One of the most challenging aspects of Windows 10 leading up to and following its launch in late July of this year was that Windows 7/8 product keys could not be used to directly activate the freshly installed operating system.
This meant users had to initially upgrade their Windows 7/8.1 system and then verify it was upgraded before performing a clean install using upgrade media and ISOs. This process insured the hardware had a digital entitlement and from that point a fresh install was possible on that same hardware.
Last week, with the release of the November Update for Windows 10, users no longer have to go through that initial upgrade process and obtaining that digital entitlement to perform a clean install on a Windows 7 or 8.1 system.
All users have to do now is initiate the clean install using the Media Creation Tool from Microsoft and Windows 10 will now accept a Windows 7/8 product key to activate the system in this latest release.
The product key can be entered during the installation process or afterwards through the Settings app. This gallery will walk you through those steps for activating Windows 10 with your Windows 7 or 8 key in the Settings app.
