Windows 10: Windows is not activated following "reset this pc"

Hi,

Last month I purchased a new laptop. This came pre-installed with Windows 10. Over the last month I have had many BSOD issues! As part of the on going diagnosis I decided to click the "Reset this PC" option along with "keep my files".

The process completed with no errors along with the auto update to the Anniversary update. But now I have the "Activate Windows" notification.

After checking Update&Security->Activation->Troubleshoot I get the below message:

"We found a Windows 10 Home digital license for this device running Windows 10 Home. To activate... you need to install Windows 10 Home"

Hmmm. I don't know what to say except it obviously picks up that I have a valid license but somehow thinks Windows 10 Home _DOES_ NOT_EQUAL_ Windows 10 Home.

Any ideas please?

:)

 

" Nokia Simple " theme - where it this theme?

hi,

Some days ago on page
http://ea.mobile.nokia.com/content/spin/ea/6120c/en/theme/index.xhtml or in phone (nokia 6120c) themes/general/download themes/ was very cool theme (light cream white, black fonts) " Nokia Simple ", now its dissapear from this site. Where i can get it?
or maybe somebody has it and could send to me.

thx

 

" Nokia Simple " theme - where it this theme?

Try http://www.softwaremarket.nokia.com or the nearest NCP, they'll install this for you on the phone.

 

Open a command prompt (admin) - available by right clicking on the start icon. Then run:

slmgr /dlv

Please post the result here and we can help you more. Result will look like:

 

Thank you for the reply.

This is what I got :-(





Doing some Google research, it talks about starting the sppsvc service but I tried and got access denied.

I tried taking ownership of the file and still get access denied.

Any ideas? This must be a genuine copy of Windows 10! I can't believe Gigabyte would be installing pirate copies on retail products.

 

Two more troubleshooting things to try to figure out what is going on. Run winver (just run it from the search Window). The result might display your email address under "licensed to" so you might want to blank it out.

Also download and run Showkey plus from this forum. Click on the product keys in the result Window to blank them out before posting:
Showkey - Windows 10 Forums

Hopefully, your showkey result will show an OEM product key in UEFI firmware.

Results will look like:

 

Thank you.

Here are my results:

 

So, what I would try doing is open a Command Prompt (Admin). Run:

slmgr /upk

Restart the computer. Go to settings - updates and security - activation tab. If Windows 10 is not activated, see if the activation troubleshooting link is there - if so run that.

If that doesn't fix it, then click the change product link on the same window and try entering the product key given by Showkey.

If that doesn't work, maybe @Superfly can help us.

NOTE: The computer must be connected to the internet.

 

Also, I just noticed the troubleshooter in your OP said there was a digital license for Windows 10 Home found. If the solutions above don't solve it, you can try changing the product key to the Windows 10 Home generic product key that everyone gets from a Windows 10 upgrade:

YTMG3-N6DKC-DKB77-7M9GH-8HVX7

 

It's strange that Windows sees it as a digital licence when it's clearly a Win 10 key activation... anyway the problem is that the Software Licensing Service is not running (which verifies avtivation at certain intervals.)

Try starting it manually - Run services.msc




If it says Error 5 - it's due it having corrupted permissions and only an off-line restore can fix it.

You can also use our Activation Diagnostic Tool to check ( it's still beta so edit your key out if you post the report)
Releases · -Inc/Windows-Diagnostic-Tool · GitHub

 

Thank you @NavyLCDR, I tried your suggestions but still have the same issue.
@Superfly, My main issue is the fact that sppsvc.exe won't start and throws the Error 5 (Access Denied). I tried changing permissions, taking ownership etc. but still have the same issue.

I guess my next step is another restore :-(. I assume you mean a fresh install because the original issue was caused after I clicked "Reset this PC" option in system settings?

 

Weird things are happening with the AU. My Education installs, that were activated with my MSDN keys, no Digital License. Now show as activated with a Digital License, after upgrading to the AU. They all now show the same generic key, one I haven't seen before. IMHO, that should not have happened? I can now install Education with a skip key and it will activate with a Digital License. I could not do this prior to upgrading to the AU. They would not activate until I entered my MSDN key.

 

Yup, Trusted Installer permissions can only be reset when Windows is not running (i.e. from a USB/WinPE type boot - a restore point prior to the issue will work.

BTW... it's not just sppsvc that gets corrupted, but it's dependencies as well (like RPC)

Agree, it is weird that digital licences are handed out even for Win 10 keys...

 

@Superfly, thank you for your help.

I am using my laptop on a project right now but I will find some time to do another reset in a week or two. I will update this post on my progress then.

Thank you everyone for your help so far.

 

Really frustrated. Finally found time to do a complete restore to the factory build of my laptop (this is Windows 10 Home pre-anniversary version). Everything was perfect (windows was shown as activated) and then after upgrading to the Anniversary edition and leaving my computer idle for a while got the same issues as shown in the post. The only difference is that my background watermark simply says "Windows 10 Home" instead of the please activate windows. Once again sppsvc.exe won't start and throws the Error 5 (Access Denied).

What are my next steps? I have no idea.