While you can use the product key from the sticker attached to your computer, after all this time many of those stickers will now be hard to read or the characters have rubbed off completely making the key unreadable. Many computers that came with Windows Vista and 7 will be getting old and if you still have the original install that came on the computer, you may be thinking about a reinstall as all Windows installs degrade and slow down over time. If the BIOS, certificate and key all match up, Windows will activate without the need for the internet or a phone. Secondly, a security certificate is installed into Windows which checks that identity in the BIOS and accepts the generic key.

Firstly, each computer has data added to the BIOS identifying the manufacturer. To prevent pirates easily using the key, measures are in place to make sure it only works on computers built by the manufacturer.

Unfortunately if you perform a clean install of Windows you cannot ordinarily use this generic key and will instead have to use the one from the COA sticker. You can test this yourself by using a product key display tool, the license it displays will not be the same as what’s on the attached sticker. What your computer is shipped and installed with is a generic OEM product key that is the same on every computer that comes from the same manufacturer with that edition of Windows.

Many people aren’t aware that a pre-built computer from a manufacturer like Dell or HP actually has two Windows product keys present, and the key on the Windows COA sticker isn’t actually in use.

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