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Windows 10 no longer activated?

Fortress
By Fortress
in Troubleshooting
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Go to solution Solved by JefferyD90,
3 minutes ago, Fortress said:

My HTPC motherboard died and I had to replace it with a different one because the store doesn't sell that particular motherboard anymore. When I booted the machine, and went to System, it showed that Windows 10 was not activated. What should I do to reactivate it? I upgraded this machine to Windows 10 from Windows 7. Help is appreciated! 

You have basically 1.5 options.

 

Option 1:  Reinstall Windows 10 with your Windows 7 product key (This is my recommended fix)

 

Option 2: use your Windows 7 product key to activate Windows.

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My HTPC motherboard died and I had to replace it with a different one because the store doesn't sell that particular motherboard anymore. When I booted the machine, and went to System, it showed that Windows 10 was not activated. What should I do to reactivate it? I upgraded this machine to Windows 10 from Windows 7. Help is appreciated! 

Has a Ph.D in Nothing and does not speak Chinese, Italian or French. (aber ich kann Deutsch sprechen)

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Posted
3 minutes ago, Fortress said:

My HTPC motherboard died and I had to replace it with a different one because the store doesn't sell that particular motherboard anymore. When I booted the machine, and went to System, it showed that Windows 10 was not activated. What should I do to reactivate it? I upgraded this machine to Windows 10 from Windows 7. Help is appreciated! 

Hi.

 

Your Windows activation is saved to the motherboard. If you want to re-activate, you'll have to reinstall Windows 7 and upgrade again or buy a Windows 10 product key.

2017 Gaming PC

Excellent value machine, keeps me going.

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K | GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 8GB | RAM: 16GB DDR4 | Motherboard: MSI Z170A XPOWER GAMING TITANIUM

PSU: Casecom 600W PSU | Case: Corsair Graphite 230T | SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB | HDD: 3TB WD Blue

Dell XPS 15 9560

Beautiful laptop, in a stunning form factor.

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700HQ | GPU: Intel HD Graphics 630/Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 (not mobile, full GPU) | RAM: 16GB DDR4 | SSD: 512GB SK Hynix SSD

Display: 4K IPS 100% Adobe RGB Touch Panel | I/O: Two USB 3.0 with PowerShare, HDMI, 3.5mm Headphone Jack, SD Card Slot, and Thunderbolt 3 USB-C

Samsung Galaxy S8 64GB | Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 32GB

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3 minutes ago, Fortress said:

My HTPC motherboard died and I had to replace it with a different one because the store doesn't sell that particular motherboard anymore. When I booted the machine, and went to System, it showed that Windows 10 was not activated. What should I do to reactivate it? I upgraded this machine to Windows 10 from Windows 7. Help is appreciated! 

You have basically 1.5 options.

 

Option 1:  Reinstall Windows 10 with your Windows 7 product key (This is my recommended fix)

 

Option 2: use your Windows 7 product key to activate Windows.

Please spend as much time writing your question, as you want me to spend responding to it.  Take some time, and explain your issue, please!

Spoiler

If you need to learn how to install Windows, check here:  http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/324871-guide-how-to-install-windows-the-right-way/

Event Viewer 101: https://youtu.be/GiF9N3fJbnE

 

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1 minute ago, AlphaGamer46 said:

Hi.

 

Your Windows activation is saved to the motherboard. If you want to re-activate, you'll have to reinstall Windows 7 and upgrade again or buy a Windows 10 product key.

You do NOT have to reinstall Windows 7 and then upgrade the OS.  Windows 10 can now be activated by simply using the Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 (but not Windows 8) product key.

Please spend as much time writing your question, as you want me to spend responding to it.  Take some time, and explain your issue, please!

Spoiler

If you need to learn how to install Windows, check here:  http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/324871-guide-how-to-install-windows-the-right-way/

Event Viewer 101: https://youtu.be/GiF9N3fJbnE

 

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15 hours ago, JefferyD90 said:

You have basically 1.5 options.

 

Option 1:  Reinstall Windows 10 with your Windows 7 product key (This is my recommended fix)

 

Option 2: use your Windows 7 product key to activate Windows.

This worked pretty well, option 2, that is. Now my copy of Windows 10 is once again activated. Thanks guys!

Has a Ph.D in Nothing and does not speak Chinese, Italian or French. (aber ich kann Deutsch sprechen)

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1 hour ago, JefferyD90 said:

You do NOT have to reinstall Windows 7 and then upgrade the OS.  Windows 10 can now be activated by simply using the Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 (but not Windows 8) product key.

Okay, I keep on forgetting that. Thankyou for refreshing my memory.

2017 Gaming PC

Excellent value machine, keeps me going.

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K | GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 8GB | RAM: 16GB DDR4 | Motherboard: MSI Z170A XPOWER GAMING TITANIUM

PSU: Casecom 600W PSU | Case: Corsair Graphite 230T | SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB | HDD: 3TB WD Blue

Dell XPS 15 9560

Beautiful laptop, in a stunning form factor.

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700HQ | GPU: Intel HD Graphics 630/Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 (not mobile, full GPU) | RAM: 16GB DDR4 | SSD: 512GB SK Hynix SSD

Display: 4K IPS 100% Adobe RGB Touch Panel | I/O: Two USB 3.0 with PowerShare, HDMI, 3.5mm Headphone Jack, SD Card Slot, and Thunderbolt 3 USB-C

Samsung Galaxy S8 64GB | Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 32GB

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10 hours ago, Fortress said:

This worked pretty well, option 2, that is. Now my copy of Windows 10 is once again activated. Thanks guys!

Well I hope you don't have driver conflict problems

Please spend as much time writing your question, as you want me to spend responding to it.  Take some time, and explain your issue, please!

Spoiler

If you need to learn how to install Windows, check here:  http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/324871-guide-how-to-install-windows-the-right-way/

Event Viewer 101: https://youtu.be/GiF9N3fJbnE

 

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