activate windows 10 with used product key

[SasiExpLosioN]

so I broke my HDD and i bought new one
and remembered there's no windows installed on the new HDD! but have a product key saved in my flash, and I asked myself "could I just download windows 10 from microsoft and use the key again?", the windows which is installed on the old broken HDD, already installed in computer store. I mean when i bought the PC, they installed the windows already, so am I able to use the product again?

 

[Cystash]

If your pc came with or was updated to Windows 10 then yes if you have the product key you can reinstall it on your new hard drive and use your old product key.

 

[Anonymous09]

If your new PC was bought with any version of w10 on it, your product key is saved and encrypted in your BIOS chip on your mobo. So as long as you only swapped your HDD out, all you would need to do is download the media creation tool from microsoft, pop in a flash drive (linked below), let the program do it's thing, then pop it on in your PC with the new HDD and install windows.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

 

[basroil]

If your new PC was bought with any version of w10 on it, your product key is saved and encrypted in your BIOS chip on your mobo. So as long as you only swapped your HDD out, all you would need to do is download the media creation tool from microsoft, pop in a flash drive (linked below), let the program do it's thing, then pop it on in your PC with the new HDD and install windows.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

False, yet not untrue. The product key is NOT "saved" on the BIOS, ever. If your system is OEM (dell, hp, etc) and at least Windows 8 from the start, then the key is in the bios, but if you added a key (upgrade to pro, etc) or have a machine that was Windows 7, the bios does NOT contain your product key in any form.

However, you can indeed use that link to install Win10 as long as you computer had Win 10 at some point, regardless of the key (Win 10 uses online activation instead, using a unique hash representing your system).

 

[Anonymous09]

If your new PC was bought with any version of w10 on it, your product key is saved and encrypted in your BIOS chip on your mobo. So as long as you only swapped your HDD out, all you would need to do is download the media creation tool from microsoft, pop in a flash drive (linked below), let the program do it's thing, then pop it on in your PC with the new HDD and install windows.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

False, yet not untrue. The product key is NOT "saved" on the BIOS, ever. If your system is OEM (dell, hp, etc) and at least Windows 8 from the start, then the key is in the bios, but if you added a key (upgrade to pro, etc) or have a machine that was Windows 7, the bios does NOT contain your product key in any form.

However, you can indeed use that link to install Win10 as long as you computer had Win 10 at some point, regardless of the key (Win 10 uses online activation instead, using a unique hash representing your system).

He had just stated he bought a new computer, hence my answer. There is nothing incorrect with my response.

 

[basroil]

He had just stated he bought a new computer, hence my answer. There is nothing incorrect with my response.

He said he bought it and the store added it to his machine, which sounds more like pre-built/BTO system using regular parts rather than OEM, which is why I added the word of warning. Those types of systems do NOT have a key in the bios and no key can be added.

 

[Anonymous09]

He had just stated he bought a new computer, hence my answer. There is nothing incorrect with my response.

He said he bought it and the store added it to his machine, which sounds more like pre-built/BTO system using regular parts rather than OEM, which is why I added the word of warning. Those types of systems do NOT have a key in the bios and no key can be added.

"I mean when i bought the PC, they installed the windows already" Granted it is broken english, however I am fairly certain that at no point in this post does he say he built the pc, or it was BTO, only that he bought it from a store, and it already had windows on it. I can see how it can be taken both ways though, nevertheless I assumed this meant he went out and bought a dell/hp/etc., then again the only way this can be clarified is from the OP himself.

 

[SasiExpLosioN]

I think no one understand what I'm trying to say, its my fault because English isn't my first language. I'm so sorry.
what I'm trying to is, before 9 months I decided to buy a gaming PC, and I don't know about computers, but the man who was working in the store helped me. when he collected all the PC parts I said "please, I want windows 7 to be installed" he he said "Ok". after few hours I got my PC to home and everything is good. but after 9 months I tried to pull the data cable from the HDD and broke the tiny little plastic like this one in the pic below:

http://i.imgur.com/nqKaE56.jpg

after what happened, I ordered a new HDD, but I was asking myself "do I need to buy and install new windows with new product key, or just download it from the internet and use the product that I have?"
so my PC isn't "hp, dell, toshiba, etc...". I'm really really sorry because my English not good enough and that is my fault.

 

[basroil]

In this case, you should be able to use the same key as long as the motherboard is unchanged, but only if you had a legal key to begin with. Some of those places give you pirated versions instead, and then you would need to buy a new license.

 

[Anonymous09]

In this case, you should be able to use the same key as long as the motherboard is unchanged, but only if you had a legal key to begin with. Some of those places give you pirated versions instead, and then you would need to buy a new license.

Thanks for that clarification OP, basroil was right on point with this answer then, and with the other ones as well. Just use that link I posted to make a bootable drive to reinstall w10.