Key, Key, my kingdom for a Key!

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Hey Y’all,

I’m posting this here because I’ve seen it in both Windows 10 and 11.

In the process of refurbishing older PC for our residents to use for basic tasks like Email, Web browsing, letter writing etc., I always try to locate the appropriate Windows Activation Key so I have a record if things go sideways when I do an over-the-top install to clean the machine.

So can someone explain why I can get via 3 different methods 3 different keys?

The first two are via my PowerShell program and the 3rd is a registry key.
These are on a Windows 10 machine.

Just last night I purchased a Windows 11 Pro Key (we won’t talk about vendor) that activated perfectly. However, My PowerShell doesn’t show that key, and neither does the registry key. However, Magic Jelly Bean Finder DOES!

So which is the correct key? Inquiring minds want to know!

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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satrow

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My take on this is:
The key is not stored on the computer anymore, as it was in XP, Vista, Win7. It is a digital activation by MS. The activation is tied to the computer’s hardware and the activation ID is stored on the MS activation servers. I have seen the “generic” key (that looks like what you buy) on many machines that I know are legit and activated. You cannot access the activation ID.

If you have a problem in activating, you have to call the MS activation service. They ask for the ID that is currently on the machine (it is not the key you buy) and how many machines it is installed on. Then they give you a new one. The ID is composed of 8 sets of 6 digits, and they tell you to write it down because you will need it if you have to reactivate. I believe this is your activation these days, not the key you are sold or see in the Registry.

My personal experience with this is about two weeks old. I installed Win11 24H2 in a Parallels VM on my (relatively) new M4Pro MacMini. I made several aborted installs before I decided what I wanted to do. I had several ISOs downloaded at different times from MS and the UUP dump. I started, aborted, then used another probably three times, each time entering the “bought” key I had. Then I made a mistake in the OOBE and chose Personal instead of “Work or School,” realized what I’d done immediately, aborted, and started over for the last time.
When I reconnected to the Internet after going through all the settings, I had to call MS to activate. Evidently, each of my attempts tickled the activation server. So I had to get the Activation ID over the phone.
Parallels encrypts the TPM key for Win11 VMs and stores it in the Mac’s keychain online. To confirm my suspicions, I accessed the keychain as Admin, and sure enough, there were multiple TPM keys dated the same day in the time sequence of my attempts. I didn’t run into any encryption problems b/c I had started over from scratch each time, which starts a new VM (essentially a different computer) in the process. The latest time stamped key is the valid one.

5 users thanked author for this post.

Myst, opti1, windbg, TechTango, satrow

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