What You Need to Know When Buying a Windows 10 Product Key

What You Need to Know When Buying a Windows 10 Product Key

What You Need to Know When Buying a Windows 10 Product Key

wundows operating systemBe in the know that you don’t need to buy windows 10 product key, if you purchased your Windows 10 operating system (OS) from an authorized Microsoft dealer. You can activate the OS through the digital license that came with the product, which does not require purchasers to enter a product key.

Now if the license does not specify a license key, there are two places from which the product key can be retrieved, viz:

  •  In the confirmation email containing the product key; or
  • Inside the box that held the Windows 10 software upon purchase.
  • Although Microsoft does not maintain records of product keys of the software sold by the company, visiting the Microsoft support site to learn more on how to activate Windows if you still fail to retrieve the activation code.

What Exactly is a Windows Product Key?

pperating systemAs far as Microsoft’s Windows operating systems are concerned, a product key is a 25-digit code constituting 25 letters or numbers, or a combiproduct nation of both. The set of characters is entered in the computer where the software will be installed in order to activate the Windows OS.

The use of a dedicated code is a critical part of Microsoft’s Software License Terms, as its purpose is to verify that the Windows software has been installed only on a single occasion and on a single PC. Once the product key has been used in unlocking and installing, it cannot be used again.

Origins of the First Microsoft Licensing Key and Digital License

Back in 1995, the first Microsoft licensing key was displayed on the installation disc cover of the Windows 95 launched in August of that year. Use of the licensing code was justified by Microsoft as a means of preventing illegal installation of its Windows software.

Microsoft launched the Windows 10 in 2016, to which Microsoft also rolled out the digital license. As a result, product keys have become less important since the digital license simplified the installation process of the operating system without need for a driver in which to store the operating system, the boot files and drivers used for starting up a computer.

Aside from purchasing a new disc-based Windows 10 software, other ways of getting a Microsoft digital license is by way of the following:

  1. Upgrading an existing Windows 7 or 8 program to Windows 10.
  2. Buying a new PC that comes with a Windows 10 or 11 software.
  3. Buying a Windows operating system straight from the Microsoft Store.
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