Windows 10: Windows Activation License Expiring

I received my laptop as a gift from friends, who bought it used online from a seller who seemed reputable. Upon receiving the laptop I noticed two things - one, that one of those applications for remote access and control was downloaded, and two, that the Windows Defender antivirus history noted that a hacktool had been installed and allowed. Upon researching the tool, I discovered it's commonly used to illegally download and install online content. I immediately uninstalled it and made sure the laptop was clean of anything else illegitimate or unhelpful before I began using it. I'm starting off with this information because I feel it may be relevant.

The laptop was apparently advertised as coming with Word and so on, paid-for. Well, a month into owning this laptop, the Word license said that it was expiring as it had been purchased through an unnamed organization/business.

Okay, so I officially purchased Word, and that was taken care of.

But now I'm getting a notification that "Your Windows License will expire soon. You need to activate Windows in Settings." I didn't even know Windows could expire? And I have no idea what to do about this. Maybe I'm out of the loop, but owning Windows has always been free, or at least pre-installed on laptops without requiring being separately purchased.

So I'm beginning to wonder if this laptop was stolen originally from a company to be resold, and now the company keys for these products are all expiring, and/or if the keys for Windows, Word and so on were stolen using the hacktool I found on the laptop. If that's all the case, I have no idea how to go about making sure Windows is officially installed on my computer and I don't have to keep dealing with issues like this.

Googling hasn't helped much as it's just leading me to confusing threads online saying that if I'm getting this warning, it means I won't be able to use my computer at all in the next few days. So what will happen when the Windows 10 Pro License expires? And how do I go about installing Windows again / dealing with this license issue? Does this mean I'll have to separately purchase Windows? And if so, what is the best way to go about buying it? Thank you for any input you can provide.

:)

 

Your Windows license expires on...

Hi Hayurin,

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community.

I would suggest you to check which version of Windows is activated.

Follow the below steps.

• 
  Go to settings.
  
• 
  Click on update and recovery.
  
• 
  Click on Activation.
  
• 
  And check which version of Windows is activated.
  

If it shows as insider preview then i suggest you to contact Microsoft Phone support as they have the right resources to activate windows 10.

Thank you.

 

Win 10 activation is expiring - volume license

I was able to replicate the error using aVL install media





Then using a Win 7 Pro COA key --

-- I got the 'key is not valid" error code 0xc004f050 before internet connectivity was established




Subsequently it activated on a 2nd attempt with internet connectivity

Licence channel changed from this...




... to this.




The error message is misleading regarding the validity of the Win 7 key.

 

License activation issue: Your windows license will expire soon

Windows 10 Activation reports your license will soon expire.

This can happen for a number of reasons:

• You copied a Windows 10 Pro off the Internet (usually a volume license - organization - key) and changed on a Windows 10 Home installation. Windows 10 Pro is not free. If this is what you did, you will need to reinstall the previous edition
  or version you were running. You inadvertently installed the wrong edition.
  • The copy of Windows 10 you download and upgrade from will correspond with the edition of Windows you have installed, if it does not, this is why you might be experiencing problems activating:

• Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Windows 8.0 Core, Windows 8.1 Core will install Windows 10 Home
  

• Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 8.0 Pro, Windows 8.1 Pro will installWindows 10 Pro

If the edition of Windows 10 installed does not correspond with the edition of Windows 7 or Windows 8 you were previously running, then you need to reinstall the right edition.

Did you purchase the laptop brand new out of the box?

You might want to reinstall Windows 10 Home to resolve the problem.

Step 1: How
to download official Windows 10 ISO files

Step 2:

• How to: Perform a clean install of Windows 10