Do i need to do a clean install of 10/11 pro?

[StoneRyno]

I own windows 10 pro. It is currently installed on my old tablet. Using info from searches I have identified the product key and that the key is a retail key. I just got a surface pro 7. It came with 10 home. Do I do a clean install in order to have 10/11 pro? And would there be any concern in going with 11 pro now or is it best to stick with 10 pro and do 11 pro later after it has had a decent amount of time since release.

 

[interlocutor1980]

Stick to windows 10 Pro until you receive windows 11 update as an optional update in windows update settings. You can upgrade to windows 11 by using windows update assistance which is available on Windows ISO download page try it if you are keen to install this windows 11.

But my humble suggestion is to stick with windows 10 right now...

 

[StoneRyno]

Do I need to do a clean install to get 10 pro installed? Also I'm not getting a response from admin or moderator, I somehow have this account as an accidental duplicate of my actual account on here. And as a result my creating this thread put my email address viewable from the thread list. I have contacted them by email and even reported my thread to moderators to have it removed. I was hoping that would happened before people began to reply. I don't know what else to do but I don't like that my email is visible like that.

 

[HelloNNNewman]

Do I need to do a clean install to get 10 pro installed? Also I'm not getting a response from admin or moderator, I somehow have this account as an accidental duplicate of my actual account on here. And as a result my creating this thread put my email address viewable from the thread list. I have contacted them by email and even reported my thread to moderators to have it removed. I was hoping that would happened before people began to reply. I don't know what else to do but I don't like that my email is visible like that.

StoneRyno2000,
We aren't seeing what you are reporting. Your email address isn't showing as a username for any of us. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have questions/concerns.

Thanks!

Here's what we are seeing and I confirmed your username is set correctly in the forum settings and is not using your email address - if you are seeing your email address as a username I would suggest closing your browser and clearing the cache:

 

[StoneRyno]

Thanks, I freaked out on the user name display issue. That just leaves the pending question. Do I need to do a clean install to get 10 pro? As it came with 10 home. I Own 10 pro from my old tablet.

 

[StoneRyno]

I believe I have arrived at a course of action and am seeking additional advice. I understand that windows 7 keys can still be used to do clean installs of windows 10. I am pretty sure I have one unused windows 7 pro key but I don't know which of the two keys I have is not used. I could use that to do a clean install of 10 pro. The other option would be to transfer the 10 pro license from my old tablet to the new tablet. Either way I believe it would be best to clone the new tablets drive as a fail safe before proceeding to put 10 pro.

If I transfer the 10 pro key from my old tablet to my new tablet. Will that make 10 pro on the old tablet unusable? While I don't see the need to use the old tablet, after all it's I think about 8 years old, there could be an odd occasion where it could be handy.

Thanks again for the help. Oh one of the admins helped me out got it so my posts here in the thread are part of my original account and got rid of the accidentally created 2nd account for me. That 2nd account has to be one of the strangest things that has happened to me in a long time.

 

[HelloNNNewman]

... has to be one of the strangest things that has happened to me in a long time.

If that's the strangest thing that's happened to you in a long time, count yourself very LUCKY! LOL

... but I don't know which of the two keys I have is not used..

If you pull up your command prompt and type (or copy/paste) the following and it should display the key used on that computer:

• wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey

If I transfer the 10 pro key from my old tablet to my new tablet. Will that make 10 pro on the old tablet unusable?

You will want to deactivate your old PC before activating the key on a new PC as the keys are tied to the motherboard once activated. I believe (going from memory on this because it has been so long) that a deactivated PC can still be used, but only for short periods before the software prompts for a restart. Someone can correct me on that one if needed - like I said, it's been a long time. HowtoGeek has some good directions on this process.

 

[StoneRyno]

If you pull up your command prompt and type (or copy/paste) the following and it should display the key used on that computer:

• wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey

When I copy and paste this into a command prompt (ran as administrator) it strangely returns OA3xOriginalProductKey instead of what is typically recognized as a product key.