Windows 10: I installed a new hard drive and cannot activate windows after a reinstall.

Hello,I had issues with my hard drive and just installed a new one. I reinstalled windows 7 and I have the upgrade for Windows 10. However, I can't activate my windows anymore and the number on the windows activation screen doesn't work.Is there a way I can activate my windows again or do I have to buy a new copy of windows?

:)

 

Reinstall Windows 10 to new hard drive

Hi Rodolpho,

We want to know about the issue you're having with your recovery drive. Please answer the questions below:

• Are you trying to reinstall Windows 8 or Windows 10?
• If you already upgraded to Windows 10, were you able to create a new copy of the recovery drive?

We suggest creating a new copy of the recovery drive and then follow the steps provided by Andre Da Costa above this thread.

Update us with the outcome so we can assist you further.

 

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?

 

Install Windows 10 on new hard drive.

Hi Arzlo,

Thank you for being a part of Windows 10.

I appreciate you for providing details about the issue and we are happy to help you.

Please be informed that you cannot install the activated Windows 10 on to the new hard disk.

If you are replacing the hard disk then you may get Windows 10 activation errors.

If you are purchasing a new hard disk then, you may have to install genuine Windows 7 (SP1)/8.1 to upgrade to Windows 10 to get Windows 10 activated.

I suggest you to run check disk on the hard drive to see if there are any corruptions.

Follow the below steps:

• Windows key + X, click Command Prompt (Admin).
• Command Prompt, type the following command, and then press
  ENTER:

chkdsk /f

Disclaimer: While performing check disk on the hard drive, if any bad sectors are found then check disk will try to repair that sector. Any data available on a bad sector might be lost.

Once Check Disk completes, boot the computer and then check.

Reference: Refer to the following Microsoft article on Windows 10 Q&A.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-faq?ppud=4

Kindly let us know if you need any further assistance with Windows. We are glad to assist you.

Thank you.