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Wanting to dual boot Windows with Kubuntu. Am I fine getting a Windows 10 key instead of 11? (lemmy.zip)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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A couple of months ago, I wiped Windows off my old laptop and installed Kubuntu instead. Now, I was thinking of dual booting Windows additionally for a certain game (definitely not League of Legends, for sure not) and will need to buy a new key. Am I fine getting a copy of Windows 10 despite Microsoft's discontinuation, or should I get a Windows 11 key? I have a different laptop I use as a daily driver (11, Surface Go 3), so this would exclusively be for the game that shan't be named.

Sorry if this post isn't fit for this community - I'll delete it if it isn't.

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[–] 6 points 2 years ago (3 children)

I haven't used windows in quite a while, but while I did, on laptops sold with windows there was a recovery partition on them you could reinstall windows from. If you removed that partition you had no legal way of reinstalling, because no key was made available to you at any point.

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  • [–] 14 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    This is not true. OEM serial key is usually tied to the motherboard. I once had to replace my HDD, but granted i downloaded the Windows recovery file from the laptop manufacturer's website. That way it will recreate the recovery partition for you.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago*

    It is no longer true, but it was at one time (the key thing, it was never illegal to reinstall). It also wasn’t too uncommon for systems to have a sticker with the OEM key listed on it (then verified during activation), because without it you were SOL. Manufacturer recovery discs had their own way around it.

    Nowadays the key is embedded in the firmware and applied automagically, even if you use a normal iso.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 years ago (5 children)

    Do you know off the top if it's intact if I "fully wiped" it during the installation of a different OS?

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago*

    The key is stored in the BIOS (UEFI flash chip) - you can install 10 or 11 from the downloaded installers MS offers; as long as the Home or Pro is correct it'll activate just fine.

    You can verify the key exists by running

    hexdump -C /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/MSDM

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago

    Microsoft "fingerprints" your machine when you activate windows on it. You can completely replace the hard drive and reinstall windows from scratch, and they'll figure out your activation on their end.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    This must have been xp or earlier. Since vista there was a shared key and certificate for each OEM that paired with a code on the motherboard. And since 8 or 10 there is now a key in the motherboard that has been pre-registered with the activation servers. Now when you activate a retail key, it registers the motherboard not the install, so a reinstall gets activated automatically.

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