ISO file for Windows 10 and its product key are required for installation.
ISO file for Windows 10 and its product key are required for installation.
Use Rufus to generate a bootable USB from the provided ISO file.
You don’t require a product key for reinstallation on the SAME device. A key is needed only for installation on another machine, and the one you have now is general—it won’t work on another system. When you enter a product key during activation, make sure it matches the one provided in your purchase confirmation email for Windows 10. The key format you’ll see is: PRODUCT KEY: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX.
If you upgraded to Windows 10 using the free upgrade offer and activated it successfully before, you won’t need a key and can bypass the activation page by choosing Skip. Your PC will automatically activate online as long as the same Windows 10 edition was activated correctly during the upgrade.
Have you checked if it prompts for your installation location for Windows 10?
I just spoke with Microsoft chat. They explained that upgrading to Windows 10 from your current version doesn’t require a product key—it uses the previous version you had. They suggested a clean install of Windows 7 or 8.1, then activating it and redoing the upgrade to get a fresh Windows 10 setup. This process doesn’t constitute a true clean install of Windows 10. According to Microsoft, the only legitimate way to get a clean installation is by purchasing Windows 10 directly, which also provides the necessary product key. They also mentioned that if you upgrade your hardware components first—like the chip and MOBO—then you can upgrade to Windows 10 for free. If you go through the upgrade path first, they say you’ll need to buy Windows 10 separately. Just wanted to share what I heard from Microsoft about Windows 10. As usual, Microsoft doesn’t share the same information with everyone and makes it complicated for users.