1.

Solve : Deactivate windows 10?

Answer»

I have windows 10 on my macbook pro. However IM selling my machine and WISH to deactivate the key so i can activate it on my replacement machine.

How would one go about that? The key is a windows 8 key that i had bought and it was upgraded from 8 to 10.

ThanksI may be wrong, but I do not think Microsoft allows you to remove Windows from one machine and transfer it to another. Not for an upgrade from an OEM version. When you upgrade, the new version now becomes part of the original OEM license. 
If you want a portable version of Windows 10, you must buy Windows 10 at the full price.

This question also comes up when one wants to transfer Microsoft Office to another computer. You can do so only under certain conditions. Read this article:
Transfer license to a new computer
The principal would apply to the Windows OS also. You do not get a free lunch. You have to pay for what you get. Quote from: comda on April 24, 2016, 11:50:03 AM

The key is a windows 8 key that i had bought
If this was a full retail key you can follow the instructions here to remove it from the machine you are going to sell, and install it on another machine

http://www.howtogeek.com/124286/how-to-uninstall-your-windows-product-key-before-you-sell-your-pc/

Or here

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/deactivate-uninstall-windows-product-key

Sell it without the HDD...or remove yours and put a blank one in...

I've sold many 2nd hand PC's thru the years...that's how i do it. Quote from: patio on April 24, 2016, 02:34:29 PM
Sell it without the HDD...or remove yours and put a blank one in...

I've sold many 2nd hand PC's thru the years...that's how i do it.

This is a Macbook Pro with a retina. Im not tearing it apart. Quote from: Salmon Trout on April 24, 2016, 01:21:58 PM
If this was a full retail key you can follow the instructions here to remove it from the machine you are going to sell, and install it on another machine

http://www.howtogeek.com/124286/how-to-uninstall-your-windows-product-key-before-you-sell-your-pc/

Or here

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/deactivate-uninstall-windows-product-key

Thank you very much. I used something similar but same idea...

"You can deauthorize windows on your computer by reverting it to trial mode
This is how to do it press Windows key + X click Command Prompt (Admin)
at the command prompt, type: slmgr.vbs -upk
hit Enter, this will uninstall the product key from the computer and set it back to trial mode, you can now USE it on another computer.."



Quote from: Geek-9pm on April 24, 2016, 12:27:10 PM
I may be wrong, but I do not think Microsoft allows you to remove Windows from one machine and transfer it to another. Not for an upgrade from an OEM version. When you upgrade, the new version now becomes part of the original OEM license. 
If you want a portable version of Windows 10, you must buy Windows 10 at the full price.

This question also comes up when one wants to transfer Microsoft Office to another computer. You can do so only under certain conditions. Read this article:
Transfer license to a new computer
The principal would apply to the Windows OS also. You do not get a free lunch. You have to pay for what you get.

This was a retail code that our school provides our students. Obviously a mac does not sell with a windows key. Nor will i be selling it with my windows key

THANKS FOR THE HELP EVERYONE Quote from: comda on April 24, 2016, 04:05:28 PM
This is a Macbook Pro with a retina. Im not tearing it apart.

Well excuse me...
LOL Just saying, its one of apples tight thin ones, so that isnt really an option.. But still thanks for the help Patio. Before selling it I'd follow the instructions here to fully wipe the machine and install a clean copy of OS X. http://osxdaily.com/2014/12/14/reinstall-os-x-mac-internet-recovery/.  When doing that make sure you go into disk utility and remove any Windows disk partitions by repartitioning the disk to a SINGLE partition.  This will remove all your data including the Windows install and set up a fresh copy of OS X for the next owner.

You don't explicitly need to remove the product key, wiping the machine will prevent the next owner from using the Windows install leaving you free to use the key elsewhere.  Worst case if you move the key around too much is that it will no longer activate online and instead you'll have to activate using the automated phone system although I have never had this fail even on copies I've reinstalled dozens of times.

Quote from: patio on April 24, 2016, 02:34:29 PM
Sell it without the HDD...or remove yours and put a blank one in...

I've sold many 2nd hand PC's thru the years...that's how i do it.
Those rMBPs use very high end mSATA or M.2 PCIe SSDs - They are very expensive to replace, selling a machine without one will knock a huge amount off of a still pretty valuable system.


Discussion

No Comment Found