Can you even reuse a laptop Windows 10 install?

[Easyzilit]

I know you probably get alot of posts like these so i will make it quick:

 

When my laptop died i took the Win10 SSd out and put it in mey newly built Gaming PC. I knew windows would deactivate and i probably could not reactivate because it is a OEM key.

Halve a year later i installed a new GPU and baught a Win10 Pro license and put the key in the Key changer and it updated to Win 10 pro but i still cant activate Windows.

 

Is it because the Instalition ID is still an OEM one or do i have to call them to reactivate again?

I already tried using phone activation via smartphone website and they told me i used it on too many devices.

The activation Error is 0xC004C008.

Could it also be that i somehow dont have anymore activations?

 

so any help would be appreciated and i know it is kinda scummy to join the forum to get tech support but

well now i can atleast stay and maybe contribute in the future.

 

[Princess Luna]

Usually OEM Windows licenses that comes on pre-installed Windows on laptops are tied to it's motherboard and when you switch that piece of hardware there's really not a way around to still use the same license.

 

Now if you are asking about the Windows 10 Pro license you bought not working if it was originally OEM meant then yeah it's nothing new... sometimes those work because they never got tied to any hardware previously but it is and miss as this is a grey market.

 

There are no true downsides to using Windows without activating it aside the watermark and not being able to change your wallpaper so there's that.

[manikyath]

well... googling the error already tells you the issue: "key already in use"

 

did yo buy it from a legitimate source, or did you just pick up some g2a (or similar) key?

[Easyzilit]

thank you

it was a key from German website lizengo. It was pitched as pretty reputable by overclocker derbauer and their service seemd legit. Also at 40€ not as dirt cheap as some of the skechier sites.

 

so my current problem is that my key changed i can see it in the settings and i am on 10 Pro but still no activation

[Easyzilit]

also i already googled the key and some sites claimed it could be because of hardware change but i definitly didnt change hardware after activation so the question is also if the device "remembers" information about the install besids the key.

[LogicalDrm]

50 minutes ago, Easyzilit said:

also i already googled the key and some sites claimed it could be because of hardware change but i definitly didnt change hardware after activation so the question is also if the device "remembers" information about the install besids the key.

€40 is still dirty cheap comparing what retain or actual OEM prices are. Try just formatting whole drive and then activating. If its still doing that with new key, then that key is borked also. Remember that if you have any key connected to MS account, that might cause issues also.

[Easyzilit]

Could that be it? I created a MS account and is that is now linked to the old key?