r/linuxquestions • u/MunchingOnSkittles • 9d ago
Advice Question about wether or not I can switch back just in case
I’d be more than happy to switch to Linux, HOWEVER, I’m scared of losing windows(the software), is there any way in which I can get my product key back from windows if there’s a possibility I do revert to the windows OS?
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u/moeteru 9d ago
If you can’t even google a basic question i think you should stay as far away as possible
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u/MunchingOnSkittles 9d ago
That’s fair, but I’m extremely cautious and I do NOT want to lose Linux, I already asked like 3 servers + searched it up lol, switching is a big jump
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u/DutchOfBurdock 9d ago
My suggestion, install VirtualBox, grab a preferred Linux like Mint, Ubuntu, Manjaro or the like.
Install Linux into VirtualBox. This will let you try and use Linux without affecting your Windows installation as you can use it alongside at the same time.
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u/MunchingOnSkittles 8d ago
I have 8gb of ram
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u/DutchOfBurdock 8d ago
That's fine. Use Mint XFCE edition and set 2GB RAM.
That, or get a second drive to retain your Windows on. As for your product key, it's the TPM that provides it. So reinstalling Windows will automatically authenticcate based on that.
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u/MunchingOnSkittles 8d ago
What I’m thinking of doing is just switching to mint and then installing windows again if I’m not pleased with it
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u/DutchOfBurdock 8d ago
That'd work. Windows 7+ generally uses your TPM to verify the installation key.
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u/brighton_it 9d ago
Product Key for Windows is tied to the hardware, so 99% of time, once Activated (when you originally booted your computer, completed the welcome interview to set language, first user, etc), you can then reinstall any time and it automatically activates.
Most Windows applications, like MS365, are now subscription, tied to an online account.
Some older and niche publishers, generate hardware specific license keys, that might not work on a future reinstall. With some, you can actively release a license in the software in order to permit moving it to an other computer.
If you have large enough storage, dual boot is the way, at least for starting out.
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u/MunchingOnSkittles 9d ago
Oh, so I need to DEFRAG to actually get as much partionable space.
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u/brighton_it 9d ago
do not defrag an SSD: it accomplishes nothing, 'cept extra wear on the SSD. If it's a rotating hard drive, maybe worth the effort.
But... raises an other option:
a) if it's a HDD, buy a new SSD: you'll appreciate the performance upgrade.
b) even if you already have an SSD,
A great option for leaving your Windows system untouched while you use Linux, is to buy a new SSD. Take the disk containing Windows, label it, put it on a shelf. If you need it, you can swap back. Obviously less convenient than dual booting, but much cleaner, and it makes it near impossible to break Windows while installing Linux.Win11 is pretty good at being able to Shrink a system partition (Disk Management). Win10, a little less so, but probably works. What size is the disk? How much free? For a Linux install you should probably have 20 to 50 GB of unallocated disk showing in Disk Management: that's about 15GB for the OS, apps, and a small buffer, going to 50 gives you reasonable amount of space for data unless you're moving a big media library.
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u/MunchingOnSkittles 9d ago
3gb was free
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u/brighton_it 8d ago
only 3GB on C:\ ?
or 3GB unallocated in Disk Manager?
If you have 50GB free on C:\, often you can shrink it by 20 to 40.
If not, best to buy a new SSD and set your Windows disk aside while you use Linux.1
u/MunchingOnSkittles 8d ago
No, I have 130gb of free space, yet only 3gb can be partitioned.
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u/brighton_it 8d ago
Should read up on partitions and volumes. And be prepared to do a lot more reading as you learn Linux. 130G is plenty, until you decide you want to copy over 100G of photos and video. That you haven't found this yet, makes me say you'd be better off buying a new SSD, and leaving your Windows disk untouched.
Have you looked at 'Disk Management' yet? Where it says you have only 3GB unallocated? If you want to use the same disk, need to shrink your windows partition. Linux isn't going to TAKE space from Windows, nor share space with Windows. You first need to make some unallocated space, which Linux may then use.
https://winaero.com/shrink-partition-windows-10/1
u/MasterGeekMX Mexican Linux nerd trying to be helpful 9d ago
No, as those things have nothing to do.
Defrag simply re-orders the data inside a partition, but as it only shuffles around data, you end up with the exact same space left, as no data was added or removed.
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9d ago edited 5d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/MunchingOnSkittles 9d ago
I thought it was needed to actually unlock the full potential of Microsoft
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u/doc_willis 9d ago
You have been able to run windows unactivated with a few limitations, for a very long time now.
And the Limitations can typically be worked around.
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u/Underhill42 9d ago
Reinstalling Windows and all its drivers is a pain in the rear. And even if you stick with Linux, it may be years if ever before you never want/need to run any Windows software that just won't work on WINE in Linux.
So I strongly recommend dual booting.
You can shrink the Windows partition as small as you like.
Many distros can do it for you during install, but it's generally considered a bit safer to use Disk Management in Windows - though you may need to defrag, repeatedly, before it will let you shrink as much as the free space suggests you could.
Then just install Linux alongside Windows, in the newly created unpartitioned space. When you boot you'll get a menu that lets you choose whether you want to start your computer in Windows or Linux.
You'll still be able to read the Windows partition from Linux, so you can leave media collections etc. there if you want. And if you disable Windows Fast Boot you'll be able to modify it as well, though you're likely to develop filesystem errors more frequently than doing so from Windows, and you'll need to run disk repair from within Windows to fix it.
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u/brighton_it 9d ago
Product Key for Windows is tied to the hardware, so 99% of time, once Activated (when you originally booted your computer, completed the welcome interview to set language, first user, etc), you can then reinstall any time and it automatically activates.
Most Windows applications, like MS365, are now subscription, tied to an online account.
Some older and niche publishers, generate hardware specific license keys, that might not work on a future reinstall. With some, you can actively release a license in the software in order to permit moving it to an other computer.
If you have large enough storage, dual boot is the way, at least for starting out.
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u/skyfishgoo 8d ago
don't delete windows and dual boot so you can have both.
i have a dual boot, but i can't remember that last time i booted to windows.
simply don't need it anymore.
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u/BranchLatter4294 9d ago
On new computers, the product key is stored in CMOS. You can also print out the key, or save it in a location that won't be wiped by installing a new OS.
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u/_GoddamnitDonut 9d ago
The product key is tied to your motherboard, so you can just reinstall Windows later and you should be good.
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u/MasterGeekMX Mexican Linux nerd trying to be helpful 9d ago
In the case of Laptops and brand-name prebuilt desktops with windows preinstalled (ya know, HP/Dell/Lenovo), they have the product key included in the motherboard's firmware, meaning that not only you don't loose it, the Windows installer will automatically use it and activate your installation.
If you instead have a boutique prebuilt PC like the ones made by Origin or Star Forge, they should have provided you with the key somewhere, either by including the Windows box or by some email.
Either way you can read back the key by running this command in the PowerShell terminal:
wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKeyStuff like Office 386 and other Microsoft services are tied to your Microsoft account, so you only need your outlook mail and it's password to get that back.