Windows 10: New motherboard, can't activate

Hi there, a number of years ago I received a free version of Windows 7 Pro from university. I still have the receipt email but the product key is behind a link which is no longer active.


I carried out the free upgrade to Windows 10 a few years back and everything was working fine.


I have now just had to replace my motherboard and CPU due to a computer fault, and I was getting a message saying I had to activate windows. Prior to replacing my motherboard I went through the steps of linking my windows/Microsoft account as I understood this would help assign my Windows 10 license to my account and make it easier to reactivate with my new hardware.


Unfortunately that didn't work and I was being asked to reactivate with error code 0xC004F211. I went through the activation troubleshooter but got a message saying "We can't activate your copy of Windows. Make sure that you're connected to the internet...".


I noticed there was an outstanding Windows 10 update which I hadn't yet installed, so thought perhaps that was the issue. I installed that but am now getting error 0x803F7001: "We can't activate Windows on this device because the previous version of Windows was not activated prior to upgrading to Windows 10". Again I try the activation troubleshooter but am still getting the message that it can't be activated to to check my internet connection.


From what I've read, the troubleshooter should let me tell Microsoft that I've made a hardware change, but I can't seem to get that far. Is there something I'm missing?


Many thanks,

Colin

:)

 

Choice of memory and motherboard... a bit stuck...

No one who got some suggestions on this one, huh?

I've found out that the Asus M3A78-T needs to be flashed, so then that motherboard is excluded from my list. Which motherboard and memory should I then go for? Any suggestions?

 

Windows 10 activation with new motherboard


I've tried contacting Microsoft support by both chat (twice) and phone, and none of it was helpful. And so I'm posting the problem here.

I have a laptop that was originally running Windows 7. I upgraded to Windows 10 last month via the free upgrade option, and things were working fine for a while. However, a motherboard issue forced me to replace the motherboard yesterday. This also required me to move the old hard drive and CPU to the new motherboard.

Now, my problem is this: while I do still have Windows 10 installed on my device, it is an evaluation copy; it is not activated as the full product. Some research told me that the free W10 upgrade is linked to the device's hardware, something I didn't know. Since I'm using a different motherboard now, Microsoft apparently doesn't recognize that I DO own a full version of W10 courtesy of the free upgrade.

So now I'm wondering whether there is a way to transfer my W10 license to the new motherboard so it will activate. And before you ask/suggest anything:

• My original sticker on the bottom of my computer with the W7 license key on it fell off a long time ago. So no, I don't have that.
• I tried contacting Dell to get my original product key, and they refused to help me because I'm out of warranty, even though what I'm asking them for is very simple.

Any help is appreciated.

 

Windows saying not activated after motherboard upgrade

Hi,

I recently upgraded some PC parts (new motherboard, RAM, processor, video card) and ever since then I have a watermark in the bottom right of my display reading "Activate Windows - Go to Settings to activate Windows."

I took advantage of the free upgrade to Windows 10 back when they were allowing Windows 8 users to upgrade to Windows 10. I don't remember receiving an activation key during this upgrade.

I've read online that installing a new motherboard can occasionally cause issues with OS activation. How can I reactivate my Windows without having to purchase Windows 10.

Some things to note:

• This watermark was not there prior to installing the new motherboard
• As some places (and a Microsoft Tech Support member) suggested, typing the query "wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey" into CMD just returns with "OA3xOriginalProductKey". The Microsoft Support member seemed confused by this and said there was nothing further she could do.

Thanks!