Windows 10: Windows 10 unactivated after hardware change

So today I changed my motherboard, CPU and ram because I needed an upgrade. Everything was good and nothing changed. I noticed after a couple of hours that windows 10 unactivated itself and I don't know how to get it back. I don't have a key because I upgraded to windows 10 from windows 8. It was a free update because I think everyone hated windows 8 for some reason.

So is there a way to get it back? I just spent a lot of hours trying to cable manage and I don't really want to replace. I didn't see this as an issue because I thought everything is stored in hard drive, and it probably is but some kind of security measure or something.


Is there anything I can do?

:)

 

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 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.