Windows 10: How to reactivate W10 with a local account after replacing the motherboard?

I clean installed Windows 1903 in May of last year, and followed a guide to run it with a local account, for privacy reasons. I already had a Microsoft account and had it linked to my copy of Windows 10 prior to that clean installation, as I had been using the same PC since 2017. I successfully installed 1903 and activated W10.

Recently, my motherboard died and I was forced to upgrade to a new one, moving from Intel to AMD, in the process. Because it happened unexpectedly, I couldn't prepare W10 for a hardware change, as recommended by Microsoft.

Now, I'm trying to reactivate Windows through the troubleshooter. The first couple steps, where it asks for my Microsoft account login information and 2FA authentication code, go smoothly. However, when it gets to the screen where it asks for my "current Windows password one last time", it always gives me an error message stating that the password that I entered is incorrect.

I'm pretty sure that I didn't actually create a password for my local account, leaving the field blank when it prompted me, as I knew that I'd eventually forget it or it'd cause me issues when trying to access my PC in safe mode (not to mention asking for a password every time I logged in). If I did, all the passwords that I tried aren't working. I also tried entering my W10 product key directly, but that isn't working either.

Everything seems to be working fine for now (I even updated Windows to 1909), but I'd still like to reactivate my copy of W10. Any help is appreciated.

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:)

 

Local account installation question

I'm fairly certain that Skip this step was available in 10.0.130 - the workaround in Step 20 (back button) is no longer required.

The currently known, as of 10.0.130, ways to create a Local account sign-in are

• Skip this step at the MS account creation phase
• No Internet connection during the install
• static IP (post# 2 by Fragment) - New (to me anyway)

 

Can't reactivate Windows 10 Pro after replacing motherboard

Hi,

I've just replaced a faulty motherboard in my PC and tried to reactivate Windows 10 Pro via the Windows Activation troubleshooter. The license linked to my account is an upgrade from a retail version of a previous version (so i should be able to reactivate
it). After selecting the correct device to activate I am presented with the following error message:

Unable to activate Windows

We can’t reactivate Windows on this device. Try again later.

Learn more

You can also activate this device by going to the Store and purchasing a genuine copy of Windows.



Go to Store

The "Learn more" page referred to does not help as I have just followed the steps listed on that page to get to where I am now.

 

Reactivating Windows after replacing an OEM motherboard.

can not reactivate after replacing an oem motherboard

[Original title:
reativating]