Windows 10: HDD "locked" after update and "windows not activated" message

I have a 5 year old PC that recently updatedagainst my willto this new thing1903 or 1909, I don't know which. I got the notification that windows had to be activated, but no instructions on how to do it. After a couple days, windows would no longer start, all I could get to was the manufacturer's settings screenfor BIOS, etc.. I root around for information on how to get my PC back, find my original windows 10 CD and the activation key, boot the PC with the CD, get to the windows install screen, enter the the key, told to remove the CD and reboot, end up caught in a vicious circle, end up on a diagnostic screen by way of the fresh install USB that I made with the media creator tool, but it tells me that the disk I need to diagnose is locked, tells me to unlock it and try again, once again, no instructions how to unlock it. Someone please tell me if I can recover this thing, if I have to buy a new hard drive, a new copy of windows, a new computer or what. This happens way to often.

:)

 

unlock hdd

Hi Johan,

It is possible that your
HDD was unreadable
causing the error message to appear. We recommend that you perform these troubleshooting steps and check if there are any changes:

• 
  Shutdown
  your
  PC.
  
• 
  Unhooked
  the
  HDD
  and
  turn on
  your
  PC.
  
• 
  Reconnect
  your
  HDD
  and
  restart
  your
  PC.
  

If the issue persists, we suggest that you contact your
laptop/computer's manufacturer
for further assistance.

Update us on how it goes.

Regards.

 

Hard drive/ OS issue

a guy suggested :

• shutdown
• unhooked HDD
• restarted
• yay !!
• reconnected HDD
• restarted
• yay !!

also , try method 3
How do I unlock the drive where Windows 10 is installed?

 

unlock hdd