New
#1
Windows 10 activation with new motherboard
I've tried contacting Microsoft support by both chat (twice) and phone, and none of it was helpful. And so I'm posting the problem here.
I have a laptop that was originally running Windows 7. I upgraded to Windows 10 last month via the free upgrade option, and things were working fine for a while. However, a motherboard issue forced me to replace the motherboard yesterday. This also required me to move the old hard drive and CPU to the new motherboard.
Now, my problem is this: while I do still have Windows 10 installed on my device, it is an evaluation copy; it is not activated as the full product. Some research told me that the free W10 upgrade is linked to the device's hardware, something I didn't know. Since I'm using a different motherboard now, Microsoft apparently doesn't recognize that I DO own a full version of W10 courtesy of the free upgrade.
So now I'm wondering whether there is a way to transfer my W10 license to the new motherboard so it will activate. And before you ask/suggest anything:
- My original sticker on the bottom of my computer with the W7 license key on it fell off a long time ago. So no, I don't have that.
- I tried contacting Dell to get my original product key, and they refused to help me because I'm out of warranty, even though what I'm asking them for is very simple.
Any help is appreciated.