[SOLVED] Can't activate windows

Solution
If you already have Windows 10 then doing a repair install will allow you to keep all files and apps. Take your pick from the following three instruction sets:

Non-Destructive Repair of Windows 10 - Answers to commonly asked questions

Doing an In-place "Upgrade" to Reinstall Windows 10 Keeping Apps/Programs and User Files

How to: Perform a Repair Upgrade Using the Windows 10 ISO file

If you have ever had a legally licensed copy of Windows 10 on a given machine you do not need a license key to reinstall it, either, as the license is linked to the mobo and is already on Microsoft's servers. It will detect that it's dealing with a machine that was already licensed and...

britechguy

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As AllanGH has noted, both Windows 10 Educational and also Windows 10 Enterprise are centrally administered and expect, at install time, to be on the network through which they are administered. Those handing out the keys within the school/enterprise should make this clear (but often don't).

This also raises the question, for anyone, as to whether one wants one's own PC to have central administration? If not, then looking into a Windows 10 Home or Pro key is the way to go.
 

alfiee

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Jul 23, 2018
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As AllanGH has noted, both Windows 10 Educational and also Windows 10 Enterprise are centrally administered and expect, at install time, to be on the network through which they are administered. Those handing out the keys within the school/enterprise should make this clear (but often don't).

This also raises the question, for anyone, as to whether one wants one's own PC to have central administration? If not, then looking into a Windows 10 Home or Pro key is the way to go.
yeah they just told me i can activate windows for free by using that
 

alfiee

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Jul 23, 2018
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are you doing a clean install? is your windows key for Home? what is currently installed?

It isn't always a good idea to randomly put in commands from the internet
I currently have home installed and am not doing a clean install
its a windows 7 key but people have told me it should work to activate windows 10 home
 

alfiee

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Jul 23, 2018
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According yo the errors you're receiving, you need to be connected to your schools network to make the activation process possible. If you aren't attempting the install and activation at school, then you need to cart everything over there and try it again.
well i have a pc not a laptop and i'm on summer break atm
 

britechguy

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What is it that you want under Educational that you don't already have under Home?

That is the question you need to be asking yourself. You do lose admin control over many things if you elect to install and activate a centrally administered edition of Windows 10.

Given that you are nowhere near to the "home network" of the educational institution in question, you won't be able to successfully activate using the key you've been given until you are and can connect to it to complete the activation process.
 

alfiee

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Jul 23, 2018
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if i were to reinstall windows is there a way for me to save most of my files? since the only reason i dont want to do it is because i dont wanna lose my files
 

britechguy

Commendable
Jul 2, 2019
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If you already have Windows 10 then doing a repair install will allow you to keep all files and apps. Take your pick from the following three instruction sets:

Non-Destructive Repair of Windows 10 - Answers to commonly asked questions

Doing an In-place "Upgrade" to Reinstall Windows 10 Keeping Apps/Programs and User Files

How to: Perform a Repair Upgrade Using the Windows 10 ISO file

If you have ever had a legally licensed copy of Windows 10 on a given machine you do not need a license key to reinstall it, either, as the license is linked to the mobo and is already on Microsoft's servers. It will detect that it's dealing with a machine that was already licensed and fetch that.

I am still utterly confused as to how a Windows 7 license is coming into this at all.
 
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Solution

alfiee

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Jul 23, 2018
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if you have win 10 home installed, where is the educational copy? you shouldn't be getting that error unless its tied to the win 7 key you are trying to use.

@britechguy his win 10 home is currently not activated, that is what he is trying to use key for.
i got the educational key a few weeks ago and thought it would either activate my home or upgrade to windows 10 education but instead i got that error
 

alfiee

Commendable
Jul 23, 2018
84
1
1,535
If you already have Windows 10 then doing a repair install will allow you to keep all files and apps. Take your pick from the following three instruction sets:

Non-Destructive Repair of Windows 10 - Answers to commonly asked questions

Doing an In-place "Upgrade" to Reinstall Windows 10 Keeping Apps/Programs and User Files

How to: Perform a Repair Upgrade Using the Windows 10 ISO file

If you have ever had a legally licensed copy of Windows 10 on a given machine you do not need a license key to reinstall it, either, as the license is linked to the mobo and is already on Microsoft's servers. It will detect that it's dealing with a machine that was already licensed and fetch that.

I am still utterly confused as to how a Windows 7 license is coming into this at all.
so my all my files in my video folder wont go lost? since that is what im most worried about
 

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
Edu keys and Home keys are different versions. Edu is closer to Enterprise version of 10, it has way more. You can't use an Edu key to activate Home. They 2 different versions.

You can upgrade home to Edu I think, but its via the update version menu on settings/update & security/activation/Upgrade your edition of WIndows, but you likely need to be on campus for it to work.
 

britechguy

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Jul 2, 2019
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Well, I'll give you the same advice I give anyone anticipating doing a major update, upgrade, install or similar where the OS is concerned:

Get yourself an external backup drive (they're cheap, and you should get one anyway if you don't have one) and take BOTH a full user data backup as well as a full system image backup (which also includes user data) BEFORE you do it.

One can still do an upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 at no cost, but it seems to me like you did that at some point already. I'm still at a bit of a loss as to what you're actually trying to accomplish here.
 

alfiee

Commendable
Jul 23, 2018
84
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Edu keys and Home keys are different versions. Edu is closer to Enterprise version of 10, it has way more. You can't use an Edu key to activate Home. They 2 different versions.

You can upgrade home to Edu I think, but its via the update version menu on settings/update & security/activation/Upgrade your edition of WIndows, but you likely need to be on campus for it to work.
i figured that out that is why i was trying a windows 7 key
 

alfiee

Commendable
Jul 23, 2018
84
1
1,535
Well, I'll give you the same advice I give anyone anticipating doing a major update, upgrade, install or similar where the OS is concerned:

Get yourself an external backup drive (they're cheap, and you should get one anyway if you don't have one) and take BOTH a full user data backup as well as a full system image backup (which also includes user data) BEFORE you do it.

One can still do an upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 at no cost, but it seems to me like you did that at some point already. I'm still at a bit of a loss as to what you're actually trying to accomplish here.
When i got my pc i installed windows 10 on it )unactivated) Then my school said i could just use the windows 10 education which i cant since i have to be connected to their network. And now i am trying to use a windows 7 key to activate my windows 10 which i have been told works but it isn't working and now i am trying to get it to work but when i try "slmgr" commands i keep getting this weird error which is this: https://prnt.sc/odviyg and im trying to either fix this to make the error go away / remove this http://prntscr.com/ofbl8g
 
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