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On Windows 10 and Windows 11, the activation process can also generate a "digital entitlement", which allows the operating system's hardware and license status to be saved to the activation servers, so that the operating system's license can automatically be restored after a clean installation without the need to enter a product key.
If the product key used for activation is lost, then product key finders, readily available on the Internet, can decrypt the key from a local installation, however only SLP keys allow the user to avoid activation upon re-installation. [2] In the SLP 2.x implementations, BIOS report the ACPI SLIC table to the operating system.
Windows 10 is the last version of Microsoft Windows that supports 32-bit processors (IA-32 and ARMv7-based). Furthermore, it's the last non-IoT edition to officially lack a CPU whitelist [30] and support BIOS firmware. [31] [32] It's also the last to officially support systems with TPM 1.2 or without any TPM at all.
At the time of launch, Microsoft deemed Windows 7 (with Service Pack 1) and Windows 8.1 users eligible to upgrade to Windows 10 free of charge, so long as the upgrade took place within one year of Windows 10's initial release date. Windows RT and the respective Enterprise editions of Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 were excluded from this offer.
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In one form, product activation refers to a method invented by Ric Richardson and patented (U.S. patent 5,490,216) by Uniloc where a software application hashes hardware serial numbers and an ID number specific to the product's license (a product key) to generate a unique installation ID.
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Product key on a Proof of License Certificate of Authenticity for Windows Vista Home Premium. A product key, also known as a software key, serial key or activation key, is a specific software-based key for a computer program. It certifies that the copy of the program is original. Product keys consist of a series of numbers and/or letters.