Windows 10: Windows 10 has been deactivated after hardware change

Just today I upgraded the CPU, motherboard, and RAM on my desktop. I also renamed the desktop to make it easier to tell which device is which on my Microsoft account. When I check my Microsoft account, both my old desktop name and the new one show up, the old one containing specs for my old CPU, mobo, and RAM, and the new one containing the new specs. Just to be clear, these are still the same desktops with the same data, but with a change in some hardware.


The upgraded desktop has been working fine the whole day, until suddenly a windows activation watermark popped up. I checked the troubleshooter and I got the error 0xC004F213, which I guess indicates that there is no Windows key. I don't have a Windows key, this desktop is quite old, it used to run Windows 8 and I had taken the free upgrade to Windows 10.


Some things I've tried:

Restarting - Got rid of the watermark, but the activation error is still present in the settings app.

Troubleshooting in the activation setting - Just tells me to put in a Windows key.


I'm not sure if this is a bug, or perhaps I made the problem worse my renaming my desktop, or if this is just a normal occurrence after changing hardware.


I don't have the key, and I guess I never linked my account to my key. Are there any solutions other than buying a new copy of Windows? I still have my old parts, perhaps swapping back would help?

:)

 

Windows 10 Tweaks

Pressing “Windows+Pause Break” (it’s up there next to scroll lock) opens the “System” Window.

Windows 10: In the new version of Windows, Explorer has a section called Quick Access. This includes your frequent folders and recent files. Explorer defaults to opening this page when you open a new window. If you’d rather open the usual This PC, with links to your drives and library folders, follow these steps:

• Open a new Explorer window.
• Click View in the ribbon.
• Click Options.
• Under General, next to “Open File Explorer to:” choose “This PC.”
• Click OK

credit to Lifehacker.

 

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

 

Windows 10 deactivated after mobo replace.

Yes, he will have to redo activation. And he can do that using a spare HDD. He could even do that with just an empty partition on the existing hard drive.

Sequence of events:

1. Change of MOBO triggered a change in hardware configuration which deactivated WIN 10 on HDD A.
2. Remove HDD A from new MOBO and put blank HDD B on it.
3. Install WIN 8 on HDD B. Ensure it is activated. Upgrade to WIN 10. Ensure it is activated.
4. Now the new MOBO hardware info is stored on Microsoft activation servers.
5. Remove HDD B and reinstall HDD A.
6. The existing Windows 10 on HDD A will activate based upon the hardware info stored on Microsoft activation servers in step 4.

Windows 10 recalculates the hardware configure each time it starts. If it is the same as last time, it stays activated. If it is different than last time it deactivates - and if it doesn't find the new hardware on Microsoft activation servers, it stays deactivated.