Windows 10: Windows Activaiton via E5 license - PC is showing an OEM license key

We have a Windows 11 Pro image I have deployed using MDT about a hundred times with no issues. Once a user logs in Windows 11 will activate and become Windows 11 Enterprise.However we have one older Dell laptop that has a Xeon processor that we imaged. The user logs in and it does become Windows 11 Enterprise but shows as Not Active but also shows an Active Subscription for Windows 11 Enterprise.We don't ever use a product key so I am not sure where it's coming from on the Activation Settings page. The error is 0xC004C003 and troubleshoot doesn't fix anything.I have tried slmgr /upk and reb

:)

 

Question On OEM Windows clean install......

"Flavors" of Windows licenses

Windows can be a little "odd" about license keys. There are at least 4 categories:

• Retail
• OEM
• Volume (electronic download)
• Corporate (no key needed)

For guaranteed success, the license key and media should be in the same category. If you have retail media, you may not be able to install it using an OEM or Volume license key, even though the key is valid for that version of Windows. *Wtf :wtf: Apparently, this is part of Microsoft's anti-piracy scheme (i.e., all customers are guilty until proven innocent).

 

Question about OEM licenses

For an OEM license Windows, do I have to get a new Windows license everytime I upgrade the mobo? I read that it was tied to the BIOS. Thanks.

 

Question about OEM licenses

Quoted from Microsoft Web site:Licensing FAQ

"Q. Can a PC with an OEM Windows operating system have its motherboard upgraded and keep the same license? What if it was replaced because it was defective?"

"A. Generally, an end user can upgrade or replace all of the hardware components on a computer—except the motherboard—and still retain the license for the original Microsoft OEM operating system software. If the motherboard is upgraded or replaced for reasons other than a defect, then a new computer has been created. Microsoft OEM operating system software cannot be transferred to the new computer, and the license of new operating system software is required. If the motherboard is replaced because it is defective, you do not need to acquire a new operating system license for the PC as long as the replacement motherboard is the same make/model or the same manufacturer's replacement/equivalent, as defined by the manufacturer's warranty.

The reason for this licensing rule primarily relates to the End User Software License Terms and the support of the software covered by that End User Software License Terms. The End User Software License Terms is a set of usage rights granted to the end user by the PC manufacturer and relates only to rights for that software as installed on that particular PC. The system builder is required to support the software on the original PC. Understanding that end users, over time, upgrade their PCs with different components, Microsoft needed to have one base component "left standing" that would still define the original PC. Since the motherboard contains the CPU and is the "heart and soul" of the PC, when the motherboard is replaced (for reasons other than defect) a new PC is essentially created. The original system builder did not manufacture this new PC, and therefore cannot be expected to support it."