Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

Question

windows 10 key request

Jul 21, 2016 5:43PM PDT

My wife's machine ran with windows 7 and then got updated to windows 10. My wife was gone for about 3 weeks, during that time the machine worked fine. Today my wife returned. She turned on her machine and it came up. She said firefox had a LOT of tabs open. I used the machine whilst she was gone and I never left firefox with a bunch of open tabs. Anyway, then it put a block up asking for the windows 10 key. When windows was updated there was never, as far as I know, a new key for windows 10. Anyway, along with the request for the windows 10 key there was a phone number to call. The phone number was, they said, to windows support in california. They said that there was a conflict between windows 7 and windows 10 security. Their solution was to send me an expert to fix the machine for 290.00 At that point, after listening to endless talk (hard to understand as these people were Indians, I think). Anyway, I now have a machine that will not run. I do not have a windows 10 key (never got one after the upgrade). I do, however, have a windows 7 disk with the windows 7 key.

Anyway, given the above does anybody have any idea of how I can deal with this?

Thank you............

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Answer
Use the win 7 disc then upgrade. It' a scam.
Jul 21, 2016 5:52PM PDT

Dafydd.

- Collapse -
Answer
You clicked on the wrong thing
Jul 21, 2016 5:57PM PDT

You have malware on the machine. Sounds like someone clicked on something that they shouldn't have.
If you have a backup HDD clone/image ( which you should have ), now is the time to use it.
Otherwise you need to run a number of programs to clean off the malware.

- Collapse -
Answer
It sounds like the usual web hijack and scam to me too.
Jul 21, 2016 5:59PM PDT

If you let them remote in or followed their instructions my bet is the machine is far worse off than it was prior to the call.

If you forgot to save your files, the cheap exit is a new HDD. Leave the old HDD out and do the fresh install and you may not have to get a W10 key. Just last week I used Microsoft's Media Creation Kit to make a Windows 10 USB KEY for a machine that was in sad shape. IN that case no files needed to be saved so I booted off the USB W10 key and reset W10.

Took about 20 minutes.

- Collapse -
PS. Re-confirmed.
Jul 23, 2016 7:53AM PDT

Yesterday another blown Windows 10 OS so I took my USB key made with the Media Creation Kit and did a full install, skipping the license key (clicked on I don't have it.)

After the install and being connected to the internet I checked the My Computer, Properties and it reported Windows 10 is activated. I'm done.

- Collapse -
Answer
When you upgrade to WIndows 10 there is no
Jul 22, 2016 5:29AM PDT

key like with Windows 8.1 and below. MS uses digital entitlement which is a unique number that is created by the hardware you have and stored on the Windows servers. The only Key for Windows 10 is if you buy the full blown retail or OEM full install disks or download.

- Collapse -
I agree - hacked
Jul 22, 2016 10:38AM PDT

Thank you for all the replies...........

My wife had a problem and let somebody take over her machine. I think that's what happened.By the time she told me and I shut it down I suspect the damange was done. The number they want called is 1 877 256 3313

I am going to try and use a boot dvd I have and then clean the drive. If that doesn't work I will put in a new drive, reinstall, and then try and get what I need off the bad drive.