Can I install Win 10 Pro on new hard drive, using a Win 7 Pro COA sticker?

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[glnz]

It’s February 2022.

1. If my company gives me a used Dell Optiplex 7010 with a Win 7 Pro COA sticker but no hard drive, and I insert a new or used hard drive, can I install Win 10 Pro and activate it with the Win 7 Pro COA?
2. If no to #1, can i first install Win 7 Pro, activate it with the sticker, and then upgrade it to Win 10?
3. If yes to #2, where can I now get Win 7 Pro to install?

   Other questions:

4. If I get the Win 10 Pro installed on the new or used hard drive and am able to activate the Win 10 Pro with the Win 7 Pro COA sticker, and I later clone the hard drive to a new NVME M.2 SSD, will I have a new activation problem because the hardware has now changed?
5. The PC is a Dell Optiplex 7010, which is an older model that normally cannot boot from a NVME M.2 SSD drive. However, I might modify its BIOS so it CAN boot from a NVME M.2 SSD drive. See this very good article: How to install and boot from an NVMe SSD on a Dell OptiPlex 7010
   Does this change any of your answers to my questions #1 – 4?
6. Instead of starting with a normal hard drive, should I start with the NVMe M.2 SSD but connected to SATA to start, then install and activate the Win 10 Pro using the Win 7 Pro COA sticker, and then follow the instructions in the article to re-insert the NVME M.2 into a PCIe slot?
   (Did I say this would be easy?)

Thanks.

• This topic was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by glnz.
• This topic was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by glnz.

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I have heard folks report that putting in a COA 7 key into a Windows 10 install will activate.

Now given that you are talking about a Dell system that hints that the 7 is an OEM.  Personally I think this is a case where this will technically be possible, but not be legal in terms of licensing.

What’s the CPU and RAM as there gets to be a point where other parts start to get a bit old as well.

 

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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glnz

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I did a complete reinstall (wipe everything) of Windows on my Surface Pro 3.  When called for a key, I used the Windows 7 key from my purchased retail copy of Win 7, a cased CD.  And it worked, and still works.

If this had not worked, my fall-back was to install Win 7 on the Surface, and take the upgrade to Windows 10, but that would have been much messier.

Dell E5570 Latitude, Intel Core i5 6440@2.60 GHz, 8.00 GB - Win 10 Pro

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glnz

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Here are some guesses:

Guess: The license key on the COA sticker (if it was the original on the PC) is an OEM key.
You can verify what is on the computer (OEM or Retail) in an elevated command prompt with “slmgr /dli” or “slmgr /dlv” – the latter will give you more information. You can also use Belarc Advisor.
The two licenses will probably not be the same, as the one on the COA sticker (back when the license was on a sticker, not in the BIOS), was in case you had to do a clean install without the use of a backup factory restore.
I have used that sticker COA key more than once to reinstall on the same PC.
You can get a Win7 ISO on https://www.heidoc.net/joomla/. I understand the number available is limited and trying early in the month may be more successful. You will need to know whether the original was OEM or Retail, and the bittage. (Maybe they have Dell branded??) For sure you will need SP1 if it is not included. If you have to update (which you most certainly will), the order of patch installation is critical.

Guess: If you use the Win7 COA key on the sticker (assuming it is the original) to upgrade to Win10 and it is successful, you will get whatever the original Win was – with or without SP1, Pro or otherwise, 32-bit or 64-bit, OEM or Retail, etc.

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glnz

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Cloning an existing Windows installation to a new/different drive does not effect Windows activation status. In fact, changing the drives, memory, graphics card or even the CPU won’t change the activation status of a Windows install (BTDT — many times.)

The only hardware item that truly effects the Windows activation status if you change it, is the actual motherboard itself; and even that can be overcome if your existing Windows install is a retail version.

For example, I replaced the older Maximus VIII Z170 motherboard in my desktop with a newer Maximus XI Gene Z390 motherboard five months ago (just in case I ever need to upgrade to Win 11) and was able to “reactivate” Win10 using the retail license key from the old motherboard without any problems.

In fact, the “Original Install Date” for Win10 on my system still shows as 05/22/21 which is when it was first activated on the older motherboard via the “free” Win7 upgrade process (BTW, the Win7/Win8 upgrade to Win10 process still works!)

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glnz

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Thank you all!!  Very helpful and encouraging.  I won’t be getting to my effort / experiment for a few weeks, so come back here from time to time to see if I add anything.

PKCano – many thanks for the link to Heidoc, which I’d forgotten.  Good to know where to go if I have to start with Win 7 (which I hope not to have to do).

However, your good advice,

You can verify what is on the computer (OEM or Retail) in an elevated command prompt with “slmgr /dli” or “slmgr /dlv” – the latter will give you more information. You can also use Belarc Advisor

won’t work for me at the start because the gift from my company is the Optiplex 7010 MT without its hard drive.  I’ll be getting a new or used hard drive on my own and installing (or trying to install) Win 10 Pro 64-bit on it.  At that time (if I have some level of success), I will be able to try “slmgr /dli” or “slmgr /dlv”,  (And then, when the Win 10 is up and running on that hard drive, (a) I shall mod the BIOS per the article to be able to boot from an NVMe M.2 inserted into a PCIe slot and (b) I shall actually clone the hard drive to such an NVMe in the PCe slot.)

Open to all comments, hints and suggestions (other than “Don’t bother – just buy a newer PC”).  If this works, it will be fun, and I’ll have a cheap way to add used but high-speed PCs to my wife’s small business.

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