Microsoft’s free Windows 10 upgrade offer is over–or is it? There’s still a way to activate Windows 10 with a Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 key, in addition to Microsoft’s accessibility offer.

Update: We tested this upgrade method once again on January 5, 2018. It still works!

You Can Still Use an Old Key with the Anniversary Update

Windows 7 is the most used operating system which is released in back July, 2009. If you have problem with your current running windows 7 in your system and want to repair or re install windows then you need have windows 7 product key or serial key. I am getting the same message as Raja. I am using Windows 7 Home Premium. I also tried right-click on Computer, Properties and there is no link to the Windows Key. Windows 7 serial keys are appropriate for Windows XP, 7, etc. It has updated its overall interface. How to install windows 7 ultimate activator. Click on the download button given below. After installation, you can put one of these product keys in the serial key box.

RELATED:You Can Still Get Windows 10 for Free from Microsoft’s Accessibility Site

As part of Windows 10’s November update, Microsoft changed the Windows 10 installer disc to also accept Windows 7 or 8.1 keys. This allowed users to perform a clean install Windows 10 and enter a valid Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 key during installation. Windows 10 would then report that key to Microsoft’s servers, and Windows 10’s activation servers would give your PC a “digital entitlement” (now a “digital license”) to continue using Windows 10 for free, just as if you had upgraded.

This also works from within Windows 10. Even if you don’t provide a key during the installation process, you can head to Settings > Update & Security > Activation and enter a Windows 7 or 8.1 key here instead of a Windows 10 key. Your PC will receive a digital entitlement.

Now, even though the free upgrade offer is technically over, this method still works in the Anniversary Update, either when installing Windows 10 with Anniversary Update media or by entering the key after installing Windows 10. Enter any Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 key that hasn’t previously been used to upgrade to 10, and Microsoft’s servers will give your PC’s hardware a new digital license that will allow you to continue using Windows 10 indefinitely on that PC.

Microsoft hasn’t released any sort of statement about this upgrade method at all. It’s possible that Microsoft will disable it soon, but it’s also possible Microsoft will look the other way and keep this trick around to encourage more Windows 10 upgrades for a long time to come.

How to Use a Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 Key to Get Windows 10

RELATED:How to Find Your Lost Windows or Office Product Keys

This process is easy. First, you’ll need a Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 key. If you have one of those lying around, great. If you don’t, you can use a tool like NirSoft’s ProduKey to find the key currently in use on your Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 PC. Write it down.

Be sure you have backups of your important files before continuing. Even if you plan on performing an upgrade install, something could go wrong. It’s always a good idea to have backups, especially when installing a new operating system.

Create Windows 10 installation media if you don’t already have it lying around. You can do this with Microsoft’s Windows 10 media creation tool. Select “Create installation media for another PC” and the tool will offer to create a bootable USB flash drive or burn a bootable DVD.

How To Find Windows Key 7

Insert the installation media into the computer you want to upgrade, reboot, and boot from the installation media. Install Windows 10 normally. You can perform an upgrade installation that keeps your existing files or a clean installation that wipes your system drive.

When you’re asked to enter a key, enter the Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 key. The installer will accept this key and the installation process will continue normally.

(If you’re using a Windows 8 or 8.1 system with the product key embedded in your systems UEFI firmware or BIOS, you may also be able to click “I don’t have a product key.” Windows 10 should automatically find the key in your UEFI firmware later and activate your system.)

After you’ve installed Windows 10, head to Settings > Update & Security > Activation and you should see that your PC has a digital license.

If you didn’t enter a key during the installation process, you can enter a Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 key right in this window when you’re asked to provide a Windows 10 key. Windows will check in with Microsoft’s servers and give your PC a digital license for Windows 10.

It’s that simple. If you ever want to reinstall Windows 10 in the future, you should be able to use the same Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 key you entered here. That key will be associated with a “digital license” on Microsoft’s servers, allowing you to continue reinstalling Windows 10 even if Microsoft disables this method of acquiring Windows 10.

You can also sign in to your new PC with a Microsoft account and that key will be associated with your Microsoft account, making it easy to reactivate your digital license if you ever need to reinstall Windows 10 later.

Where To Put Windows Key

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If you're preparing to reinstall Windows 7 you will need to locate your unique Windows 7 product key, also sometimes called the Windows 7 serial key, activation key, or CD key.

How To Check Windows 7 Product Key

Normally, this product key is on a sticker on your computer or located with the manual or on the disc sleeve that came with Windows 7. However, if you don't have a physical copy of your product key, that doesn't mean it's gone forever.

Fortunately, a copy of your Windows 7 key is stored in the registry. It's encrypted, meaning it's not easily readable, but there are several free programs that can help fix that problem in less than 15 minutes.

Confused? Check out our Windows Product Keys FAQ for more information about product keys and how they work in Windows.

The manual techniques used to locate the product key for older versions of Windows won't work in Windows 7. Those manual procedures will only locate the product ID number for Windows 7, not the actual product key used for installation. So if you've done this kind of thing before in Windows XP or Vista, you'll need to instead use the process outlined below.

Follow the steps below to locate your Windows 7 product key code:

How to Find Your Windows 7 Product Key

Windows 7 Serial Key Generator

Manually locating the Windows 7 product key from the registry is nearly impossible due to the fact that it's encrypted so you'll need to use a product key finder program to extract it.
Choose a free product key finder program from this list that supports Windows 7.
Any product key finder that locates Windows 7 product keys will locate the product keys for any version of Windows 7: Ultimate, Enterprise, Professional, Home Premium, Home Basic, and Starter.
Download and run the key finder program. Follow any instructions provided by the software.
The numbers and letters displayed by the program represent the Windows 7 product key.
To be clear, thta's five sets of five lette

Where To Put Windows 7 Serial Key