Upgrade To Windows 10 Without Product Key

[Rosetta Ockman]

Isaw a previous post How to activate the free Windows 10 upgrade without actually using it? but my question is a little different. I have upgraded Windows 10 on several PCs and subsequently reinstalling them clean with Windows 10. So I am sure I can replace the HDD, reinstall Windows 7 using my original Windows 7 key and activate Windows 10.

But that is half day worth of work. I wonder if there is an easier way to activate my PC with Windows 10 without actually installing Windows 10 on it, not even on a separate HDD. I also don't want to mess up my PC by allowing Windows 10 to upgrade in-place and then downgrade back to Windows 7.

Currently running Windows 10. Offered an upgrade to Windows 11 which I accepted. However, after upgrading some of my programs didn't work and all my e-mails had disappeared. Reverted to Windows 10. So far so good. A couple of days later Windows updates automatically and installs Windows 11. I uninstall it again. A day or two later windows wants to update. When checking the update I find it is Windows 11 with a button to check for optional updates, i.e. the Windows 11 upgrade is not optional. I delay the upgrade seven days and try to find a solution. I delay again and still have no luck in finding a solution. Now Windows is telling me it will restart and upgrade in 1 hour. I have good reasons not to want this upgrade and resent it being forced upon me. It is supposed to be optional but is being forced upon me. Yes, I can uninstall it again every few days after it automatically upgrades but this wastes time and there is always the risk that at some stage it won't work properly leaving me with a ruined machine. Please help!

Personally, I hate that they're forcing people to upgrade when they could have just showed it off in a shop like the Apple Stores and make all updates for Microsoft just not be compatible with windows 10 anymore.

This force update is making people hate windows 11 as it's breaking everything, and windows 10 had the same issue.

This is because the windows 10 computers are not compatible with windows 11 as much as Microsoft makes it sound. So it becomes very laggy, slow, and you can't stop the update when you don't want it.

I'd say, they should have showed it off in shops then people can decide for themselves and they can back up everything onto the new computer.

At least it allows you to use your PC! I too refused 11, and the next day I not only had WIN 11, whether I wanted it or not, but all my passwords were gone, along with all my files. Then, when MS attempted to return me to WIN10, that malfunctioned! So NOW my HP desktop won't even start! Automatic Repair won't work either! First I get a "your PC did not start correctly" message, then it just loops over and over to repeat the whole thing and I have to use this old laptop with half of the keys sticking and ejecting me from a site half way thru whatever I'm attempting. Guess I'll just save up & buy an Apple computer ASAP!

"Windows 11 upgrade being forced on me - how can I stop it?" This title of a post here is EXACTLY my problem too. How in the world did they install W11 without my consent??? After ALL MY REFUSES to their frequently pestering me with their W11 offers!!! Now I know why my important messages disappeared and why of certain very weird glitches!

Now on top of this, they're urging me to click on automatic updates giving me until tomorrow as the last chance. The gall!!! A post here is suggesting how to get rid of it but I'm not savvy at all and afraid to make things worse. I HATE MICROSOFT FOR DOING THIS TO US!

Its not a new that Bill Gates tried to sell super expensive sanitary high tech pieces to starving natives in africa, with the argument of saving the planet. Altough I have purchased the windows 10 and I have the serial and etc, a hardware damage in the hard disk forced me to install a 7 in another drive to then update, BUT ITS IMPOSSIBLE. NOW I THINK IT MAY BE CAUSED BY MICROSOFT ON PURPOSE.

I have a Dell XPS 13 laptop bought in 2016. It comes with Intel Core i5-5200U, 4GB RAM and 128 SSD. When I am trying to install Windows 11 from a USB drive on this laptop, an error pops up and says this pc can't run Windows 11. Is there any way to skip this and bypass windows 11 system requirements during installation?

This is a test computer and I have a complete backup of important staff. I want to give a try on Windows 11 instead of the old Windows 8.1 on this old laptop. Unfortunately, I don't have enough budget to build a new PC that meets all the system requirements of Windows 11.

[Updates on Mar 18]: For quick reference, I managed to install Windows 11 on my old laptop with the help of WinBootMate app suggested by user Menda380. It has a built-in module to bypass the requirements.

I have stopped using these "tricks" for these reasons, as the performance was greatly reduced. Thus the reasons why the system requirements are not arbitrary, even though the communication about the "why" could have been better. There is lot of rumour about these requirements, still.

Sure thing everyone should use fTPM (in CPU) instead of TPM chips (outside CPU on mainboard).

@Karl-WE Thanks for your tip. In fact, this old laptop is not my working machine. I only started the device a couple of times in one year. Currently, I don't own a Windows 11 machine and just want to test it out. I could love to buy a new Windows 11 laptop if everything went fine on this old device.

Apparently, the CPU and RAM don't meet the Windows 11 system requirements. The CPU should be Intel 8th Gen and RAM should be 8GB or more.

One of the easier methods to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware is to modify the Windows Registry during the installation process. This method involves creating a Windows 11 installation media, booting from it, and then making a registry change before the compatibility check.

@Karl-WE Well, If we all could afford to upgrade PCs every 2-3 years, it would make sense, but we can't. The internet has gone from a fun past time to necessity. Not everyone can afford to upgrade constantly and personally, I don't need a OS to basically force that on me.

I have no doubt that these requirements will benefit for a lot of people, but I like options and I want the option to bypass the requirements because I will take responsibility for my own security. I just updated my 12 year old laptop to 10 from 7 and it ran for years after the lack of support for 7 with no problems. I keep images of the C drive, so if someone hacks it...wipe and reinstall the image with OS.

The main concern is limitations of a web browser over time with an old OS. I still use XP and even win 98SE on really old machines that still work, but are not online for specific software/hardware situations, I'll will still use older machines in win 10 if I have to and cannot easily upgrade to 11. Updates really aren't a major concern for me as it would be for a business, which I certainly agree they should upgrade properly.

I like to gauge my own concerns of security based on my usage which can be totally different from other people. Fortunately, my main machine will be upgraded to 11 as it meets the requirements....other machines I use, maybe not so much, but they still work well and are of use to me.

As for Windows 98SE and XP I can tell you that these can barely use the Internet anyway, even if connected. Still you could be compromised, but due to their common lack of tls 1.2 there is not much to reach online in terms of browsing.

Please update your BIOS. This will usually change all settings required for security and you no longer need tricks. Download the latest Windows 11 23H2 iso from Microsoft and upgrade, keep files and settings.

When using Edge, in Windows security App control enable the additional security features for MS Edge. It's still a Chromium Browser, including all extensions, like Google Chrome, Opera etc but offers better security.

@JamieMuff1 the CPU is not qualified for Windows 11. You can use the workarounds and as it supports SSE 4.2 I hope that your unsupported upgrade will last.

you can join the free Windows Insider Program. Choose Release Preview Channel

This ISO with build 26100 will help you. Make sure vTPM and UEFI Secure Boot is enabled (check in Windows Security > Device Security. Alternatively run "whynotwin11" tool from github. and share the output.

Just dual boot windows 10 and ubuntu for now but honestly you won't REALLY need to upgrade anything or update anything untill windows 12 or whatever the next line is which probably be another 3-4 years ish but Linux is known to be a solid option to keep on old running workhorse computer alive for another year or two, you will lose somethings and unfortunately wine is not free anymore but if your primary use is basic internet use maybe youtube type thing linux is just fine.

P.S. Consider adding a larger SSD into that laptop as well, size limitation even windows itself will easily use 80gigs on average let alone anything you save or do, you can get a decent 500gb ssd these days for 30-40 bucks on amazon.

@gta99 I suspect that's what I will do likely on my older machines currently running 10, or just leave them on 10. I have yet to see a PC blow up over lack of support from MS. You just have to be more aware of what you use it for and realize the limitations, which I am used to in the first place. I use a win 98SE box mainly for a dedicated software/hardware combo, and managed to get a USB stick working for pulling things off it. That's all I need it for. Similar situation for other machines I have, repurposing for other occasional uses. some maybe on a couple times a week. My main PC will go to 11 fine, which is likely the only one I need on 11. I have tried a work around with success on one PC from 10 to 11, so i'll look at that option more seriously next year. The only real concern will be the upgrade of 11 on my main PC be able to network with the 10s, but I suspect that's not much of a concern.

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