the manufacturer
selects from that list, for these retail computers.)

3) Refurbished computer (off lease, re-processed by a refurbisher).
A valid Windows OS is put on the machine, the version of Windows
today would be Windows 10 Pro or Windows 11 Pro perhaps, and this
will be indicated in the advert. A license key is provided, and there
is no reason for the license key to be transferable. The version of
Windows is NOT a royalty OEM SKU, it is closer to a regular Windows
without any added extras. As the purchaser, it is up to you to
analyze whether it is more than three years old. Typical refurbished
computers, at the moment, at best will be quad core.

*******

You can install Windows 11 right now, using

https://rufus.ie/en/

to prepare a USB stick. On one of the dialog pages,
there are tick boxes to "make Windows 11 install on in-compatible equipment".
How this works, is a portion of the ISO image transferred to the
USB key, some Windows 10 installer materials are placed on the key, and
the installation process thinks it is installing Windows 10,
when the install.wim is the Windows 11 one.

The problem with this approach, is when the 23H2 Windows 11 upgrade comes
along, it won't install itself over top of this mess. You would then
have to download the 23H2 ISO9660 and use Rufus again. And I don't know
how well this would work.

You could test the workflow, by placing an original release Win11 on a
USB key and installing over your Win10 on the old machine, then preparing
a second USB key load with Rufus, and installing the second release of Windows 11.
And that would show how practical it is, to work with Windows that way.

Such a scheme, Windows 11 is flexible, in that at boot time, Windows 11 will
shut off subsystems that do not have hardware support. You can even unplug
a Windows 11 hard drive from a compatible machine, and plug it into an
incompatible machine, and it still boots.

My Windows 11, activated, has never used the TPM. A perfectly good TPM 2.0 is
present (plug in MSI-branded module from computer store). I boot in CSM mode
rather than UEFI mode. Only 64-bit is available for Windows 11. The TPM on
my machine, would potentially get used, if I enabled Bitlocker encryption.

It's a very complicated environment to work in.

Solutions range from "Free and Broken", "Dodgy key acquired for $12.80 from web",
to "Hugely expensive Full Retail Windows 11 key for $249.00". That's sort
of the range of solutions.

Windows 11 will also operate without activation and a license key. The
Personalize menu does not work, but the OS is functional at that point.
I do not know how the Microsoft Store will work in such circumstances.
Haven't tested that. See? Yet another half-baked solution.

The manufacturer created this environment on purpose.

Paul

On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 15:34:16 -0400, Paul <nospam@needed.invalid>
wrote:

>On 10/13/2023 2:31 PM, Jesper Kaas wrote:
>> On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 12:50:37 -0400, "...winston"
>> <winstonmvp@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Iirc, the product key one can find(3rd party software or other
>>> methods)in Windows 10 after upgrading from Win7 to Win10 is a generic
>>> key, ***it is not an activation key***.
>>>
>>> When you upgraded from 7 to 10, your pc's Win7 activation carried over
>>> to Win10 and a digital license was assigned.
>>>
>>> Afaik, you will need a Win11 product key(license) to activate Win11.
>>
>> Thanks for yor clarification.
>>
>> If I understand this right, then the route to get Windows 11 on the
>> new PC will bet to install Windows 10, then activate it with the
>> product key from the old PC, and at last upgrade 2 Windows 11? Will
>> this work.
>>
>> Best regards
>>
>
>About all I can find as an example, is this. When it is "Full Retail", the
>license is transferable between PCs. At least, it gives the appearance,
>that some Windows 10 transferable materials, existed. We are in the extended
>support interval of Windows 10, so that's why supply of boxed software
>may have dried up. If a person had installed this version of Windows 10,
>it could be transferred to a second PC, then updated to Windows 11.
>
>Microsoft Windows 10 Home - Full Retail Version (USB Flash Drive) $249.00
>
>https://www.newegg.com/microsoft-windows-10-home/p/N82E16832350411
>
>*******
>
>When you find a System Builder OEM OS product for sale, it is for installation
>on one PC, and the license stays with that PC. There are no transfer rights.
>The product is cheaper, perhaps half price.
>
>Due to dishonest advertising on the web, this might be advertised as
>
>Microsoft Windows 10 Home (no other descriptors)
>
>when it should be advertised as
>
>Microsoft Windows 10 Home (System Builder OEM)
>
>*******
>
>On the dishonest web, you can find license keys for sale, for all manner
>of software products. With <cough> "very low prices".
>
>This is most likely to be where you end up, acquiring a non-transferable
>license key. Reliable vendors of such, may have been discussed in this
>group in the past -- I do not keep a list, because like house flies,
>these companies come and go. If you acquired a Windows 10 this way,
>it could be put on your new PC, then upgraded to Windows 11.
>
>****************************************
>
>A new PC could mean a number of things:
>
>1) Home build of Win11 compatible machine (this is what I'm typing on).
> You must be able to use a screwdriver to do this.
>
>2) Dell/HP/Acer/Lenovo computer.
>
> Today, some flavor of Windows 11 Home Royalty OEM NonTransferable
> would already be on the hard drive. The machine would have a TPM 2 chip,
> the processor would support MBEC. (The processor models, there is a list
> of compatible processors on the Microsoft site, and the manufacturer
> selects from that list, for these retail computers.)
>
>3) Refurbished computer (off lease, re-processed by a refurbisher).
> A valid Windows OS is put on the machine, the version of Windows
> today would be Windows 10 Pro or Windows 11 Pro perhaps, and this
> will be indicated in the advert. A license key is provided, and there
> is no reason for the license key to be transferable. The version of
> Windows is NOT a royalty OEM SKU, it is closer to a regular Windows
> without any added extras. As the purchaser, it is up to you to
> analyze whether it is more than three years old. Typical refurbished
> computers, at the moment, at best will be quad core.
>
>*******
>
>You can install Windows 11 right now, using
>
> https://rufus.ie/en/
>
>to prepare a USB stick. On one of the dialog pages,
>there are tick boxes to "make Windows 11 install on in-compatible equipment".
>How this works, is a portion of the ISO image transferred to the
>USB key, some Windows 10 installer materials are placed on the key, and
>the installation process thinks it is installing Windows 10,
>when the install.wim is the Windows 11 one.
>
>The problem with this approach, is when the 23H2 Windows 11 upgrade comes
>along, it won't install itself over top of this mess. You would then
>have to download the 23H2 ISO9660 and use Rufus again. And I don't know
>how well this would work.
>
>You could test the workflow, by placing an original release Win11 on a
>USB key and installing over your Win10 on the old machine, then preparing
>a second USB key load with Rufus, and installing the second release of Windows 11.
>And that would show how practical it is, to work with Windows that way.
>
>Such a scheme, Windows 11 is flexible, in that at boot time, Windows 11 will
>shut off subsystems that do not have hardware support. You can even unplug
>a Windows 11 hard drive from a compatible machine, and plug it into an
>incompatible machine, and it still boots.
>
>My Windows 11, activated, has never used the TPM. A perfectly good TPM 2.0 is
>present (plug in MSI-branded module from computer store). I boot in CSM mode
>rather than UEFI mode. Only 64-bit is available for Windows 11. The TPM on
>my machine, would potentially get used, if I enabled Bitlocker encryption.
>
>It's a very complicated environment to work in.
>
>Solutions range from "Free and Broken", "Dodgy key acquired for $12.80 from web",
>to "Hugely expensive Full Retail Windows 11 key for $249.00". That's sort
>of the range of solutions.
>
>Windows 11 will also operate without activation and a license key. The
>Personalize menu does not work, but the OS is functional at that point.
>I do not know how the Microsoft Store will work in such circumstances.
>Haven't tested that. See? Yet another half-baked solution.
>
>The manufacturer created this environment on purpose.
>
> Paul

Thanks Paul.

By "new PC" i mean your alternative 1, a homebuilt Win11 compatible
machine.
The license I run Windows 10 with is legitimate. I bought a Windows 7
install in 2010 from a legal retailer. It is marked as OEM. This ran
for 3 years before all of the hardware, except the cabinet, was
replaced. No problem installing Windows 7 on the new build, even if
it was marked OEM. Later I got a free upgrade to Windows 10. I am not
sure of the details, but I probably downloaded Windows 10 from
Microsoft, installed it on a new SSD, and activated it in some way.
So I hope to be able to arrive with Windows 11 installed on the Win 11
compatible machine I plan to build. If I can't manage to get Win 11 up
and activated in one way or another with the keys or licenses I have,
well then I will buy a legal copy.

Best regards
--
Jesper Kaas - jesperk@neindanke.online.no

On 10/13/2023 4:17 PM, Jesper Kaas wrote:
> On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 15:34:16 -0400, Paul <nospam@needed.invalid>
> wrote:
>
>> On 10/13/2023 2:31 PM, Jesper Kaas wrote:
>>> On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 12:50:37 -0400, "...winston"
>>> <winstonmvp@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Iirc, the product key one can find(3rd party software or other
>>>> methods)in Windows 10 after upgrading from Win7 to Win10 is a generic
>>>> key, ***it is not an activation key***.
>>>>
>>>> When you upgraded from 7 to 10, your pc's Win7 activation carried over
>>>> to Win10 and a digital license was assigned.
>>>>
>>>> Afaik, you will need a Win11 product key(license) to activate Win11.
>>>
>>> Thanks for yor clarification.
>>>
>>> If I understand this right, then the route to get Windows 11 on the
>>> new PC will bet to install Windows 10, then activate it with the
>>> product key from the old PC, and at last upgrade 2 Windows 11? Will
>>> this work.
>>>
>>> Best regards
>>>
>>
>> About all I can find as an example, is this. When it is "Full Retail", the
>> license is transferable between PCs. At least, it gives the appearance,
>> that some Windows 10 transferable materials, existed. We are in the extended
>> support interval of Windows 10, so that's why supply of boxed software
>> may have dried up. If a person had installed this version of Windows 10,
>> it could be transferred to a second PC, then updated to Windows 11.
>>
>> Microsoft Windows 10 Home - Full Retail Version (USB Flash Drive) $249.00
>>
>> https://www.newegg.com/microsoft-windows-10-home/p/N82E16832350411
>>
>> *******
>>
>> When you find a System Builder OEM OS product for sale, it is for installation
>> on one PC, and the license stays with that PC. There are no transfer rights.
>> The product is cheaper, perhaps half price.
>>
>> Due to dishonest advertising on the web, this might be advertised as
>>
>> Microsoft Windows 10 Home (no other descriptors)
>>
>> when it should be advertised as
>>
>> Microsoft Windows 10 Home (System Builder OEM)
>>
>> *******
>>
>> On the dishonest web, you can find license keys for sale, for all manner
>> of software products. With <cough> "very low prices".
>>
>> This is most likely to be where you end up, acquiring a non-transferable
>> license key. Reliable vendors of such, may have been discussed in this
>> group in the past -- I do not keep a list, because like house flies,
>> these companies come and go. If you acquired a Windows 10 this way,
>> it could be put on your new PC, then upgraded to Windows 11.
>>
>> ****************************************
>>
>> A new PC could mean a number of things:
>>
>> 1) Home build of Win11 compatible machine (this is what I'm typing on).
>> You must be able to use a screwdriver to do this.
>>
>> 2) Dell/HP/Acer/Lenovo computer.
>>
>> Today, some flavor of Windows 11 Home Royalty OEM NonTransferable
>> would already be on the hard drive. The machine would have a TPM 2 chip,
>> the processor would support MBEC. (The processor models, there is a list
>> of compatible processors on the Microsoft site, and the manufacturer
>> selects from that list, for these retail computers.)
>>
>> 3) Refurbished computer (off lease, re-processed by a refurbisher).
>> A valid Windows OS is put on the machine, the version of Windows
>> today would be Windows 10 Pro or Windows 11 Pro perhaps, and this
>> will be indicated in the advert. A license key is provided, and there
>> is no reason for the license key to be transferable. The version of
>> Windows is NOT a royalty OEM SKU, it is closer to a regular Windows
>> without any added extras. As the purchaser, it is up to you to
>> analyze whether it is more than three years old. Typical refurbished
>> computers, at the moment, at best will be quad core.
>>
>> *******
>>
>> You can install Windows 11 right now, using
>>
>> https://rufus.ie/en/
>>
>> to prepare a USB stick. On one of the dialog pages,
>> there are tick boxes to "make Windows 11 install on in-compatible equipment".
>> How this works, is a portion of the ISO image transferred to the
>> USB key, some Windows 10 installer materials are placed on the key, and
>> the installation process thinks it is installing Windows 10,
>> when the install.wim is the Windows 11 one.
>>
>> The problem with this approach, is when the 23H2 Windows 11 upgrade comes
>> along, it won't install itself over top of this mess. You would then
>> have to download the 23H2 ISO9660 and use Rufus again. And I don't know
>> how well this would work.
>>
>> You could test the workflow, by placing an original release Win11 on a
>> USB key and installing over your Win10 on the old machine, then preparing
>> a second USB key load with Rufus, and installing the second release of Windows 11.
>> And that would show how practical it is, to work with Windows that way.
>>
>> Such a scheme, Windows 11 is flexible, in that at boot time, Windows 11 will
>> shut off subsystems that do not have hardware support. You can even unplug
>> a Windows 11 hard drive from a compatible machine, and plug it into an
>> incompatible machine, and it still boots.
>>
>> My Windows 11, activated, has never used the TPM. A perfectly good TPM 2.0 is
>> present (plug in MSI-branded module from computer store). I boot in CSM mode
>> rather than UEFI mode. Only 64-bit is available for Windows 11. The TPM on
>> my machine, would potentially get used, if I enabled Bitlocker encryption.
>>
>> It's a very complicated environment to work in.
>>
>> Solutions range from "Free and Broken", "Dodgy key acquired for $12.80 from web",
>> to "Hugely expensive Full Retail Windows 11 key for $249.00". That's sort
>> of the range of solutions.
>>
>> Windows 11 will also operate without activation and a license key. The
>> Personalize menu does not work, but the OS is functional at that point.
>> I do not know how the Microsoft Store will work in such circumstances.
>> Haven't tested that. See? Yet another half-baked solution.
>>
>> The manufacturer created this environment on purpose.
>>
>> Paul
>
> Thanks Paul.
>
> By "new PC" i mean your alternative 1, a homebuilt Win11 compatible
> machine.
> The license I run Windows 10 with is legitimate. I bought a Windows 7
> install in 2010 from a legal retailer. It is marked as OEM. This ran
> for 3 years before all of the hardware, except the cabinet, was
> replaced. No problem installing Windows 7 on the new build, even if
> it was marked OEM. Later I got a free upgrade to Windows 10. I am not
> sure of the details, but I probably downloaded Windows 10 from
> Microsoft, installed it on a new SSD, and activated it in some way.
> So I hope to be able to arrive with Windows 11 installed on the Win 11
> compatible machine I plan to build. If I can't manage to get Win 11 up
> and activated in one way or another with the keys or licenses I have,
> well then I will buy a legal copy.
>
> Best regards
>

If the free upgrade W7SP1 --> W10 --> W11 was
still available, and your W7SP1 was treated as a Retail SKU,
then that would have been a success path.

However, a few days ago, it was announced this would
not work any more

W7SP1 --> W10 (is supposed to be disabled now, but you can test of course)
W8.1 --> W10 (is supposed to be disabled now, but you can test of course)

That leaves shopping for a W10, or shopping for a W11.
If a "cheap key" with "retail SKU" properties was
available, I would be surprised. It's more likely
to be non-transferable.

Paul

On 13/10/2023 21:17, Jesper Kaas wrote:
> By "new PC" i mean your alternative 1, a homebuilt Win11 compatible
> machine.
> The license I run Windows 10 with is legitimate. I bought a Windows 7
> install in 2010 from a legal retailer. It is marked as OEM. This ran
> for 3 years before all of the hardware, except the cabinet, was
> replaced. No problem installing Windows 7 on the new build, even if
> it was marked OEM. Later I got a free upgrade to Windows 10. I am not
> sure of the details, but I probably downloaded Windows 10 from
> Microsoft, installed it on a new SSD, and activated it in some way.
> So I hope to be able to arrive with Windows 11 installed on the Win 11
> compatible machine I plan to build. If I can't manage to get Win 11 up
> and activated in one way or another with the keys or licenses I have,
> well then I will buy a legal copy.

Last resort:
https://www.scdkey.com/software/p202204251138247525.html

--
Brian Gregory (in England).

Just today I upgraded to Win11 a Win10 machine that was non-upgradeable
From the command line (administrator)

I entered. setup /product server

It upgraded just fine and was activated

On Sat, 14 Oct 2023 02:12:28 +0000, philo@news.novabbs.com (philo)
wrote:

>Just today I upgraded to Win11 a Win10 machine that was non-upgradeable
>From the command line (administrator)
>
>I entered. setup /product server
>
>It upgraded just fine and was activated

Thanks Philo. I have taken a note of that, to test when I have
installed win10 on the new pc.

Best regards
--
Jesper Kaas - jesperk@neindanke.online.no

On Sat, 14 Oct 2023 01:12:16 +0100, Brian Gregory
<void-invalid-dead-dontuse@email.invalid> wrote:

>On 13/10/2023 21:17, Jesper Kaas wrote:
>> By "new PC" i mean your alternative 1, a homebuilt Win11 compatible
>> machine.
>> The license I run Windows 10 with is legitimate. I bought a Windows 7
>> install in 2010 from a legal retailer. It is marked as OEM. This ran
>> for 3 years before all of the hardware, except the cabinet, was
>> replaced. No problem installing Windows 7 on the new build, even if
>> it was marked OEM. Later I got a free upgrade to Windows 10. I am not
>> sure of the details, but I probably downloaded Windows 10 from
>> Microsoft, installed it on a new SSD, and activated it in some way.
>> So I hope to be able to arrive with Windows 11 installed on the Win 11
>> compatible machine I plan to build. If I can't manage to get Win 11 up
>> and activated in one way or another with the keys or licenses I have,
>> well then I will buy a legal copy.
>
>Last resort:
>https://www.scdkey.com/software/p202204251138247525.html

Tat must be a fraud. Here in Norway a Win11 Pro license cost around 10
times as much.

Best regards
--
Jesper Kaas - jesperk@neindanke.online.no

On 10/13/2023 11:00 PM, Jesper Kaas wrote:
> On Sat, 14 Oct 2023 02:12:28 +0000, philo@news.novabbs.com (philo)
> wrote:
>
>> Just today I upgraded to Win11 a Win10 machine that was non-upgradeable
>>From the command line (administrator)
>>
>> I entered. setup /product server
>>
>> It upgraded just fine and was activated
>
> Thanks Philo. I have taken a note of that, to test when I have
> installed win10 on the new pc.
>
> Best regards
>

You could also test on the old PC, after making a backup of the disk.

Paul

Jesper Kaas wrote:
> On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 12:50:37 -0400, "...winston"
> <winstonmvp@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Iirc, the product key one can find(3rd party software or other
>> methods)in Windows 10 after upgrading from Win7 to Win10 is a generic
>> key, ***it is not an activation key***.
>>
>> When you upgraded from 7 to 10, your pc's Win7 activation carried over
>> to Win10 and a digital license was assigned.
>>
>> Afaik, you will need a Win11 product key(license) to activate Win11.
>
> Thanks for yor clarification.
>
> If I understand this right, then the route to get Windows 11 on the
> new PC will bet to install Windows 10, then activate it with the
> product key from the old PC, and at last upgrade 2 Windows 11? Will
> this work.
>
> Best regards
>

No.
Purchase a Windows 11 license with product key. You don't need to buy
the media, just the license.

Your Win10 key is not for activation, its a placeholder.
Your Win7 key is no longer capable for upgrading to Win10 or Win11 or
activating Win10 for a later upgrade to Win11 or for use in activating Win11

--
....w¡ñ§±¤ñ

On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 23:32:44 -0400, Paul <nospam@needed.invalid>
wrote:

>You could also test on the old PC, after making a backup of the disk.
>
> Paul

Sure? The old PC does not meet the minimum specs for Win11.

Best regards
--
Jesper Kaas - jesperk@neindanke.online.no

Hope it all works out.
I now have a total of three test machines running Win 11 ...all below the so called minimum requirements

On 10/13/2023 7:06 PM, Paul wrote:

> If the free upgrade W7SP1 --> W10 --> W11 was
> still available, and your W7SP1 was treated as a Retail SKU,
> then that would have been a success path.
>
> However, a few days ago, it was announced this would
> not work any more
>
> W7SP1 --> W10 (is supposed to be disabled now, but you can test of course)
> W8.1 --> W10 (is supposed to be disabled now, but you can test of course)
>
> That leaves shopping for a W10, or shopping for a W11.
> If a "cheap key" with "retail SKU" properties was
> available, I would be surprised. It's more likely
> to be non-transferable.

This is an example of what a user faces, when installing Win7 on
brand new PC hardware. If the free upgrade path still worked,
you could use a W10 installer DVD and enter the W7 key. At
least that path, would not fall into the holes waiting for the W7 OS installer disc.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/11182/how-to-get-ryzen-working-on-windows-7-x64

Paul

On Sat, 14 Oct 2023 02:42:52 -0400, Paul <nospam@needed.invalid>
wrote:

>This is an example of what a user faces, when installing Win7 on
>brand new PC hardware. If the free upgrade path still worked,
>you could use a W10 installer DVD and enter the W7 key. At
>least that path, would not fall into the holes waiting for the W7 OS installer disc.
>
>https://www.anandtech.com/show/11182/how-to-get-ryzen-working-on-windows-7-x64
>
> Paul
Hmm. That could be a showstopper for installing Win-7 on the new PC,
as i plan for a Ryzen 5 or 7 CPU. If keyboard/mouse does not work,
even if the install media is DVD. But if it is so that the free
upgrade from Windows 7 has ended, there is no point in installing Win7
on the new PC.
We will see what happens. Probably I must fork out mony for a new
Windows 11 license.

Best regards
--
Jesper Kaas - jesperk@neindanke.online.no

On Sat, 14 Oct 2023 02:19:51 -0400, "...winston"
<winstonmvp@gmail.com> wrote:

>No.
>Purchase a Windows 11 license with product key. You don't need to buy
>the media, just the license.
Amen to that, it probaly ends like that. The license will cost
something like one third of what the hardware costs, so it is not end
of the world.

>Your Win10 key is not for activation, its a placeholder.
>Your Win7 key is no longer capable for upgrading to Win10 or Win11 or
>activating Win10 for a later upgrade to Win11 or for use in activating Win11
>
>--
>...w¡ñ§±¤ñ
--
Jesper Kaas - jesperk@neindanke.online.no

On 14/10/2023 07:20, Jesper Kaas wrote:
> On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 23:32:44 -0400, Paul <nospam@needed.invalid>
> wrote:
>
>> You could also test on the old PC, after making a backup of the disk.
>>
>> Paul
>
> Sure? The old PC does not meet the minimum specs for Win11.
>
>

Yes, it's definitely possible so you could install Windows 11 on your
current hardware. You could partition your hard drive, or add a second
hard drive & install Windows 11 to give you the option of which Windows
to boot into. This runs the risk of Microsoft no longer allowing W11 to
run on outdated hardware sometime in the future.
My desktop runs Windows 8.1 but I can boot into Windows 10 or Windows 11
I also have an ancient Toshiba laptop with the option to boot into
Windows 11.
Neither machine comes anywhere near matching the required specifications
of Windows 11
All the Windows OS's are activated.
As Paul has already noted, Rufus is a good way to build an installer to
bypass the restrictions. There are other methods as others have said.

--
Regards
wasbit

On 10/14/2023 2:20 AM, Jesper Kaas wrote:
> On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 23:32:44 -0400, Paul <nospam@needed.invalid>
> wrote:
>
>> You could also test on the old PC, after making a backup of the disk.
>>
>> Paul
>
> Sure? The old PC does not meet the minimum specs for Win11.
>
> Best regards
>

Well, you have rufus.ie USB stick method, for W11 on non-W11 equipment.

There is a dialog with tick boxes, and some of those boxes make
W11 think your PC is OK. I see there is another version on Oct.12 .

https://rufus.ie/en/

*******

OK, I tested it, on the machine without a TPM.

The Rufus-modified W11 failed to do a W11-over-W10 upgrade.

The Rufus-modified W11 booted the computer and did
a clean install into the C: partition. That worked.
At least a person could evaluate W11, but without
their files and applications moved over.

[Picture]

https://i.postimg.cc/dVyx2Kw6/Rufus-Test-Results.gif

Paul

On Sat, 14 Oct 2023 06:27:10 -0400, Paul <nospam@needed.invalid>
wrote:

>On 10/14/2023 2:20 AM, Jesper Kaas wrote:
>> On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 23:32:44 -0400, Paul <nospam@needed.invalid>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> You could also test on the old PC, after making a backup of the disk.
>>>
>>> Paul
>>
>> Sure? The old PC does not meet the minimum specs for Win11.
>>
>> Best regards
>>
>
>Well, you have rufus.ie USB stick method, for W11 on non-W11 equipment.
>
>There is a dialog with tick boxes, and some of those boxes make
>W11 think your PC is OK. I see there is another version on Oct.12 .
>
>https://rufus.ie/en/
>
>*******
>
>OK, I tested it, on the machine without a TPM.
>
>The Rufus-modified W11 failed to do a W11-over-W10 upgrade.
>
>The Rufus-modified W11 booted the computer and did
>a clean install into the C: partition. That worked.
>At least a person could evaluate W11, but without
>their files and applications moved over.
>
> [Picture]
>
> https://i.postimg.cc/dVyx2Kw6/Rufus-Test-Results.gif
>
> Paul

Hi Paul. Thank you for your using time to test and create the reports.
No matter if Windows 11 will run on the old PC with the Rufus-method,
I will build a new PC for Windows 11. The old PC is 10 years old, and
even if it performs OK for our use, some of the hardware is going to
crash, rather sooner than later. So unless installing Win11 on the old
PC can facilitate a free Win11 on the new PC, there is no point in
this exercise.
The Rufus-method is tempting but as you wrote in another post, you
don't know if or when an update to Win11 will spot the Rufus-software
and disable it.

So when I have built the new PC (still not decided on all parts yet),
I will do some attempts to activate Windows 11 on it. If that fails,
buy a license. It costs appr. $260 in Norway. That is 1/4 of what all
the parts will cost.

Best regards
--
Jesper Kaas - jesperk@neindanke.online.no

Jesper Kaas wrote:
> On Sat, 14 Oct 2023 06:27:10 -0400, Paul <nospam@needed.invalid>
> wrote:
>
>> On 10/14/2023 2:20 AM, Jesper Kaas wrote:
>>> On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 23:32:44 -0400, Paul <nospam@needed.invalid>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> You could also test on the old PC, after making a backup of the disk.
>>>>
>>>> Paul
>>>
>>> Sure? The old PC does not meet the minimum specs for Win11.
>>>
>>> Best regards
>>>
>>
>> Well, you have rufus.ie USB stick method, for W11 on non-W11 equipment.
>>
>> There is a dialog with tick boxes, and some of those boxes make
>> W11 think your PC is OK. I see there is another version on Oct.12 .
>>
>> https://rufus.ie/en/
>>
>> *******
>>
>> OK, I tested it, on the machine without a TPM.
>>
>> The Rufus-modified W11 failed to do a W11-over-W10 upgrade.
>>
>> The Rufus-modified W11 booted the computer and did
>> a clean install into the C: partition. That worked.
>> At least a person could evaluate W11, but without
>> their files and applications moved over.
>>
>> [Picture]
>>
>> https://i.postimg.cc/dVyx2Kw6/Rufus-Test-Results.gif
>>
>> Paul
>
> Hi Paul. Thank you for your using time to test and create the reports.
> No matter if Windows 11 will run on the old PC with the Rufus-method,
> I will build a new PC for Windows 11. The old PC is 10 years old, and
> even if it performs OK for our use, some of the hardware is going to
> crash, rather sooner than later. So unless installing Win11 on the old
> PC can facilitate a free Win11 on the new PC, there is no point in
> this exercise.
> The Rufus-method is tempting but as you wrote in another post, you
> don't know if or when an update to Win11 will spot the Rufus-software
> and disable it.
>
> So when I have built the new PC (still not decided on all parts yet),
> I will do some attempts to activate Windows 11 on it. If that fails,
> buy a license. It costs appr. $260 in Norway. That is 1/4 of what all
> the parts will cost.
>
> Best regards
>

Correct, there is no point in the exercise of using Rufus(or any other
matter) to install Windows 11 on the 10 yr old device that doesn't meet
Windows 11 requirements.

Windows 10 Home in Norway should be about 1600-1700 KR, Pro should be
about 2150-2200 KR.

--
....w¡ñ§±¤ñ

On Sat, 14 Oct 2023 12:54:45 -0400, "...winston"
<winstonmvp@gmail.com> wrote:

>
>Correct, there is no point in the exercise of using Rufus(or any other
>matter) to install Windows 11 on the 10 yr old device that doesn't meet
>Windows 11 requirements.
>
>Windows 10 Home in Norway should be about 1600-1700 KR, Pro should be
>about 2150-2200 KR.
>
>--
>...w¡ñ§±¤ñ
Windows 11 Pro is 2699 NKR directly from Microsoft Norway. Home is
1499.
Best regards
--
Jesper Kaas - jesperk@neindanke.online.no

On 14/10/2023 06:30, 😉 Good Guy 😉 wrote:
> On 13/10/2023 15:50, Jesper Kaas wrote:
>> Concerning the product key for Windows 10: This was bought as a
>> Windows 7 installation CD in 2010. Installed on a new hardware in
>> 2013, and then some years later a free upgrade to Windows 10. In the
>> upgrade from 7 to 10, the product key seems to have been changed. The
>> one on Win10 is totally different from the one printed on the original
>> windows 7 package, but hopefully will activate the new Win 11 PC.
>
> You'll need to create a backup/Clone of your Windows 10 machine and
> restore the image on to your new machine. Then you can upgrade to
> windows 11 in the new machine. Don't do clean install at this stage.
> Don't worry about drivers because they can be installed when
> everything is working normally and AFTER Windows 11 is installed and
> activated.
>
> When Windows 11 is activated, you can then perform a clean install and
> start installing all the APPS from scratch. You won't need any Windows
> serial number if you click the correct link that is not brightly
> displayed. You will need to be online when you do this and you will
> need a Microsoft Account to do this unless you use Rufus to create a
> bootable flash drive. I use balenaEtcher-Portable because I like to do
> the correct way. Rufus might be or might not install malware but you
> can download and compile the source code yourself to be sure.
>
>
>
>

Hey GG,

How's life treating you these days? How is Ukraine and now you have
Israel to worry about.

Your method looks good to me but Linux mint is better for most.

Jesper Kaas wrote:
> On Sat, 14 Oct 2023 12:54:45 -0400, "...winston"
> <winstonmvp@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> Correct, there is no point in the exercise of using Rufus(or any other
>> matter) to install Windows 11 on the 10 yr old device that doesn't meet
>> Windows 11 requirements.
>>
>> Windows 10 Home in Norway should be about 1600-1700 KR, Pro should be
>> about 2150-2200 KR.
>>
>> --
>> ...w¡ñ§±¤ñ
> Windows 11 Pro is 2699 NKR directly from Microsoft Norway. Home is
> 1499.
> Best regards
>

That's approx. $246 US for Pro and $137 for Home.
-I was a bit high on Home and low on Pro

In the US(Microsoft Store) Home is $139 and Pro is $200.

Interesting, the premium price difference for Pro in Norway is more than
the U.S.

--
....w¡ñ§±¤ñ

On 10/14/2023 10:00 PM, Chan wrote:
> On 14/10/2023 06:30, 😉 Good Guy 😉 wrote:
>> On 13/10/2023 15:50, Jesper Kaas wrote:
>>> Concerning the product key for Windows 10: This was bought as a
>>> Windows 7 installation CD in 2010. Installed on a new hardware in
>>> 2013, and then some years later a free upgrade to Windows 10. In the
>>> upgrade from 7 to 10, the product key seems to have been changed. The
>>> one on Win10 is totally different from the one printed on the original
>>> windows 7 package, but hopefully will activate the new Win 11 PC.
>>
>> You'll need to create a backup/Clone of your Windows 10 machine and
>> restore the image on to your new machine. Then you can upgrade to
>> windows 11 in the new machine. Don't do clean install at this stage.
>> Don't worry about drivers because they can be installed when
>> everything is working normally and AFTER Windows 11 is installed and
>> activated.
>>
>> When Windows 11 is activated, you can then perform a clean install and
>> start installing all the APPS from scratch. You won't need any Windows
>> serial number if you click the correct link that is not brightly
>> displayed. You will need to be online when you do this and you will
>> need a Microsoft Account to do this unless you use Rufus to create a
>> bootable flash drive. I use balenaEtcher-Portable because I like to do
>> the correct way. Rufus might be or might not install malware but you
>> can download and compile the source code yourself to be sure.
>>
>
> Hey GG,
>
> How's life treating you these days? How is Ukraine and now you have
> Israel to worry about.
>
> Your method looks good to me but Linux mint is better for most.
>

You install Windows first, Linux second, for least effort at maintenance.
Then if you want to play with it, it's there.

Installing them in the reverse order, is a lot tougher.

Without interfering with boot, such a combo is likely to default to Windows,
but you can use the (BIOS) Popup Boot on the machine to select what you want.

Windows can upgrade, without upsetting boot now. So when the W11 23H2
comes in, it can install, and the Linux would still be bootable.

I did a picture a few minutes ago, for bilsch01. It's a multiboot.
You can jump from GRUB to the Windows Boot Loader and bring up that menu.

https://i.postimg.cc/WzrWxRY7/Boot-Menu-Multiboot-Mix.gif

If you use Secure Boot for Windows, then Linux might need the signed shim
to work there. Assuming the shim is even working right now. Microsoft
has a problem with Secure Boot that needs to be fixed, and the shim might
have to be revoked and reissued to work. That's something a person with
a lot of time on their hands, can play with. By not using Secure Boot,
I am spared having to research that.

Paul