JacquesG Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Hello On my Desktop Computer I moved from Win 7 to Win 10 at the time it was free ( more than 1 year ago ) When I use Speccy to get the information on my Operating system , I get Windows 10 Professional , and installation date , but the " Product Key is wrong " ( tested with many other tools ) Is there an explanation ? Thanks for your help Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators mta Posted September 8, 2016 Moderators Share Posted September 8, 2016 double check the Product Key Speccy is showing with another program called Belarc. I know Speccy was giving the wrong key years (or versions) ago. also, if you upgraded from Win7, whatever software you end up using should show the original Win7 Product Key I believe. how are you testing that the key is 'wrong'? Backup now & backup often.It's your digital life - protect it with a backup.Three things are certain; Birth, Death and loss of data. You control the last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JacquesG Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 Thank you very much for your reply 1) No, if we upgrade from Win 7 to Win 10 , the product key is not anymore the key of Win7 , but a new product key Win 10 2) It seems there is a generic windows 10 and a product key ( attached to the machine on which was made the upgrade ? ) The litterature on this subject is very confusing 3) I checked the key product with : - Belarc Advisor - winAsKey - Winfokey - Advanced Token Manager They all give the same Product Kei 4) Only Speccy gives a different value I am not very confident anymore in Speccy ( unless somebody explain me what gives Speccy ) Best Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Tom CCleaner Posted September 8, 2016 Admin Share Posted September 8, 2016 Hi, The key displayed by Speccy is the Windows serial key, and not the license key that is used to activate Windows. I hope this clears up any confusion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JacquesG Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 Thanks for your reply What is the serial key compared to the licence key ( called Product key by everybody ) What is the use of the serial key ? Nobody use this key ? ( all the softwares on the market talk of Product key ( what you call licence key ? ) Could you clarify this for everybody Thank you for your help Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Tom CCleaner Posted September 8, 2016 Admin Share Posted September 8, 2016 The serial key is the unique identifier for that piece of software, where was the license/product key is just a code that unlocks the software to make us usable. In other words, the serial key is like your address, but the product key is like the key to your front door. I hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JacquesG Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 Ok In case I will have to re-install Win 10 on my machine from scratch , the key that will be necessary is the " serial key " ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Tom CCleaner Posted September 8, 2016 Admin Share Posted September 8, 2016 Hi again, To re-install Windows, you would need your license/product key Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators hazelnut Posted September 8, 2016 Moderators Share Posted September 8, 2016 Have a look here for some explanations about keys. If you are re-installing Windows 10 on the same machine you will not need to enter a key. Microsoft will already have it stored digitally (known as digital entitlement) https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12440/windows-10-activation Support contact https://support.ccleaner.com/s/contact-form?language=en_US&form=general or support@ccleaner.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JacquesG Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 OK , thanks to Tom Piriform and hazelnut for your patience If for re-installation , only product key is useful , I still do not understand why " Speccy " gives a " serial number " and no " product key " This makes everything very confusing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators mta Posted September 8, 2016 Moderators Share Posted September 8, 2016 confusing??? hell yes. the end user has never needed to know their 'serial key'. another 'key' MS shows us is the Product ID shown in Control Panel, System, which is calculated from the Product Key. MS only uses the Product Key (or activation key) found on the CoA (Certificate of Authenticity) sticker, either already stuck to the PC or on the Windows software packaging. and it's that key that is used to install, activate, re-activate, or upgrade Windows. also, this Serial Number Speccy shows, why is it in the format (xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx) of a Product Key if it's not the Product Key! the Product ID is in a different format, usually with -OEM- in the ID but Win10 has changed that. my suggestion, if the thing Speccy is showing isn't the Product Key, then it should be. otherwise, don't show it. Backup now & backup often.It's your digital life - protect it with a backup.Three things are certain; Birth, Death and loss of data. You control the last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JacquesG Posted September 9, 2016 Author Share Posted September 9, 2016 I entirerly agree with mta . Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators hazelnut Posted September 9, 2016 Moderators Share Posted September 9, 2016 The serial key is what some PC manufacturers need to know when you want a part or info on something about your machine. As Speccy is essentially a hardware specs tool, it is natural I guess that it should include the serial key info. Perhaps Speccy may add the product key info at some point in the future.. who knows. Support contact https://support.ccleaner.com/s/contact-form?language=en_US&form=general or support@ccleaner.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators mta Posted September 9, 2016 Moderators Share Posted September 9, 2016 The serial key is what some PC manufacturers need to know when you want a part or info on something about your machine. you're not mixing the term serial key with serial number are you? neither of which Windows has to my knowledge. but today would be a good day to be corrected and learn something new... Backup now & backup often.It's your digital life - protect it with a backup.Three things are certain; Birth, Death and loss of data. You control the last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators hazelnut Posted September 9, 2016 Moderators Share Posted September 9, 2016 you're not mixing the term serial key with serial number are you? neither of which Windows has to my knowledge. but today would be a good day to be corrected and learn something new... As if I'd mix the two up mta ! I meant the serial number but my keyboard typed 'key' instead The whole thing is confusing for people, and I need to go and lie down in a dark room now with a damp edition of the Speccy manual on my forehead Support contact https://support.ccleaner.com/s/contact-form?language=en_US&form=general or support@ccleaner.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JacquesG Posted September 9, 2016 Author Share Posted September 9, 2016 I think hazelnut and Tom Piriform , you are really of bad faith You should take some time to re-think about the definitions of product keys , serial key , product id , serial number ... You cannot be against all the rest of the world by only showing " serial key " in Speccy , which has a minor interest Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators hazelnut Posted September 9, 2016 Moderators Share Posted September 9, 2016 JacquesG, Although I am moderator I am just a volunteer here and not employed by Piriform, so I have no say in what they do. I wish I did Support contact https://support.ccleaner.com/s/contact-form?language=en_US&form=general or support@ccleaner.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators mta Posted September 9, 2016 Moderators Share Posted September 9, 2016 I can't vouch for Speccy under Windows 10 and this serial key thingy, but definitely a year or two ago there was a post from a user claiming that Speccy's Product Key (yes, Product Key) didn't match another software's extraction of the key. I think Piriform must have fixed it or released a new version, whatever, but there was a time in the past where the 'key' supplied by Speccy definitely matched my Windows 7 installation of the time. Anyway, if it doesn't now, it doesn't - it is what it is. Probably not what Speccy should be showing anyway. Stick to the hardware specs. A good lie down does sound appropriate. Backup now & backup often.It's your digital life - protect it with a backup.Three things are certain; Birth, Death and loss of data. You control the last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
login123 Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 Have a look here for some explanations about keys. If you are re-installing Windows 10 on the same machine you will not need to enter a key. Microsoft will already have it stored digitally (known as digital entitlement) https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12440/windows-10-activation I upgraded a laptop from win 8.1 to win 10 during the free giveaway period. It has win 10 on it now. If I revert back to win 8.1 and run that for a while, then wish to reinstall win 10, which of these "keys" will I need? It sounds like it will be the one stored by microsoft, aka the digital entitlement key. Right? Microsoft already has it stored. . . where is it? I assume it on their servers, but wouldn't take anything for granted. Will my computer automatically be recognized and activated during the reinstallation of win 10? I shall now have a nice slice of key lime pie take a rest. The CCleaner SLIM version is always released a bit after any new version; when it is it will be HERE :-) Pssssst: ... It isn't really a cloud. Its a bunch of big, giant servers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators hazelnut Posted September 9, 2016 Moderators Share Posted September 9, 2016 Microsoft have your Win 8.1/10 machine digital entitlement on their servers now. (They know everything ) Provided you don't change the hardware when you go back to 8.1 it should be auto recognised. For everything else there is always Produkey from nirsoft Support contact https://support.ccleaner.com/s/contact-form?language=en_US&form=general or support@ccleaner.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators mta Posted September 9, 2016 Moderators Share Posted September 9, 2016 @login, just to confirm @hazelnuts statement, having done said operations more than once, she is (of course) dead right. It's like magic, going between 8, 8.1 and 10, even just reloading any of them, MS 'knows'. Backup now & backup often.It's your digital life - protect it with a backup.Three things are certain; Birth, Death and loss of data. You control the last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
login123 Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 OK. Thanks, Hazelnut & mta. Got it. Forgive me for saying, but I won't believe it till I do it. There is some sort of computer curse on my family, nothing goes as advertised. The CCleaner SLIM version is always released a bit after any new version; when it is it will be HERE :-) Pssssst: ... It isn't really a cloud. Its a bunch of big, giant servers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronlucato Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 Registered only to post on this topic. THIS IS bulls**t! There's no such thing as "Windows Serial Key different from Windows Product Key". What a piece of crap! Isn't it more beautiful, correct and reasonable to just admit there was a mistake; a bug? Instead of making up fake stories and explanations? Fake stories like "The serial key is the unique identifier for that piece of software, where was the license/product key is just a code that unlocks the software to make us usable", as well as metaphors like the address and the locker key ones... We all know about the purpose of our product keys, and THERE IS NOT any "serial keys" intended to be any "unique identifier for that piece of software" for Windows. Microsoft made product keys instead. (for that same purpose) AND EVEN IF WAS... AND EVEN IF WAS, INDEED, A "WINDOWS SERIAL KEY" THAT DIFFERS FROM OUR MUCH KNOWN WINDOWS PRODUCT KEY, WHAT DO YOU THINK MOST USERS WOULD WANT TO SEE THERE: YOUR MADE-UP "WINDOWS SERIAL KEY" bulls**t, OR THE OLD, COMMON AND USEFUL WINDOWS PRODUCT KEY? As I said before... Isn't it more beautiful, correct and reasonable to just admit there was a mistake; a bug? And to just simply correct this bug on the next version of Speccy? Do not get me wrong, as I love Piriform's softwares. I have almost all of them installed on my PC, and I'm willing to buy all the pro versions on a near future. But as I saw this topic when searching for the same issue on Google, I couldn't stay quiet when I read the Admin's answer. Anyway, if you want to ban me, go ahead. I just had to say that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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