When we turn on the desktop PC that we have on our desk, or the laptop, in most cases it is based on a Windows system. Not in vain at the moment Windows 10 is the most used and widespread operating system on these computers around the globe, and by far.
To all this we can add the fact that these market penetration figures are constantly growing, something from which Microsoft benefits directly. But of course, as most of you know first-hand, this is a software proposal that is not free. Depending on the version of Windows 10 for which we choose, their prices start at the moment from 145 euros for the Home .
Precisely for all this, there are still many users around the world who refuse to enter through the hoop and use the most recent version of the system. In this way, many of these are kept with older versions such as Windows 7 or 8.1, or they look for other alternatives. This is where the many free Linux distributions we can get our hands on right now come into play.
When is it advisable to make a copy of the Windows 10 license
Those prices to which we have referred before, we have to pay in order to have a Windows license to work on our PC. Say that to acquire one of these Windows licenses, we have several options to choose from. Thus, we can use the official Microsoft store for all this, or through other distributors. What’s more, at this point to say that one of the most widespread ways in this case is to do it with a new team.
With this, what we achieve is to buy a new computer that already comes with Windows 10 installed with an OEM license . Therefore we can say that the license is basically a product key that is entered in Windows 10 to identify it as your own. At the same time we will tell you that in the event that we have an OEM license like the one we have just mentioned, it does not make much sense to make a backup. The reason for this is that it is associated with the specific hardware of the equipment purchased. However, if we have a license that we buy separately, the coa changes.
And it is that in this case it is not associated with the hardware in which we work every day and that is part of the PC where we use it. Therefore, here it is possible that at some point it is lost, so in this case we should make a backup copy. And if we have a backup copy of this purchased Windows 10 key, we can use it later if it is lost.
How to backup Windows 10 key
Having said all this that we are commenting on, regardless of the type of license we have, we are going to show you how to make a backup copy of it. For this we can use various methods, but we are going to show you the two fastest as well as effective. This will actually allow us to save that operating system product key in case a disaster occurs on the PC and we lose access.
In this way, if we have the possibility to use it again on another computer , in the case that it is not an OEM, we will still be able to access it. Of course, something that we must bear in mind is that these product keys are specific for each of the Windows 10 editions. Therefore, a Windows 10 Home key will not be able to activate an installation of Windows 10 Pro, for example.
In the same way, it is important to know the edition of the system that we have before saving that backup. To do this, we access the Configuration application through the Win + I key combination. Then we go to System / About to see the Windows edition in the Windows Specifications section.
Similarly, what is irrelevant here is the architecture we use. That is, it does not matter whether we have a 32-bit or 64- bit Windows 10. A key for the Home edition will work regardless of said architecture.
Link Windows 10 with a Microsoft account
Another possible solution that we can use in this case is by linking our Windows system with a Microsoft account . And we must bear in mind that during the installation of Windows 10 we are asked to enter the product key that we are talking about. Thus, once we have typed it, later on in another moment of the installation it asks us to log in with a user account. This is where we must use an account of the same Microsoft, since in this way we achieve that the product key is linked to it.
In this way, if we format our computer for whatever reason, we just have to start the new installation of the Redmond operating system with the same Microsoft user account. In this way the new Windows 10 will be activated without having to enter the previously associated product key . Therefore, as we see, this is a very interesting solution, hence it is always advisable to use accounts of the same signature in Windows 10.
License backup from Windows itself
Well, at this point, the first thing we should know is that we can get hold of the Windows 10 product key easily from the system itself. For this we are going to use the CMD or Command Prompt, where we use a certain command that will help us. To access this element that we are commenting on, the first thing is to open one of these windows, yes, with administrator permissions. We only have to type CMD in the Windows search box, and in the entry, right-click to execute with administrator permissions.
Thus, in the new window that appears on the screen , we will only have to type the following command: wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey.
This will return us as output, the original key of our operating system. Therefore then we only have to mark it with the mouse and copy with the key combination Ctrl + C. After that we open any text editor, such as Notepad , and paste that key with Ctrl + V. We name the new one file and save it in a safe place, like in the cloud or on a USB memory. Being a backup , it does not make much sense to save it on the same drive where we have the system.
Make a copy of the Windows key with other programs
In the event that you have a problem with this command, or it is more convenient for you to use external programs, we will also help you. For this we can also use a free solution called ProduKey that we can download from this link . It is also a portable application that we do not even have to install.
We just have to run it on the Redmond system , so that a window opens with the keys to the firm’s products, including Windows.
Then we only have to right-click on the entry that interests us and select Copy Product Key. This copies that key to the clipboard, so that we can follow the same steps described above.