Windows 10: Activating WIndows 10 After Hardware Upgrade

Hi,


I had Windows 7, and upgraded it during the free upgrade window. Everything was working just fine. Today, I upgraded my motherboard, processor, DRAM, etc, and now there is text on the bottom of my screen saying I need to Activate Windows. When I try to do so, it says it cannot find a valid key. When I look through the different troubleshooting answers, it says "Before doing a hardware upgrade, I need to link my Windows to my Microsoft account." I don't believe I did this, but I have already done the hardware upgrade. Is there a way to fix this, or do I need to really undo my upgrade, reinstall my old components, hope Windows recognizes everything, link the account, redo the upgrade, and then reactivate? There has got to be an easier way.


And as for my Windows 7 key, I'm not sure I still have it. It's been years since I installed it.

:)

 

DOWNLOAD WINDOWS 10 NOW - Upgrade and ISO direct from microsoft

this search might help you https://www.google.com.au/webhp?sou...o+to+get+it+activated+windows+10+blocked+keys

From http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/why-activate-windows-10

If you upgraded to Windows 10 for free and ended up in a non-activated state, try following these steps:

• Go to Start
  
  , then select Settings > Update & security > Activation.
• Select Go to Store, and check to see if a valid license is available for your device. If a license isn't available, you'll need to buy Windows from the Store.
  
  Note
  • This only applies if you haven't made changes to the hardware for your device.

or you could hack it with a crack but please note this is always risky and you don't know what's in the hack

 

DOWNLOAD WINDOWS 10 NOW - Upgrade and ISO direct from microsoft

Click to expand... Yeah I went to that site, why do I need to buy a key?
I won't buy a key, stupid.

I'll revert back to windows 7 then.

When I still was on windows 7, about a year ago I added 4GB extra ram which is a total of 8GB now,
is that causing the problem?

 

Windows 10 Activation (Insider)

This kinda sucks. However, if one is upgrading from a retail W7/8, then it should activate on different hardware, with possible phone activation required if it's been over 120 days or whatever the timeout period is now since the last activation. Remember to erase the copy on the old hardware, of course.