Question about win10

[narcoleps]

My HDD died and I have an issue I just thought of. I originally had win 7 but when they rolled out the free updates I upgraded to win10. I still have my key for my copy of Windows. What do I need to do to get win10 back.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Probably, if you follow the directions in the following guide, you can activate using your old product key. IF you registered your Windows installation to a valid Microsoft account, then you already have a digital entitlement.

You should read all of the following:

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-3567655/clean-installation-windows.html

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/20530/windows-10-reactivating-after-hardware-change

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3164428/windows-build-1607-activation.html

 

[narcoleps]

I did have it registered to an account. What is an entitlement?

 

[Darkbreeze]

A digital license (called a digital entitlement in Windows 10, Version 1511 and later versions) is a method of activation in Windows 10 that doesn't require you to enter a product key. If you upgraded to Windows 10 for free from an activated copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, you should have a digital license instead of a product key.