Windows 10: Windows will not activate on my new motherboard

Hello,I recently replaced my motherboard and Windows SSD boot drive with new hardware and Windows is now displaying "Activate Windows" watermark on my screen. It appears my copy of windows is still attached to my old motherboard which is no longer usable. I wiped the old drive with the command prompt when I was installing Windows on the new drive. I have a physical retail copy of Windows 10.How do I de-activate this old hardware and associate the license with my new setup?

:)

 

Windows 10 activation with new motherboard


I've tried contacting Microsoft support by both chat (twice) and phone, and none of it was helpful. And so I'm posting the problem here.

I have a laptop that was originally running Windows 7. I upgraded to Windows 10 last month via the free upgrade option, and things were working fine for a while. However, a motherboard issue forced me to replace the motherboard yesterday. This also required me to move the old hard drive and CPU to the new motherboard.

Now, my problem is this: while I do still have Windows 10 installed on my device, it is an evaluation copy; it is not activated as the full product. Some research told me that the free W10 upgrade is linked to the device's hardware, something I didn't know. Since I'm using a different motherboard now, Microsoft apparently doesn't recognize that I DO own a full version of W10 courtesy of the free upgrade.

So now I'm wondering whether there is a way to transfer my W10 license to the new motherboard so it will activate. And before you ask/suggest anything:

• My original sticker on the bottom of my computer with the W7 license key on it fell off a long time ago. So no, I don't have that.
• I tried contacting Dell to get my original product key, and they refused to help me because I'm out of warranty, even though what I'm asking them for is very simple.

Any help is appreciated.

 

Windows saying not activated after motherboard upgrade

Hi,

I recently upgraded some PC parts (new motherboard, RAM, processor, video card) and ever since then I have a watermark in the bottom right of my display reading "Activate Windows - Go to Settings to activate Windows."

I took advantage of the free upgrade to Windows 10 back when they were allowing Windows 8 users to upgrade to Windows 10. I don't remember receiving an activation key during this upgrade.

I've read online that installing a new motherboard can occasionally cause issues with OS activation. How can I reactivate my Windows without having to purchase Windows 10.

Some things to note:

• This watermark was not there prior to installing the new motherboard
• As some places (and a Microsoft Tech Support member) suggested, typing the query "wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey" into CMD just returns with "OA3xOriginalProductKey". The Microsoft Support member seemed confused by this and said there was nothing further she could do.

Thanks!

 

Can't activate windows 10 after changing motherboard

Hello,

I can't activate my windows 10 license after changing my motherboard.

The license I have is a Windows 7 Pro license, that got changed into a Windows 10 license, when the upgrade was free.

Steps I took previous to the motherboard change:

- I linked my Microsoft account with my device, so that my license is registered under my account (it showed up with my mail in the accounts section)

Now, with the new motherboard built in, I can't activate Windows 10 anymore.

I tried the support steps listed by the Microsoft helper (Activation -> Click Troubleshoot), but that did not work.

In the Activitation settings I get the error code: 0xC004F213

Does anybody know a solution for this, as I haven't found one so far.