Limitations of unactivated Windows, in some detail??

Scannerman said:

A grey key is a generic term for a license key that isn't precisely legitimate but isn't exactly illegal either. It's an old term but I'm an old guy so. . .

A good UPS retailer will provide adequate instruction on how to replace the batteries. A camera is all that is needed to record the date and illustrate the condition of a battery, as well as serial # etc.

Sine Wave UPS

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I was hoping to catch you before you replied, but I meant my laptop batteries swelled up at the same time on the same day and the electric company had no clue why. If I would have had some recording of the grid power conditions then I could have showed them what happened.

See here: Easier than RUFUS ??

Win711 said:

I was hoping to catch you before you replied, but I meant my laptop batteries swelled up at the same time on the same day and the electric company had no clue why. If I would have had some recording of the grid power conditions then I could have showed them what happened.

See here: Easier than RUFUS ??

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Yeah, I just saw the pictures. Clearly those were defective batteries and I would have demanded a refund after a year. I would have made a lot of noise about it; but we're talking about UPS here and I have no idea if your laptop batteries went like that from power spikes or if a power surge caused it. They are supposed to have built in protection from that sort of thing. At any rate if that's what caused it a UPS would have prevented it because it would have never reached your batteries if it was drawing from the rectified power on your UPS.

Okay, let's cut to the chase:

There is NO difference between a Windows 10 key and a Windows 11 key. A Windows 10 key is also a Windows 11 key, and a Windows 11 key is also a Windows 10 key.

Since you have Windows 10 activated with a digital license attached to your account, when you install Windows 11, either clean, or as an upgrade, it will be able to activate automatically. Note that since the keys for 10 / 11 are identical, you can always revert back to 10 if you wanted and it would activate automatically.

Since licensing see Windows 10 and 11 as being the same exact thing, installing Win 11 on what was previously a Win 10 is no different than reinstalling Windows 10.

If you are performing a clean install, during the installation just tell it that you do not have a product key.

I reinstall Windows over and over again my systems (lots of testing) and I NEVER need a key. In fact, once I activate a machine, I throw out the key. I will never ever need it again. I've been doing this for years.

Summary

What you need: Windows installation media and your drivers (you can export all drivers to make this easier, then just reimport on the new install).

What you DON'T need: A license key, any third party utilities like Rufus (unless you are installing on unsupported hardware).

hsehestedt said:

What you DON'T need: A license key, any third party utilities like Rufus (unless you are installing on unsupported hardware).

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User preference. Rufus is still handy for cutting out the bloatware the OP referred to as "annoyances". Rufus is good for installing on supported software too. The OP may have wished to keep their Win 10 licensed. They can't keep both operating systems licensed on the same PC running with the same key.

Scannerman said:

Yeah, I just saw the pictures. Clearly those were defective batteries and I would have demanded a refund after a year. I would have made a lot of noise about it; but we're talking about UPS here and I have no idea if your laptop batteries went like that from power spikes or if a power surge caused it. They are supposed to have built in protection from that sort of thing. At any rate if that's what caused it a UPS would have prevented it because it would have never reached your batteries if it was drawing from the rectified power on your UPS.

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The UPS may have saved the laptops, but I probably wouldn't have had the laptops plugged into a UPS, unless it's a whole house UPS, which I've thought about because power spikes also hurt compressors. The fancy UPS I want is for the desktop in my specs with the MSI power supply, and if it could record the grid conditions then I could call the power company whenever I notice something wrong. It's a co-op so they're supposed to be helpful I guess.

After the laptop batteries swelled I called them out, but they checked everything and found nothing wrong. They even had me try to tighten the bolts on the main lines coming in to breaker box while the power was off, but they were already tighter than I could budge them. I handed them the swelled batteries and said "How do 2 laptop batteries fail at the same time?" If I could have showed them a spike in the power around that time then they might have an idea about what to check.

The whole time an old HP laptop with the cylinder batteries was plugged in and never had a problem, so I'm not sure where to but the blame. I've also seen a couple of friends' smartphones swell up, so I'm assuming all new batteries are prone to that. I guess half the blame goes on the grid and half on the new style of batteries.

Win711 said:

The UPS may have saved the laptops, but I probably wouldn't have had the laptops plugged into a UPS, unless it's a whole house UPS, which I've thought about because power spikes also hurt compressors. The fancy UPS I want is for the desktop in my specs with the MSI power supply, and if it could record the grid conditions then I could call the power company whenever I notice something wrong. It's a co-op so they're supposed to be helpful I guess.

After the laptop batteries swelled I called them out, but they checked everything and found nothing wrong. They even had me try to tighten the bolts on the main lines coming in to breaker box while the power was off, but they were already tighter than I could budge them. I handed them the swelled batteries and said "How do 2 laptop batteries fail at the same time?" If I could have showed them a spike in the power around that time then they might have an idea about what to check.

The whole time an old HP laptop with the cylinder batteries was plugged in and never had a problem, so I'm not sure where to but the blame. I've also seen a couple of friends' smartphones swell up, so I'm assuming all new batteries are prone to that. I guess half the blame goes on the grid and half on the new style of batteries.

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Yeah, I don't much care for those lithium bag batteries either. They're notorious for issues like the one you shared. Can't stand in the way of progress but one could always be a bit of a stick in the mud. When it comes to laptops I prefer the old fashioned battery modules that just snap in. Alas, I broke down and got an OTVOC. The price was right for what it is but if I ever tire of it I can always give it to one of my daughters.

Scannerman said:

When it comes to laptops I prefer the old fashioned battery modules that just snap in.

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I actually prefer a thicker laptop with a heavier base that goes with those types of batteries. The new battery style is to make the device thinner.

Scannerman said:

I broke down and got an OTVOC.

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Looks like a good laptop! Reminds me of my gateways but with more ram. I wouldn't leave it plugged in all the time lol

Scannerman said:

They can't keep both operating systems licensed on the same PC running with the same key.

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Actually, yes you can. You can install an unlimited number of OSes on the same PC with a single license. In fact, no need to install a license. Once one is installed and activated, even if that instance has been wiped from the system, it will auto activate all additional installations. Windows has no clue that there are other installations of Windows. It simply sees that there is a digital license for that machine and activates.

The one limitation is that they all need to be the same edition as what was activated (Home, Pro, etc.).

EDIT: This DOES NOT apply to VMs because they see different virtual hardware. This applies only to installation on the physical hardware or in Native Boot VHDs.