Windows 10: Lost my Windows 10 Activation after SSD swap, anyway to get it back?

So I am in the middle of selling my roommate my old 1TB M.2 SSD. I have another SSD in my system that just holds Games, and just bought & did a clean install of Windows 10 on a new 500GB ssd. The 1TB I'm selling to him still contains my Windows 10 Install that is activated. I figured I would just do a clean install of Windows on the new 500gb SSD I bought for my PC. Did that and everything works great.....Besides the fact that Windows is not activated anymore.

It is giving me the error code 0xC004C008. It says the product key has already been used, which it had been when I had the 1TB drive installed. I thought that you could swap drives how you wanted, and windows would still recognize your system based off your motherboard? I thought you only needed to worry about buying another product key if you get a new motherboard? Isn't that correct?

I purchased my Windows 10 Home key off one of those websites where you can get them cheap. It worked fine from first boot, up until now. It was a legit key, but since i didn't buy through Microsoft, it isn't tied to my account. Still, even if it was through them idk if it would work. Through troubleshooting, it showed my other devices with windows i could choose from to find my activation and this PC was not listed.

Is there anything I can do with my current setup to remedy this?

What if I hooked up my old 1TB with my activated Windows 10 Install back into my PC, then created a Recovery Drive. Could I use that to restore my Current Windows Install on my 500GB drive, back to the Windows Install I had on the 1TB and get my Windows Activation back? Even if its not the same install i could care less, I just want to Activation if I can get it back.

Any Idea if that will work, or any other options to get my Activation on my new 500gb drive? Or do I just need to buy a new product key? Could this be my Punishment for not buying my Key through Microsoft?

submitted by /u/Minnesoodope
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:)

 

Cloning to SSD then swapping drive letters


@SamHobbs
What you want done is very simple and can be done in short period of time. Here's my suggestion:
There's 2 modes that Windows can be installed: UEFI and the old legacy MBR. Open Disk Management, look at the disk where your C drive is, if there's a

1. EFI System Partition, your Windows was installed using UEFI.
2. System Reserved partition, your Windows was installed using MBR

Next, Connect your SSD to an available Sata port (no need to format or do anything). Download: Macrium Reflect Free . Install and run. Follow the steps below:

1. From Macrium, click on image this disk under your C drive and save it to either an Internal or External Drive. This will create a single backup image of the whole disk containing your C drive.
2. Again, from Macrium, click on Restore tab and select the image created from step 1, Select your SSD as the destination drive, click Next->Finish
3. Exit Macrium. If your Windows was installed using MBR, Open disk management and make sure the SSD is marked "Active" else go to next step.
4. Shutdown your PC. Disconnect the HD containing Windows C drive then connect your SSD to it.
5. Reboot. Your PC should boot and the Windows should have C as the drive letter.

NOTE: The procedure above is to backup your Windows to an image file then copy it back to the SSD. This ensures proper cluster size aligment for the SSD. In addition, Macrium also perform Trimming for the SSD. This is more preferable than cloning.

 

Activating Windows 10 after drive and RAM swap.

I recently swapped out my old HDD for an SSD, and after reinstalling i have been unable to activate my copy of Windows 10. Sadly i don't have access to the box my PC came as it was a gift, nor do I know the retailer who sold it.

Luckily i haven't formated my old HDD, and my copy of Windows 10 is still intact there. I have seen that you can get your key from the softwareLicenceService.

I was wondering if my old HDD key will work with my new copy of Windows on the SSD? (The only thing i swapped out was my HDD and RAM module)

Also i was wondering if it is possible getting the key from some sort of file on the old HDD (as i am on a laptop it's kind of bothersome swapping it back in, and i have one of those USB adapters for the HDD)?

Additional notes:

• The new edition of Windows 10 is the same as the one that I've already had.
• The device wasn't connected to any Microsoft account prior to the swap.

Thank you to anyone for their help in advance.

 

Windows 10 Activation (Insider)

How long did you wait for activation?
When I re-installed with a fresh install... it took a few hours to sync and activate.
However, it did, finally, activate.