Windows 10: Unable to reactivate Windows 10 after hardware change

About a year ago, I changed out my motherboard from an old one (I don't remember the model) to an MSI Z97 Gaming 3 motherboard. I think this caused my Windows 10 to unactivate, but I didn't notice it until a few months ago. It didn't bother me too much because I could still use my computer normally, but now I figured I might as well get it done with.


I have a Windows 10 digital license linked to my microsoft account (or at least I'm pretty sure I do). Following the steps, I troubleshooted and clicked "I changed hardware on this device recently".


This screen popped up:



The device listed was correct, so I hit activate.


However, upon that, I was met by this.





There isn't an error code (0x8....) so I'm not sure what the problem is here. I also don't want to buy a new license of Windows 10 since I'm supposed to already have one.


Does anyone know what's going on?

:)

 

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.

 

Unable to reactivate Windows 10 after hardware change

Hi there,

I recently upgraded system hardware including Motherboard and am unable to reactivate Windows 10 via the activation troubleshooter:

I have tried removing my old PC configuration from the list of devices in my windows account but still no luck!

• My windows account was linked to my PC prior to the change
• Login in / out of my windows account has no effect
• My version of windows was a free upgrade program from Windows 7, would this be an issue?

Any help and ideas would be appreciated!

Many thanks,

 

Unable to activate Windows after hardware change

Hi,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

Usually the error code 0xC004F213 comes when there is a hardware change done on the computer (like Motherboard or Hard drive). The Windows license is associated with the device hardware. If there is any significant hardware changes, such as replacing
motherboard or hard drive, Windows won’t be able to recognize the license.

I suggest you to try the troubleshooting steps from the article
Reactivating Windows 10 after a hardware change and see if Windows gets activated.

If you are using an OEM computer that came with Windows 7, and the motherboard has not been changed, then you can follow the steps to retrieve the product key that came with your OEM computer. To retrieve the product key follow the steps mentioned
below:

1. Type Command prompt in the search bar, that is on the taskbar.
   
2. Right click on Command prompt icon and select Run as administrator.
   
3. Type the command and press on Enter: wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey
   
4. You will find the product key.
   

Hope it helps.

Please reply with the status of the issue, we will be glad to help you further.

Nikhar Khare

Microsoft Community - Moderator