Caution : Windows license

Skynet

Administrator
If you install another OS on the Z83-4 C, such as Libreelec or Linux, you may lose your Windows license which can not be recovered, including from the Minix technical service.

Minix does not keep individual Windows license numbers.
Remember to make a backup before installing another OS, or back up your Windows license.

Here are some free tools to recover and note the Windows Key :
https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html
https://github.com/Superfly-Inc/ShowKeyPlus/releases/tag/ShowKeyPlus6594
https://neosmart.net/OemKey/

Please note it before installing any other OS (Libreelec, Ubuntu, custom rom ...)
 
Last edited:
After installing Ubuntu I have reinstalled windows. It took te windows keys from the bios and so the windows install was directly activated.

KAR
 
Hello
I can make my minix normal z83-4 in pro version?
I have a broken my pc with windows pro license can I use it for the "normal" z83-4 minix and make it pro?
 
Hello
I can make my minix normal z83-4 in pro version?
I have a broken my pc with windows pro license can I use it for the "normal" z83-4 minix and make it pro?

I think it could work (never tried). Install a Pro version and use your own key.
You will need Z84-4 drivers.
 
ok but before trying I would be sure not to make disasters ... because if it were so simple to become pro ... why are there different bios? is the machine the same? or not?
 
ok but before trying I would be sure not to make disasters ... because if it were so simple to become pro ... why are there different bios? is the machine the same? or not?

Pro versions are delivered with Z83-4 pro version.
Changing serial number in your actual version with a pro serial won't work. You need to install a full Win10 pro version before adding your own serial number.
I never tried it before so i won't recommand it.

Maybe @MINIX – Martin or @MINIX - John can answer.
 
ok but before trying I would be sure not to make disasters ... because if it were so simple to become pro ... why are there different bios? is the machine the same? or not?
You should be able to change the Product Key!




Make a backup of the current Windows 10 key first.
 
thank you villa
but then will there be a need to change bios? from v1.8 to v1.1 for the pro? becomes in effect pro?
thank you
 
thank you villa
but then will there be a need to change bios? from v1.8 to v1.1 for the pro? becomes in effect pro?
thank you
I have no idea!

I would have thought the BIOS should be the same as it is the same hardware!
I don't see how the BIOS has any bearing on the OS?
 
Windows 10 comes in many different versions and USES: retail, OEM, etc.
I think the problem is not with the BIOS version, but what version of the Windows product license key is stored in the BIOS of NEO Z83-4.
Installing other operating systems should not affect the Windows product license key stored in the NEO Z83-4 BIOS. Unless the software can change the parameters in the BIOS.
 
Last edited:
Hello
I can make my minix normal z83-4 in pro version?
I have a broken my pc with windows pro license can I use it for the "normal" z83-4 minix and make it pro?

If you have the necessary Windows 10 Pro product license keys it’s possible to update NEO Z83-4 to this OS version.
You need to go to ‘Settings’ > ‘About’ > ‘Change product key or upgrade your edition or Windows’.
 
Ok alexkyl2018 thanks..
Now the question is when you go to Windows Pro the BIOS you have to change it from v 1.8 to v 1.1 for the pro?
In PCs this does not happen when you switch from home to Pro.
 
NEO Z83-4 Pro BIOS v1.1 is the first bios version.

Z83-4 and Z83-4 Pro is the Z83 series, just the windows version is different.
 
Last edited:
Just my 2ct, after wiping my Z83-4 Pro and installing Linux (without saving the key first - I forgot), I could easily recover the Win 10 Pro license key from /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/MSDM.
I have also successfully used the key to install a Windows 10 Pro I downloaded from Microsoft in a QEMU virtual machine (as a side-note, by copying the contents of the above table into a file and supplying it to qemu with -acpitable, I could install Win10 without even needing to enter the key), where I use it now instead (figuring it to be legal, as long as I use the key for only one single installation).
 
It seems to me there is some confusion about losing the Windows 10 OEM Licence when installing Linux.
As far as I know about OEM licences :

- The PC arrives with a ticket for its authorization on the MS servers that is located on the disk.
- The ticket is normally used when the PC is first connected to the internet and the OS can register the PC on the MS servers.
- The PC is identified by MS by mean of an ID generated on the base of the HW installed on the PC. The ID support a limited number of HW changes and then is gone, and the licence together with it. But in our case you should modify your Minix HW... hard to do.
- Once connected to MS servers and PC has been authorized first time, The Windows 10 licence is transferred to the MS servers and will not be on your PC anymore. You can download an iso of windows 10 from MS and install it in your PC. The servers will keep authorizing the PC with the registered ID.

So if your Minix had previously registered once on MS server using the ticket present on the disk, then your Minix will not lose the licence whatever you do.
If you go straight to Linux, erasing your disk before registering on MS servers, or if you did not connect to the internet once, before moving to Linux, then your licence is gone.

Serial numbers in BIOS were used with Windows 7, but people was able to inject in the BIOS a manufacturer's serial number and obtain an apparently legal but illegal licence for that PC, fully working. I don't know what happened in Windows 8.x as I never used it. With windows 10 definitely Microsoft abandoned that strategy and BIOS now should not be used to set or identify a Windows licence.
 
Well there are certain ways to recover the Key, one of the easiest is to simply login with your Microsoft account and if the key is associated with your account as a Digital License, it will activate it automatically. Personally I love this feature, so I don't have to keep track of all the keys.
Resource: https://validedge.com/windows-key-not-working/
 
Last edited:
Installing another OS on Z83-4 C may cause a loss of Windows license, backup, or save it. Minix doesn't save Windows license numbers. Make sure to backup your Windows license before installing another OS, to avoid losing it. As an option, seek advice on Reddit communities mentioning the "windows 10 key reddit" before making any changes.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top