Dell lost my Windows COA

COAs are no longer used instead a unique 25 digit Windows 8.1 Professional System Locked Preinstallation Key is used that is embedded within the UEFI BIOS. See here for details, use RWEverything to obtain it:

http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/download-microsoft-windows-and-office/download-microsoft-windows/download-windows-8-1-retail-and-oem-iso/

If you have Windows 7 Professional installed on the machine you actually are using Windows 8.1 Professional with downgrade rights.

Windows 7 Professional used a generic OEM SLP key and this system will automatically be activated with a Dell Windows 7 Professional Reinstallation DVD.

Tomorrow you should be able to get your free upgrade to Windows 10 and can forget about Windows 7 and 8.1.

...

Thank you for writing, Philip. RWEverything is unavailable right now, but I will try it again later. I don't want to upgrade to Windows 10 at this time, for several different reasons. The information in your link sounds great! However it does say,

"Don’t have a Windows 8 Sticker? If you don’t have one of these stickers affixed to your system you likely got a system shipped with Linux or an earlier Edition of Windows and hence won’t have a UEFI BIOS Embedded SLP key."

and

"Note no MSDM tab = No Windows 8.0/8.1 BIOS Embedded SLP key. Systems which shipped with Windows XP, Vista or 7 have no MSDM tab as these versions of Windows used a generic key for OEM SLP."

It sounds as if I do not have an Embedded System Locked Preinstallation Key. My computer was purchased new from Dell with Windows 7 installed and a Windows 7 sticker. There has never been Windows 8 on my laptop. The only key I had that was individual to my computer was printed on the COA, wasn't it?

I know that I could reinstall Windows 7 using CDs (if I knew how to do it). That isn't my chief concern. I need to be able to show that my OS is legal, at work for example, or in case I ever decide to sell my computer. Here's what Microsoft says:

1. "A Certificate of Authenticity (COA) is a label to help you and your customers identify genuine Microsoft Windows software. Without it, your customers will not have a legal license to run their Windows software."

2. "After an OEM software license has been installed on a PC, the license may not be installed on or transferred to another PC. However, the entire PC may be transferred to another end user along with the software license rights. When transferring the PC to the new end user, the software media, manuals (if applicable), and Certificate of Authenticity label must be included." (Both quotes are from Microsoft OEM Partner Center.)

Ebay is just one large seller who strictly warns its customers against purchasing any pre-Windows 8 computer that does not come with a COA. I feel that I need the Certificate of Authenticity for other reasons as well. Out of curiosity, I just phoned a local computer repair establishment. They say they would NOT replace a hard drive or reinstall Windows 7 on a computer that does not have a Windows COA label attached. I won't always be using Dell's repair service. I feel that I need the COA. Dell's Technical Support is not arguing with me about that anymore. It's just that they don't seem to understand what the COA is or how to replace it. I am asking for help for myself, here - but also for any information that would make it possible for Technical Support to replace my COA. 

RWEverything has moved to a new site see here (I will update my guide later):

http://rweverything.phpnet.us/download.html

Let us know if you have a MSDM tab.

Your new link works well, Philip. Thanks!  I do not have an MSDM tab.

No MSDM tab = No UEFI BIOS Embedded System Locked Preinstallation Key. You will need to ask for a replacement system I will move this thread to the customer care board.

Try Belarc Advisor, It may have it?

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Download and install, it  will show you what  is installed in your system and should show   your COA.

Z

I'll have a look at Belarc Advisor and let you know what I find out. Thank you, zbestwun2001. I was under the impression that OEM Windows 7 COAs are not entered into the system at all, but are just labels stuck onto the computer. I'll give Belarc a try, though.

Philip, would I be able to install Windows 10, if I wanted to, without having a Windows 7 COA?

Does anybody know where Dell might be able to get a new COA slip without having to replace my entire laptop? I've been thinking that they must have some COA labels at the Repair Depots, or the Dell repair people who go around to homes might have them. Otherwise, every time a palm rest is replaced, the customer would lose his COA! This would cause constant complaints, not to mention huge inconvenience to both the customers and Dell. It all makes me think that there may be some new replacement labels around, somewhere in the Dell network. In my case, the COA label could probably have been transferred from my old battery compartment to my new one, but often the COA labels are too firmly attached and would need to be replaced when the part they are glued on is discarded.

After doing a bit of reading, it sounds to me as if Belarc Advisor, like other key finders, will not find the COA numbers for an OEM operating system. It will only work with a retail version of Windows. forum.notebookreview.com/.../windows-product-key-belarc-advisor-and-sticker-says-another.625304  This is what I've been trying to say to Dell for the past two and a half months. There is always a possibility that I'm wrong. Thank you very much, zbestwun2001, for the tip, which would indeed work in some situations.

As long as Windows 7 is activated you should be able to upgrade to Windows 10 without any issues.

That's good to know, in case I decide to do it at some point. Thank you, Philip.

Can anybody help me with my main question?

I have an update from a Dell technician who is working on my case and who seems to be quite knowledgeable. He says that the Dell Repair Depot always throws out customers' Windows Certificates of Authenticity when the part they are attached to is replaced (i.e., touch pad, palm rest, bottom of the laptop case). Apparently, they throw out the COA even when it could easily be removed from the old part and transferred to the new part (as was probably true in my case). My Dell technician says that this is not happening by mistake. It is intentional. They do not replace the customers' certificates at the Depot. I find this news quite shocking. Isn't this theft? My computer is only a year and a half old. It has broken so often that I've hardly had a chance to use it. Without a COA, I can't even sell it. My laptop works perfectly fine, at this moment, and I still hope to be able to keep it. I've put a lot of time and effort into it. I would really like to receive a new COA for this laptop. 

With the Dell Windows 7 OEM SLP activation the COA isn't really necessary, most are prone to fading anyway.

Since the Windows 10 free upgrade will scan and register your hardware with a Microsoft Product Activation server and make it a Windows 10 device, it effectively ties the license to your systems hardware profile.

Once the free upgrade is completed you'll never need to know the Windows 7 OEM key on the COA.

This sounds like a non USA system or Non Dell Authorized Support.

They are not allowed to move COA from one machine to another.

There also appear to be generic KMS keys.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/jj612867.aspx

Windows 10 Professional
W269N-WFGWX-YVC9B-4J6C9-T83GX

Windows 10 Professional N
MH37W-N47XK-V7XM9-C7227-GCQG9

Windows 10 Enterprise
NPPR9-FWDCX-D2C8J-H872K-2YT43

Windows 10 Enterprise N
DPH2V-TTNVB-4X9Q3-TJR4H-KHJW4

Windows 10 Education
NW6C2-QMPVW-D7KKK-3GKT6-VCFB2

Windows 10 Education N
2WH4N-8QGBV-H22JP-CT43Q-MDWWJ

Windows 10 Enterprise 2015 LTSB
WNMTR-4C88C-JK8YV-HQ7T2-76DF9

Windows 10 Enterprise 2015 LTSB N
2F77B-TNFGY-69QQF-B8YKP-D69TJ

Thanks for the replies! All the evidence I see, Philip, says that a COA is necessary with Windows 7. Using the numbers often isn't necessary, but the label must be there. Here is a quote right from the Microsoft OEM website:

"A Certificate of Authenticity (COA) is a label to help you and your customers identify genuine Microsoft Windows software. Without it, your customers will not have a legal license to run their Windows software." This quote refers to OEM Windows software.

http://www.microsoft.com/OEM/en/licensing/antipiracy/Pages/COA_hologram.aspx#fbid=CB2j8fkDV8o

And here Microsoft states that a COA label MUST be included when a computer is sold second-hand. This would apply if I ever wanted to sell my computer:

"After an OEM software license has been installed on a PC, the license may not be installed on or transferred to another PC. However, the entire PC may be transferred to another end user along with the software license rights. When transferring the PC to the new end user, the software media, manuals (if applicable), and Certificate of Authenticity label must be included."

EBay warns customers in the strongest terms against purchasing any computer that does not come with a COA label: "If the seller says there is no COA, do not bid on or purchase the item, and inform the seller that it is illegal to sell the item the way it is listed." http://www.ebay.com/gds/Buying-Legitimate-Microsoft-Products-on-ebay-/10000000012269435/g.html

Some non-Dell computer repair establishments will not re-load Windows onto a computer that does not have a COA label. I have asked in my own city. There are computer repair shops which refuse to do any kind of work on a pre-Windows 8 computer that does not have a Certificate of Authenticity attached to it. They say they are not allowed to work on a computer that cannot be proven to have a legal copy of Windows installed. There is a difference between legal authorization to use Windows, which is demonstrated only through a COA, and activation, which can be checked by turning the computer on.

SpeedStep, I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you're saying. I wasn't asking anybody to move a COA from one machine to another. I expected Dell to save my COA label when they repaired my touchpad! I had no idea that my COA was even at risk when I sent my computer in. Nobody warned me that it would be thrown out. This repair was fully authorized by Dell. My laptop is under warranty. It was sent to a Dell Repair Depot.

I've never heard of KMS before. Could you please explain to me what it is? Why would I need one of these keys?