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I recently upgraded my MB, ram and CPU to support a windows 11 upgrade. Trying to reactivate windows 10 before progressing. I did not reinstall windows or alter the SSD at any point. I attempted to run the troubleshooter, it tells me that I can not use any devices linked to my account. This is a retail key, that I converted to digital license after upgrading from 8.1 to 10. I attempted manually entering the original key, copying the key I found in regedit, no luck. AI routes me in circles with no fix. Called the 800 number, which directed me back to microsoft AI before hanging up. What can I do?
Note: in my microsoft account, I see the same desktop listed twice now. I also attempted retrieving my confirmation ID after entering the product ID and got another error that way.
Hello
First of all, any key found in the registry is NOT the actual key. Those are placeholder keys, not meant for activation.
When did you upgrade your Windows 8 to 10? What year?
How did you obtain your license initially?
Did it come with the device preinstalled, or did you purchase it?
If you purchased it, did you purchase from Microsoft, or from third party?
It was a retail version I purchased from newegg. 8.1 installation dvd with key after building the desktop myself. Roughly 2015. I upgraded almost immediately after windows 10 released ran everything until some time in 2018-2019 when I upgraded the MB and CPU. Was able to reactivate by signing into my Microsoft account at that point, and nothing has been changed until last night when I switched from AM3 to AM4 hardware. After posting this question, I made another attempt at speaking with someone else from support and learned about the placeholder key... spoke with 2 people, both refused to help because windows 10 is no longer supported. Told me to find a local repair shop or buy a new windows 11 key
Got it. Thanks for the context and license history.
Unfortunately, you can't use a license originated from Windows 7/8 to upgrade all the way to Windows 11. You could upgrade to Windows 10, and the digital entitlement is yours to keep, but for Windows 10. It doesn't give you unlimited upgrade.
If this were an original Windows 10 license, then you could still obtain Win11 upgrade for free.
I find that hard to believe, as I was being offered the update via windows update but didnt meet system requirements due to tpm not being equipped... even so, I could not reactivate windows 10 after the hardware change, despite not reinstalling windows or modifying the ssd in any way in between
I have no reason to lie to you.
Here are some examples of other users who contacted Microsoft Support and were told they needed to purchase a new license - Many users were able to upgrade all the way to 11 a few years ago without licensing issue, but due to the change rolling out in Sept 2023 (in that link I shared), many users' licenses were deactivated after reinstall, BIOS update or hardware changes.
As for the Win10 activation, Can you please type cmd in the search on the taskbar and hit enter to launch command prompt, then run the following command:
slmgr /dlv
Then share a screenshot please. Thanks!