Activating Dell Windows 11 after reinstall of regular Windows 11 pro

Posted by HJForsythe@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 27 comments

Hi, We received a bunch of Dell PCs with Windows 11 licenses and we reinstalled them using regular Windows 11 pro media. We appear to be unable to activate them even though it does appear that the systems have product keys assigned. Dell's documentation seems to indicate that there is some way to get an actual real product key for this but working with their tech support has not yielded any results. Is there any way to just get it to activate or should we just return them? We have no interest in using Dell's custom Windows 11 image.

Reply to Post

27 Comments

[-]

boondoggie42@reddit

Were they Dell Windows 11 *Pro* licenses? The scenario you're describing sounds like they were bought with Home. I re-image Dell PCs bought with Win11 Pro with Win11 Pro media regularly and never have a problem.

[-]

HJForsythe@reddit (OP)

Yes, Windows 11 Pro they are Dell Pro Tower business PCs. Do you re-image them with Dell's custom OEM windows image? otherwise according to their support what you're doing shouldn't work. it says this on the product specs for one of the PCs 619-BBQD : Windows 11 Pro 3 rows available Part Number Description Quantity 85MR7 LBL,GML,MS,OS,WINDOWS11 1 R3G96 DPK,W11,PRO 1 GMFF7 INFO,WIN,PRO 1

[-]

boondoggie42@reddit

Just with a downloaded ISO from Microsoft on USB. I've never had a problem on Win7/10/11, ever since they went to bios activation.

[-]

HJForsythe@reddit (OP)

damn maybe mine are messed up or something then. I'm really not sure when i look in 'activation' it even shows it has like the last 5 digits of a product key it just won't activate.

[-]

anonymousITCoward@reddit

If you're using the dell os recovery tool there are known issues with Win11 and specific models for the support assist os recovery, if it fails Dell usually recommends to use the ISO from MS.

[-]

HJForsythe@reddit (OP)

This worked I got the Product key from the BIOS by using Get-CimInstance -ClassName SoftwareLicensingService and it let me activate it without issue from there.

[-]

anonymousITCoward@reddit

here's one liner for you (Get-CimInstance -ClassName SoftwareLicensingService).OA3xOriginalProductKey

[-]

HJForsythe@reddit (OP)

yea i figured that out quickly it was just easier to look at the whole container first

[-]

anonymousITCoward@reddit

definitely took me a few times before I gave it a home in my cheat sheet lol

[-]

HJForsythe@reddit (OP)

im honestly not sure why dell cant just put the actual product key in the order info instead of an integer that refers to the actual key lol :)

[-]

anonymousITCoward@reddit

most manufacturers stopped using the stickers to prevent bootlegging of the OS's

[-]

HJForsythe@reddit (OP)

oh i wasnt even talkin about stickers just put it in their license portal haha

[-]

ZAFJB@reddit

My guess: PCs are licenced for Home.

[-]

RubAnADUB@reddit

The reason this failed because win11 dell oem keys are not the same as win11 pro keys. why dont you download the dell recovery tool using these instructions -> [Factory Reset, Restore, or Reinstall Microsoft Windows on a Dell computer | Dell US](https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000124379/factory-reset-restore-or-reinstall-microsoft-windows-on-a-dell-computer?msockid=0385329bfe2b6aab248724ffff9d6b45) you can create a bootable usb key. and reinstall the "dell image". which will be all nice and activated for you. Is there a reason you reinstalled in the first place?

[-]

ender-_@reddit

This hasn't been true at least since Windows 7 (no idea about Vista). From Windows 10 onwards, you can just install without a key, and it'll activate automatically (though regular 10 and 11 media should pick the license from BIOS automatically, and not even show you the key or edition selection page during install).

[-]

HJForsythe@reddit (OP)

These ones acted like they had a key applied after I reinstalled Windows but activation failed so I had to run the command in the original post to get the actual key and after I did that it worked. So I don't know.

[-]

ender-_@reddit

Weird, I always do clean installs from generic media when setting up new machines for clients, and they just activate once they're connected to the internet.

[-]

HJForsythe@reddit (OP)

These machines had never been booted before or connected to the Internet until after I reinstalled them so I'm not sure if that plays a role here or not.

[-]

ender-_@reddit

It doesn't – I take the machine out of the box and boot it directly to the installer (and only connect Ethernet once I reach the desktop).

[-]

HJForsythe@reddit (OP)

I got the Product key from the BIOS by using Get-CimInstance -ClassName SoftwareLicensingService and it let me activate it without issue from there.

[-]

HJForsythe@reddit (OP)

We dont as a policy use 3rd party OS images.. would be the primary reason.

[-]

Master-IT-All@reddit

There is something a little odd occurring for you based on my experience. If you've activated Windows 11 Professional on these at least once before, then any reinstall regardless of the media choice should result in the same Windows 11 Professional being activated. Example: I have two Lenovo PCs that came with Windows 11 Home, I purchased the Windows 11 Pro upgrade license and activated on these machines. Now, when I reinstall with the Windows 11 ISO download I always get Windows 11 Pro activated automatically. I have the same thing for multiple customer laptops, if they need a wipe and reinstall from media the activation just happens automatically. \- I wonder if maybe the devices hadn't been activated yet before you wiped them and that is the reason?

[-]

HJForsythe@reddit (OP)

You could be right. These new PCs had never been booted before. We boot them to BIOS get the MAC set the filter on DHCP and then image them ourselves. They never went into the factory Windows install at all and certainly never while on our network. I don't really know if they "activate" them at the factory or what but like I said once I used the powershell command to get the keys from the BIOS everything was A-OK.

[-]

St0nywall@reddit

I will guess you reimaged with a volume licensed Windows 11 Pro media. Those computers come with licenses for Windows 11 Pro OEM, which won't activate a volume version. You can do one of two things. (1) add the KMS key to AD for Windows 11 Pro volume activation or (2) make a new image that uses Windows 11 Pro OEM as its base. Bear in mind I guessed here, you can find out what installed version of your OS you have installed by running `slmgr /dli` and `slmgr /xpr`.

[-]

HJForsythe@reddit (OP)

I got the Product key from the BIOS by using Get-CimInstance -ClassName SoftwareLicensingService and it let me activate it without issue from there.

[-]

GoodTofuFriday@reddit

if it had pro then it would have activated. Windows activation is tied to motherboard ID. those machines must have had home. if you want a cheaper path youd have to image Home back on them and upgrade to pro using the store or physically like with bestbuy win 11 key cards.

[-]

HJForsythe@reddit (OP)

There is no evidence that what you are saying is true on the order from dell it says this: 619-BBQD : Windows 11 Pro 3 rows available Part Number Description Quantity 85MR7 LBL,GML,MS,OS,WINDOWS11 1 R3G96 DPK,W11,PRO 1 GMFF7 INFO,WIN,PRO 1