Windows 11 Keeps Deactivating Itself

Frankidor · February 19, 2023

I think this info might be relevant, so I'll mention it right here in the beginning. My Windows was installed as Windows 10 Pro using a cheap activation key and right after installation I upgraded to Windows 11. I installed Windows without internet connection. Windows has been working flawlessy for a year up to the point, which I'm about to explain below.

I wanted to experiment with having the ability to allow a window to become active by hovering over with the mouse. However, I didn't really like the default 0.5 seconds Windows offers, so I went to the registry to adjust it manually. I really didn't think at the time that this would create issues, but it's no wonder people warn about going into the registry (especially since I've dealt with it previously and didn't have issues arise). I created a backup file of the registry before making any changes. After changing the hover over time, every time I would boot my computer, my mouse icon would become like the old Windows 95 mouse. I was able to change it back to look like normal, but it would default back every time I rebooted. I believe I still had some issue with the hover time, but at this point I don't really remember anymore. This was almost a month ago.

I tried to import the previous registry file, but I couldn't get it to import. After trying multiple things and none of them allowing me to import the previous registry, I decided to do a system restore.

And the system restore fixed the issue. But it also created another issue which I am still currently struggling with. Windows keeps deactivating itself roughly every 2 or 3 days. I don't always notice it, because sometimes the watermark won't show up, even if in the settings it is telling me to activate Windows. What's strange is that every time I hit the activation troubleshoot button, my Windows gets activated every single time.

I've tried multiple things including updating Windows, updating all motherboard drivers and BIOS and using scannow in command prompt (which did find issues and fixed them, but that didn't help either). I even got a new Windows key for free through customer service from the online store where I purchased my cheap Windows key previously, but even this new key didn't resolve the issue.

So here are the questions lingering on my mind. Are there any other troubleshooting methods I should try? Should I even bother fixing this if it causes no issues and keep on activating it manually every other day or so? Should I try resetting the PC or should I instead do a clean Windows install, is it worth it?

Definitely not one of my proudest moments, all because I wanted to change some mouse settings

Specs:

i7-12700K

RTX 2060 Super

32GB DDR5 5200MHz

Z690-P WIFI

Windows 11 Pro, 22H2 OS build: 22621.1265

Needfuldoer · February 19, 2023

5 minutes ago, Frankidor said:

I even got a new Windows key for free through customer service from the online store where I purchased my cheap Windows key previously, but even this new key didn't resolve the issue.

Because they sell illegitimate gray market product keys, either intended for developing nations or stolen from large corporate deployments.

Buy a real Windows license and do a clean install.