If you see no output, that means your system does not include the Windows key in the BIOS, as is often the case with home-built PCs, devices built by a System Builder OEM, or those that were originally sold with a Windows 10 license. Open a PowerShell window and issue this command: (Get-WmiObject -query 'select * from SoftwareLicensingService').OA3xOriginalProductKey
If you want to record that product key so that you can restore Windows later, it's easy enough to do. If you re-install the same version of Windows that came with your PC, it should activate automatically. The biggest change is the absence of a product key, which was included on the holographic Certificate of Authenticity (COA) sticker with PCs that came pre-installed with Windows 7 or earlier versions.īeginning with Windows 8, that information is no longer on a COA but is instead embedded in the BIOS. If you've purchased a new PC with Windows pre-installed in the past few years, you might have noticed a few changes on the outside of the device.
