Windows 10: Activating windows after motherboard change

Hi, I'm changing the motherboard on my brothers pc which was a refurbished hp elite desk 800 as it appears to be dead. I've now discovered there could be problems with windows not being activated, either if it boots with new board or if I have to reinstall windows. He doesn't have a product key that he knows of so I've read that you can link your activation licence to you Microsoft account but this needs to be done within windows which I currently can't access so what am I supposed to do in this situation? I can't find out what exact version of windows he has but it is windows 10.Any help on

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Can't activate windows 10 after changing motherboard

Hello,

I can't activate my windows 10 license after changing my motherboard.

The license I have is a Windows 7 Pro license, that got changed into a Windows 10 license, when the upgrade was free.

Steps I took previous to the motherboard change:

- I linked my Microsoft account with my device, so that my license is registered under my account (it showed up with my mail in the accounts section)

Now, with the new motherboard built in, I can't activate Windows 10 anymore.

I tried the support steps listed by the Microsoft helper (Activation -> Click Troubleshoot), but that did not work.

In the Activitation settings I get the error code: 0xC004F213

Does anybody know a solution for this, as I haven't found one so far.

 

Activate Windows 10 after motherboard change

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

I built the PC myself and it is\was a retail Windows 8 Pro license upgraded to 10.

The guide listed that I should be able to transfer the license, and following the steps given when selecting "I recently changed hardware" in the activation process it does not list my previous device to select from.

My Microsoft account is logged in on both my old and new motherboard, and my old motherboard is unable to boot at all to deactivate or retrieve any keys.

If my license is indeed available for transfer, how can I proceed from here?

Thanks.

 

Windows 10 License (after motherboard change)

Hi Harsh,

Please be informed that your copy of Windows 10 should get activated automatically after changing the motherboard (once you enter the linked Microsoft Account details). But if you face any issues,
I suggest you to go through Phone activation to activate your Windows 10 copy.



To run Phone activation please follow the steps below:

• 
  Press Windows + R key.
  
• 
  Type slui 4 and hit enter.
  
• 
  Select the Country or
  Region.
  
• 
  Follow the on screen instructions.
  

Hope this helps. Please respond if you have any further related query.



Thank you.