Windows 10: Activation on New Hardware

I have a new motherboard bundle being delivered tomorrow and have a quick question re Win 10 activation. My current license is linked to my MS account, and I understand that I should be able to use the new "activation troubleshoot" option in settings to get things working with my new hardware. So far so good. *Smile

Anyhow, some while back, I followed a guide (on this site, I think) that allowed me to set Win 10 to automatically log me into my MS account when booting into Windows, so no need to manually enter password. My question is, is this likey to cause issues following the hardware change? Would I be better off logging into a local account before starting the change over?

Any/all thoughts appreciated.

Cheers,

Cliff

:)

 

Can't activate on new "hardware".

Hi DirkXZ,

If the license was purchased from Microsoft Store, you will really receive a digital license. You will only get a product key if you purchased it from an authorized retailer. Digital license is more convenient as you won't need to have the number with you
to activate the license. It's it tied up on your Microsoft account. To activate your Windows, make sure that you will use your Microsoft account as the administrator account on your device.

If this is what you've been doing, can you tell us the exact error message? Also, which VM are you using? Can you try with Bootcamp one more time and check if the heating issue persists? If so, you might have to report this issue on Apple. For initial troubleshooting,
review these articles:

• Activation in Windows 10.
• Get help with Windows activation errors.

We look forward to your response.

 

Can't activate on new "hardware".

I recently purchased windows 10 pro full retail with my Microsoft account. Only received a digital license.

Installed it on a Bootcamp partition and it activated. This however caused problems with overheating and such so I decided to load it on a VM instead but can't get the activation working. The bootcamp partition is completely gone now and the troubleshooter
doesn't work and advises me back too the store to purchase windows 10 pro even after selecting the hardware change.

I paid R4300.00 ZAR for windows 10 pro and specifically full retail so I'll never have to struggle with this but have been forwarded around 5 people now when contacting support each time waiting about 20 minutes on the phone.

I Have a order number and a reference number which I was meant to be the last person I needed to talk too before the call cut.

Please Help as no one seems to do a task that took 5 minutes in the past when we we're using product keys.

 

I believe this is no problem.
You need to fill-in your Microsoft account credentials again during the proces.

see this link http://www.windowscentral.com/how-re...ardware-change

 

DO NOT change to a local account - you will lose the licence link to MS account and be unable to transfer digital licence.

 

Thanks guys. The motherboard bundle arrived early this morning whilst I was still in the shower!! All sorted now though, and up and running. *Biggrin

Interesting. In the event, I did change to a local account (before I saw your posting). When I tried to use the activation trouble shooter, it failed, telling me that the MS servers were busy and try again later. I "Googled" the error message and found it to be a fairly common error, with most users contacting MS support for resolution. One site, however, detailed the solution that MS supposedly use, which involved running the command "SLUI 3" or similar and entering some registration details burried deep in Win 10. The end result is my Win 10 is once again activated to my MS account, so happy days.

Cheers,

Cliff

 

Can you provide link?

 

Sorry, no link. I didn't save it and can't remember the precise words used in my original search (I cut and pasted the error message into Google).

In essence, the work around involved downloading and running "Belarc Security Advisor". This returns a whole mass of info about your PC and Win 10 install, including the original activation key.

The next step is to run the command "SLUI 3" which opens up the windows activation screen and then allows you to re-enter the original key. Providing the MS Account info all matches up (i.e you'r using the same MS account that the original ID was linked to), then Windows is re-activated. I would guess that all it is doing is re-linking the code with the MS account and a new hardware ID

Cliff

 

I had trouble activating after a MB replacement too, the quote below is me, post #6 in this thread. https://www.tenforums.com/installatio...questions.html
The link is to a Microsoft support page within that post.

 

Sounds like the same solution. In hindsight, instead of downloading and running Belarc, I could have just read the serial number from the side of the case. Doh!!

Cliff

 

We know about hindsight, it's always 20/20 *chuckle

My W10 1511 install was activated with a "digital entitlement" which supposedly is the same thing as a digital license. After chatting with MS "Donna" she said sometimes things fall through the cracks, and had me do the SLUI 3 thing with the Win7 product key I upgraded from.

My new AU 1607 install was immediately activated with a digital license.