Windows 10: Windows 10 Activation after hardware change

Hello, I recently upgraded my computers motherboard, cpu, and ram. I've had problems with windows in the past, the most recent issue prior to windows randomly deactivating during a game of Borderlands 3 last night was when my SSD that came with my pre-build kicked the bucket. Luckily I was able to flash-boot it onto my SSHD and it managed to grab my product key from one of my hardware components. Now with this situation in which I replaced the 'brains' of the computer I forgot to write down the product key. It was working fine for about 3 or 4 hours up until around 10pm my time it decided to place the 'Active Windows' watermark on the bottom right. I've tried using the troubleshooter and this is the error I get.


Pictures are attached below in order of trouble shooting processes.




Next image is when I try using the trouble shoot option>



The next photo is where I click on 'I changed hardware on this device recently' option.



As you can see there was a previous 'active version' of Windows 10 that's attached to my Outlook/Microsoft account. I'm more into hardware 'smarts' of computers and not really into the 'software' aspect. So I don't really know what any of this means, if someone could please let me know what all this means I would very much appreciate it.


The final picture I am attaching is what shows after I select that PC and click 'Activate'.


This is very frustrating as I am a high school student doing all of my online classes from my desktop at home. I've never had windows de-activate on me until just now. I spent a pretty penny on upgrading my computer as the prior hardware was way-way past it's life span and I wouldn't want to necessarily have to drop $100 for a new product key. Thank you for reading this :^

I don't know if any of this information is needed to help diagnose/resolve my issue but I'll include it anyways.
Current Setup

Motherboard: ASRock B450 Steel Legend

Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 3700x 8-core
RAM: Corsair Vengence LPX DDR4 16GB 2x8GB 3600MHz

Excluding Storage, and PSU

Previous Setup

Motherboard: ASRock M5 A97 R2.0

Processor: AMD FX-8350 8-core
RAM: Kingston HyperX DDR3 16GB 2x8GB 1866MHz
Excluding Storage, and PSU
TLDR; I need help re-activating windows after swapping multiple parts of my computer.. Refer to more detailed description of my issues above, thanks.



***Original Title: Windows 10 Activation Key Lost***

:)

 

windows activation—hardware changed siginficantly

From time to time on my thoroughbred PC, I get a Windows activation message that says my hardware changed siginificantly and I have to re-activate Windows. My hardware hasn't changed any more than a network card (went from a wireless g card to onboard lan to a wired network card), and the install is legit. Why is it doing this, and how can I stop it?

 

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

 

Activation problems after hardware changes and reinstallations.

Hi Meli,

Thank you for posting the query on Microsoft Community.

I do appreciate your efforts and time.

Was Windows 10 activated before re-installing it?

Along with the suggestions provided by Greg, you can also refer the steps below.



The only hardware changes that can negatively impact activation status once you upgrade to free version are the changes to the:

• CPU
• TPM
• Motherboard replacement

The following changes are examples of hardware changes that will NOT impact the activation status:

• HDD/SSD
• Video card
• Adding extra memory

If you replace the CPU, TPM, or Motherboard you may have to re-activate but this will not require a purchase of Windows 10.

Why can't I activate Windows 10?:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/why-activate-windows-10

Get help with Windows 10 activation errors:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/activation-errors-windows-10

Can I clean re-install Windows 10 after upgrading?

Can I clean re-install Windows 10 after upgrading?

Hope this helps in resolving the issue. If the issue persists, do get back to us. We will be happy to assist you.