Win8.1 to Win10 and Win8.1 BIOS Product Keys on SP2?

FlabberGhast

New Member
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Hey all,

I have been going crazy trying to find the nitty-gritty details of what goes on under the hood with the upgrade from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 on a Surface Pro 2 I am considering upgrading.

I am aware the many Windows 8.1 devices have OEM Product Keys embedded in the BIOS. I am trying to find information on how Windows 10, if installed from a .ISO bootable media, interacts with this key, and how Digital Entitlement plays into all of this. It's currently hard for me to make sense of a lot of this. Can anyone help clarify how all these elements play with one-another?

Another question regarding this process I have currently: If I use a NEW Windows 10 product key during installation, would the new key replace the previous (8.1 OEM) one in the BIOS?

The more I find out about all this, the more mystery there seems to be to it. I am just trying to find the cleanest way to install Windows 10 on a Surface Pro 2, and this BIOS OEM key and Digital Entitlement vs. Product Key thing is really confusing me. Sorry if this isn't the best place to ask, I'm just pretty lost right now and could really use advice from someone who's really knowledgeable about this stuff, currently.

Thanks all :).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
I did a clean install on a laptop with an 8.0 Core OEM embedded key. Blank un partitioned un formatted drive. 10 Home was installed with no prompt to select Home or Pro, and no prompt to enter a key. Activated with a digital entitlement. showkey shows the installed key as the generic Home key. Settings > Update $ Security > Activation > Product key states "This PC is activated with a Digital Entitlement. This laptop was previously running 10 Pro upgraded from 8.1 Pro, with a digital entitlement. It now has digital entitlements for 10 Home and 10 Pro. I did a change key and entered the generic Pro key and it upgraded to Pro. Activated fine too.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
The latest release of the Windows 10 upgrade ( Fall Update Release ) will activate with a clean install and a Windows 8 key without having to upgrade first.

I just installed a copy a day ago.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
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