Windows 10: Reactivate After Hardware Change (10 Home -> Upgraded to 10 Pro via Store)

Hi,


I recently did a hardware change on my Windows 10 Pro installation. Obviously I need to reactivate Windows after the change (Code: 0xC004F211), I select the troubleshooter and "I changed hardware" which fails with a generic "It can't be activated at this time" nonsense.


I own a retail Windows 8.1 Home key. My Windows 10 is installed with that and I did a paid upgrade to Windows 10 Pro though the store. I'm being told by tech support I can't actually activate because my key is for Home (no kidding), but what the hell was the point of paying for an upgrade if I can't use the damn key I paid for? They told me to reinstall Windows. Which isn't a problem if Windows actually allowed for a reinstallation which would keep my installed programs. For a few reasons I don't want to reinstall everything at this time, so I'm basically looking for any help in activating my legal copy of Windows without a reinstall.



TL;DR: How can I get Windows 10 Pro which was upgraded via the store to reactivate without a reinstall after a hardware change? Are there any tricks to getting it to recheck my legal key?

:)

 

Windows 10 reactivation on hardware changes

Hi Florea,

It is possible that Windows won't be able to identify your computer correctly that is why the operating system is not activated. To address your issue, we suggest that you follow the steps in this
article on how to reactivate your Windows 10 after a hardware change.

Let us know if you need further assistance.

 

Motherboard change unable to reactivate Windows 10 Pro -


I have searched this topic and everything seems to be almost a year old. This is a homebuilt machine circa 2015. It started with an ASUS FM2+ motherboard with an AMD A5600K processor. It was Windows 7 Pro, upgraded to Windows 8.1 Pro then to Windows 10 Pro.
Saturday the motherboard died. An exact replacement could not be located so a Gigabyte card was installed. No changes to the hard drives. Booted the machine and Windows automatically started and then did a "revert" then installed the latest updates. C Drive was in the red so I deleted all of the old install files using Windows Clean-up. Went to reactivate, checked the significant hardware change and entered my MS account information - The computer (none of my computers) were listed and now it is telling me that I have to spend $200 to buy a copy of Windows 10 Pro.
Have not yet called Customer Support as the computer is at home and I work during the day -
I do have a disk image or two that may be a year old -

Suggestions - should I just shell out the $200 and move on

TIA

 

Can not reactivate Windows 10 Pro after hardware change

Hi,

I recently installed a new motherboard, and Windows 10 Pro now shows as not activated in the activation settings.

• I upgraded to Windows 10 during the free upgrade period
• I have already tried running the troubleshooter, then selecting "I have recently changed my hardware". Two of my computers (the one in question included) shows up on the list of linked devices, and choosing "This is the device that I'm using at the moment"
  results in the following error message: "Unable to activate Windows. We can't reactivate Windows on this device. Try again later" and a link to Windows Store to buy a new license.

UPDATE:

• I used Magical Jelly Bean to extract my Windows key, but entering it under "Change product key" (and choosing "Activate Windows) gives the error message We can't activate Windows on this device because you don't have a valid digital license or product key.
  If you think you do have a valid licence or key (I do), select Troubleshoot below (0x803fa067)

Any tips?

UPDATE 2: Customer support provided me a new key, so everything is back to being perfect. Thanks for the advice, guys!