Xps 13 Reinstall Windows 10 Serial Key

  1. My XPS 13 originally shipped with Windows 8.1 Home. I upgraded to WIndows 8.1 Pro with a product key. I then migrated to Windows 10 Pro via the free upgrade route. Recently, I was having problems booting into Windows so I decided to do a clean OS reinstall.
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In previous version of Windows, whenever you installed or reinstalled your copy of Windows, you would be required to enter your product key. It looks like Microsoft has changed the activation process for Windows 10 and it will now only require it the first time. After the initial installation or upgrade, the activation status for the device will be stored online, removing the need to enter a product key for future installations.

For obvious reasons, Microsoft will not divulge such information, but Ed Bott at ZDNet has a fairly detailed write up about the process and how he thinks Microsoft is storing activation statuses online. To loosely summarize the details, when a user installs Windows 7 or 8, Microsoft creates a unique ID for that particular device based on the product key and the hardware. If you reinstall Windows on the same device, it will be activated automatically.

As mentioned before, if you’re doing the free upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7, 8, or 8.1, you can now clean install Windows 10 and activate using your old Windows product key. I just received my Dell XPS 13 (2015) QHD and immediately the first thing I did was perform a clean Windows 8.1 install. Log in or Sign up. Home Forums > Notebook Manufacturers > Dell > Dell XPS and Studio XPS > Dell XPS 13 clean install & missing driver? Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by versello, May 13. Need to reinstall boot loader on Dell XPS 13 (9343) - no dual boot. I did few dry runs with a USB install key, found out how to work around the few kinks they still have (i.e., I got the network, and the mousepad working fine) and decided to go for the full installation. Given that I do not care for Windows 8, I opted to nuke it out,. The Dell XPS 13 is ready to perform out of the box. It will come installed with a fresh copy of Windows 10 and a selection of bloatware for your entertainment. If you want to wipe the slate clean. Guide: Clean Install Windows 10, After M.2 NVMe SSD Upgrade. This guide should also apply to other Dell XPS 13 / 15 models, released after the late-2015 Intel Skylake CPU refreshes. The only thing that might change is Step 2, where the exact classification / list of drivers may be different. Choose to install Windows 10: Product Key.

For Windows 10, Microsoft introduces a program that checks your activation and stores it online. If everything checks out, Microsoft will generate a Windows 10 license that corresponds with the aforementioned unique ID along with the version of Windows you are running. Once this certificate is generated and your copy validated, Microsoft will allow you to install Windows 10 or reinstall it, without a product key. Windows 10 can allow this because the underlying verification software will understand that you are installing a valid copy of Window 10 on the same device.

Naturally, this is a step forward when it comes to preventing piracy, and it's also a bit more convenient for those that need to reinstall their copy of Windows in the future.

Windows 10 released on July 29th and is currently available as a free upgrade for those running Windows 7, 8 and 8.1. If you have yet to update, be sure to reserve your copy as the promotion will only be available for the first year. If you have not had the time to check it out, I suggest taking a look at our Windows 10 review.

Source: ZDNet

Active3 years, 5 months ago
Xps

Being impatient and willing to wait until Dell comes up with their new version with ubuntu preloaded, I am trying to install 14.04.1 on my brand new XPS 13 (9343).

Dell Xps Reinstall Windows 10

I did few dry runs with a USB install key, found out how to work around the few kinks they still have (i.e., I got the network, and the mousepad working fine) and decided to go for the full installation.

Windows 10 Reinstall Activation

Given that I do not care for Windows 8, I opted to nuke it out, and install only linux. No need for me to keep a dual boot at all. Thia apparently was a careless move, as after I completed a seemingly successfull installation, at the next reboot I get:

My guts tell me that I inadvertently removed the Windows loader and did not get grub installed so at boot time it does not find any partition where to boot from.

If I re-use the USB key I can see the drive, and its data, but I cannot run it from the HD.

How do I get from here to have grub (or any valid boot loader) to work on these UEFI hard disks?

Guido d'AmicoGuido d'Amico

5 Answers

You nuked a bit too much and deleted your UEFI partition as well: UEFI firmware does not reside in the BIOS any more, but on-disk!

Windows 10 serial key generator

Use the Dell Recovery DVD to restore your system to a workable state, then follow this: Installing Ubuntu Alongside a Pre-Installed Windows with UEFI then shrink Windows to the minimum+20% allowed size and delete it after you haven't booted to Windows for a month or so! ;-)

Oh, and have a look here as well on how to make system back-ups...

Community
FabbyFabby
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I wound up having similar trouble. Follow these steps: http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/SLN297060/en

After first reboot I had a boot profile suddenly :)

Xps 13 Reinstall Windows 10 Serial Key Replacement

Why it works, I'm not sure. It does seem that before install you turn on UEFI and secure boot etc.. The linux install does configures itself depending upon how it was booted, whether it should load via BIOS (legacy) or UEFI. But, the hardward is apparently only looking for one type, so it needs to be installed to match.

I did also upgrade the firmware to A07. I don't think that was any different, but in case I'll mention it. (To upgrade to A07, download it from: http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=28M21, throw the .exe onto a USB stick, and hit F12 on boot during the Dell log, then update/flash firmware)

LaFayetteLaFayette

You can just create an EFI partition via parted or similiar partition tools and stick your EFI boot files for Linux in there.

You aren't bound to the tiny 128MB default EFI partition Dell ships with their devices, I for one have a 512MB one created from which I boot my Arch Linux just fine.

So fret not, nuking the EFI partition isn't the end of all things.

ColdbirdColdbird
Windows 10 pro serial key

I have the Dell iso image for 14.04. Using this will get your device back to factory which includes the Dell Recovery.

Hope this helps.

NotMy1RealNameNotMy1RealName
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I had the same problem with my Dell XPS 13 9343. In the end I went into the setup utility (by pressing F2) and under 'General -> Boot Sequence' clicked 'Add Boot Option', found grub and added it.

Initially it still wouldn't boot because apparently the loader didn't have the correct certificates for SecureBoot, but I turned that off (under 'SecureBoot' option) and it seemed to work.

This may for some reason be bad advice, in which case please let me know, but it worked for me.

user453926user453926

Reinstall Windows 10 Using Product Key

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