Windows 10: Win 10 Activation failed (Error code: 0xC004C003)

Welcome to TenForums. Unfortunately your analysis is wrong. Windows 10 couldn't care less what your key was on some old legacy OS. Your install is activated (theoretically and normally) by a record of your hardware stored on MS servers.

You need to upgrade from a valid version of Windows 7 or 8 and this will register your PC. If you clean install without doing this it will not work. If you change your hardware too much it will not work. If you enter a key it will not work.

If you have previously upgraded and you got an activated Windows 10 and then you get this message then call them.

To be clear, normally if you are on an old version of Windows:

• You must upgrade first (not clean install) so MS can register your hardware. Check your Windows 10 is activated when you have.
• You must not ever enter your old key or any other key ever unless you have actually bought or obtained a Windows 10 one. Ever. Neither on your initial upgrade or on a subsequent clean install.
• If you clean install it must be the same PC (same hardware) and the same version (Home, Pro) and you must already be activated on that device on Windows 10.
• If it still doesn't activate call them (but be prepared to be on hold for a long time and perhaps to call several times).

 

Oh in my case it wasnt an upgrade. Laptop was preinstalled with windows 10. I wanted to revert to factory settings and got the Error code 0xC004C003.

 

By far the best key retrieval program for Windows is Showkey from right here on these forums -
Showkey - Windows 10 Forums

 

Oh, sorry about that - I just assumed (I guess I've got egg on my face then)....

In that case you could try slui 4 from command prompt (if you haven't already). This will open phone activation and then just follow the prompts. I have a Windows 10 key which was blocked and it was activated automatically (after entering the numbers displayed on slui 4) over the phone with their robot answering thing.

It will either activate you or put you through to talk to a real person...

 

I read from Neeks post that he is activated, but he had to enter the key from BIOS in order to do it - and that the clean install of Windows 10 did not pick up that key automatically like you think it would have.

 

Yup. Its active now after using neosmart to get the 25 digit key from the BIOS. i just tried out showkeyplus and it works great too.

 

1) Have a valid version of Windows 7 Pro and I upgraded from that the day 10 was released. About a week later I had to do a clean install of 10 because the windows.old wouldn't delete and was taking up a lot of gigs. Ever since then my 10 won't activate.

2) No hardware changes, I've even got all the additional external hardware (printer, speakers, etc) in the same USB slots.

3) I never put my old keys in.

4) Still no activation after what, six or more weeks? I tried doing a clean install of 7 then upgrading to 10 as suggested in a number of places. No joy.

 

Finally got it installed and activated. After hours and hours of pain I feel a little bit of a fool - '.... did you check the fuse in the plug first?...'. My problem was the cpu on my motherboard - there was an intel issue, I was never going to be able to upgrade. A fix was available (new microcode from intel) and addressed by a bios update. So ..... activated win7 in place, run the upgrade tool and it went through like clockwork. Hmm.......

 

Couple of months ago, did free upgrade from win 7 to win 10.
Last week, changed my mobo. Now, I’m getting warnings about how my win isn’t activated.

From my investigation, I have learned, from Microsoft.com, that changing that hardware will make it impossible to activate online. It then gives you a link that just takes you to a GENERAL helpsite.
Does anyone MAINTAIN their sites? I'm very disappointed with them right now.

I did find another site: https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca/kb/950929 that said I needed to call the “activation hotline #”. But there is no link. As you page down, under the heading,

Windows 10
To start Product Activation:
Go to Start, then select Settings, choose Update & security, and then select Activation.
If your device is not activated, the Activate by phone option will be available.

But there is no such phone option for me.

I googled, “finding your win 10 product key”. Found a great utility, How to find your Windows 10 product key that, after running, gave me a product code that looked very promising. I say that because “Update & Security” provided a hint as to the product code I was looking for. It’s telling me that it will end with QRR7H, shown below. The product code that this utility gave me was 2WYPR-GMN23-BYCHW-6P6WD-QRR7H.
See attachment.

I never received an email after my upgrade telling me about my new product code, so I use this one.

I try again to activate with the utility’s product code and again it fails.
Error code: 0xC004C003 Specified product key has been blocked.

OK, I’m going to reboot and try it again. I’ll see you on the other side.

Well, I’m back and nothing has changed. I still get the same error code

I REALLY need the activation hotline #. Does one even exist or it just a rumour? Or do you have to keep trying and trying, like some one suggested?

If I thought that MS was an evil corp. then I would think that they offered win 10 upgrade for free, without the product code, so that, when there is a hardware change, you have to purchase the upgrade.

 

From a command prompt type "slui 4" without the quotes.
Or Win+r and then type slui 4 in the run dialog.

Canada is 855-801-0109

Good luck!

 

I was more than a little frustrated by what I found. Here's the complete discussion I had with Microsoft's rep just a moment ago.

Hi, thanks for visiting Answer Desk! I'm Kiah A.
8:24 pm


I had a previously installed and activated copy of Windows 10, but just recently upgraded my motherboard/processor/ram and now it's showing as not activated
8:25 pm


I did not reinstall win10, but for some reason it's not seeing this as a valid install now
8:25 pm


I DO have the original Win7pro disc with activation code on hand if you need the numbers off it
8:26 pm


.. please tell me I don't have to wipe this computer, reinstall Win7 and wait for several days for it to update, then reinstall Win10
8:27 pm


Thanks for sharing your concern.
8:28 pm


Just to educate you that the activation of Windows 10 will be imbedded to your hardware that's why once you change your hardware it will be deactivated.
8:28 pm


... so I DO need to do a full reinstall of Win7?
8:29 pm


In this case I will suggest that you re-install your Windows 7 pro and activate it again to Windows 10.
8:29 pm


seems ridiculous that you can't update hardware without having to do an operating system reinstal
8:29 pm


maybe I'll forget about using win10. this is total crap
8:29 pm


are you telling me that all power users out there that update their hardware often, are going to have to put back the original OS every time they update their hardware, then wait days for windows update, then upgrade again.
8:31 pm


how about you "sell" me a registration key at a significant discount
8:31 pm


Yes that is the thing that they can do so that their Windows 10 will be activated however you can have it activated by getting a full key of Windows 10 and that one will not be imbedded to your hardware so that even you change hardware you can just re-activate it using the full key.
8:32 pm


and a full copy of windows10pro is $150 I suppose
8:33 pm


The full copy of Windows 10 Home is for $119.99 and the Windows 10 pro full key will be for $199.99. With this one you can either choose if you want to have the digital content or the USB so that you will have the full key of Windows 10.
8:35 pm


thanks for your time. Now I know why people like Apple.
8:35 pm


We will take that as a challenge. Is there anything else that I can help you with?

 

Aside from your feelings about the session, the agent is correct. Since the copy of Windows is not a stand-alone copy (it is an upgrade) changing the mobo does remove the license from the box. Microsoft has defined a computer as the mobo for a long time. Preinstalled copies of Windows have always had the same licensing issue and when the manufacturer's mobo is replaced by a retail mobo the user has to purchase a retail copy of Windows. The Get Windows 10 upgrade is permanently activated for the life of the device and that means the life of the mobo.

It sounds like you have a retail copy of Windows 7 so install it. You do not have to do any upgrades if you use the Media Creation Tool to upgrade to 10. The upgrade stuff is only necessary if you want the Get Windows 10 icon to appear in the Windows 7 notification, since it is one of the last upgrades in the chain.

 

That's a good tip about the Windows 10 upgrade tool. I was under the impression that it wouldn't work until I'd seen the icon appear on the desktop, but if you say it will work without doing this step, that's a big plus.

 

The GWX program makes it easy for any user to upgrade to 10. Plus the Check My PC report and notification stuff was important during the first waves but then Microsoft had enough metrics to fix the issues the early adopters were seeing and by now all that stuff has been fixed. Microsoft has been applying their own IoT (internet of things) work to do this.

But you have already been running Windows 10 and there's no reason to wait around for a report about your computer.

 

It amazes me the things people complain about that they are getting for free.