Windows 10: Can't reactivate Windows 10 after a motherboard change

Recently I changed motherboards in my computer that had legitimate, activated Windows 10. Now whenever I log onto my computer, the "Activate Windows" watermark shows up in the bottom right corner, and it's pretty annoying, so I tried to reactivate Windows like any sane person.


I did the following:


Settings >> Updates & Security >> Activation >> Troubleshooting >> I changed hardware on this device recently


Whenever I log into my account to verify my identity, it just reports the message "Unable to activate Windows. We can't reactivate Windows as our servers aren't available right now." I tried again, and AGAIN, and nothing.


I've looked for solutions with no success, and I've run out of ideas.

:)

 

win 10 motherboard change, reactivating windows

Hi Famie,

If you are planning to change your motherboard, you will still be able to activate your Windows 10. In Windows 10 version 1607, there is a feature that you can link your Microsoft account to Windows 10 digital license on your device.
This can help you reactivate Windows using the Activation troubleshooter if you make a significant hardware change later, such as replacing the motherboard.

That being said, we suggest that you follow the steps given on this article
to reactivate your Windows 10 after a hardware change.

Let us know if you need further assistance.

If you think this was useful, do not hesitate to "mark it as an answer" to help those are facing the same problem.

 

Motherboard change unable to reactivate Windows 10 Pro -


I have searched this topic and everything seems to be almost a year old. This is a homebuilt machine circa 2015. It started with an ASUS FM2+ motherboard with an AMD A5600K processor. It was Windows 7 Pro, upgraded to Windows 8.1 Pro then to Windows 10 Pro.
Saturday the motherboard died. An exact replacement could not be located so a Gigabyte card was installed. No changes to the hard drives. Booted the machine and Windows automatically started and then did a "revert" then installed the latest updates. C Drive was in the red so I deleted all of the old install files using Windows Clean-up. Went to reactivate, checked the significant hardware change and entered my MS account information - The computer (none of my computers) were listed and now it is telling me that I have to spend $200 to buy a copy of Windows 10 Pro.
Have not yet called Customer Support as the computer is at home and I work during the day -
I do have a disk image or two that may be a year old -

Suggestions - should I just shell out the $200 and move on

TIA

 

Motherboard change unable to reactivate Windows 10 Pro -

Activate using windows 7 pro key.