Activation Problem

Question

Activation Problem

DeWayne Iverson 0

I have the same PC tower I built 6 years ago. At first I had Windows 10 Pro. When Windows 11 came out I upgraded to that it was a free upgrade. Recently 3 months ago my hard drive went bad I installed a new drive and downloaded to on my Laptop another Windows 11 Pro 3 Days ago I went to to start the PC and black screen with unable to start windows and it then tried to fix but unable. So Yesterday went to a Microsoft web site and again downloaded from my laptop Windows 11 put it on a usb thumb drive and loaded it on my PC since I did have a product key I skipped that part. The install was a success I'm using it now. But the problem is with activation. I went to activate and it failed I ran the troubleshooter and it could not activate. I went and signed into my MSN account as Administer and thought that would finally do the trick but no way. I also went into Windows Powershell as administer type in the code to get product key but the (wmic softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey) but the wmic is not recognized! It says I can purchase a digital lic. from the Microsoft store but that is a last resort. Do you know a way to activate my Windows install. It is very important to have this accomplished

Thank You

DeWayne Iverson 0 Reputation points

2026-11-10T16:55:49.52+00:00

re-reading my post it should say (did not have a Product Key)

2 answers

Your answer

DeWayne Iverson 0 Reputation points

2026-11-10T16:55:49.52+00:00

re-reading my post it should say (did not have a Product Key)

Answer 1

DeWayne Iverson 0

I gave up and purchased a Digital Lic. from the Microsoft store for $199+tax. And it was instant fix. 2 days trying to get activated...my time = $$ also.

0 comments

Answer 2

DaveM121 947.1K Independent Advisor

1

The WMIC command has been deprecated in Windows 11, it is no longer available.

2

1

Where did you get your Windows licence was that pre-installed on the PC or did you purchase a full retail Windows licence from Microsoft or from a 3rd party retailer?

2

Click your Start Button, type cmd then right click Command Prompt and choose 'Run as Administrator'

Run or paste this command and hit Enter:

slmgr.vbs /dlv

Please post a screenshot of the resulting dialog

3

Download the free ShowKeyPlus app from the Microsoft Store.

Please provide a screenshot of that app window and please hide any product key in the screenshot.

DeWayne Iverson 0 Reputation points

2026-11-10T18:21:06.0233333+00:00

Here is what came up. Only a partial product key is shown. Will this get me anywhere with activation? I have yet to download the ShowKeyPlass app.
DaveM121 947.1K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-11-10T18:24:19.3733333+00:00

That screenshot does seem to indicate you have a full retail licence.

Please download ShowKeyPlus to check if it can find your product key, if it lists an 'Installed Key', ignore that, it is just a generic key, check if it can find another product key.
DeWayne Iverson 0 Reputation points

2026-11-10T18:34:54.03+00:00

To answer some of your questions. I initially bought Windows 10 Pro for $199 Microsoft store. A number of after Windows 11 came out and when I saw Window 10 was not going to be supported I downloaded Windows 11 Pro it did not cost me anything. It was easy to activate that time. Couple days ago I could not boot my PC as Windows 11 Pro was unrepairable corrupted. So went and downloaded, after signing into my account, Windows 11 Pro was not purchased. What I did do, was I decided to change the name of the PC. Could this be a problem with activation? I need to know how to change it back to its original name if it is.
DeWayne Iverson 0 Reputation points

2026-11-10T18:53:53.9466667+00:00

I downloaded the ShowKeyPlus this is what I got. I don't understand what the Default Key and the Digital License is all about.
DeWayne Iverson 0 Reputation points

2026-11-10T20:45:07.6466667+00:00

I just went and purchased a digital lic. This cost me $199+Tax but the PC was activated instantly. In my world time equals $$ I waisted 2 days playing around trying to activate.
DaveM121 947.1K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-11-11T06:21:18.5133333+00:00

Okay I understand, if that was the best solution for you.