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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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[–] [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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