Activation fails efter complete hardware meltdown and replacement.


  1. MrMajestic
    Posts : 4
    Windows 10
       New #1

    Activation fails efter complete hardware meltdown and replacement.


    Hi!
    So my computer went up in smoke, a big white plume of smoke, yay. I got most parts replaced under warranty, unfortunetly the motherboard and GPU had to be replaced with newer parts. My installation of Windows 10 Pro is a free upgrade from Windows 8.1 Pro but now fails due to the hardware change. Stupid me forgot to link my license to my Microsoft account, although I dont know if that would have helped. So what are my options now? Thankful for any advice you can give me.
      My Computer
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  3. dalchina
    Posts : 42,988
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       New #2

    Hi, you could try this:
    How to re-activate Windows 10 after a hardware change | Windows Central
      My Computers
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  4. MrMajestic
    Posts : 4
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       New #3

    dalchina said:
    Hi, you could try this:
    How to re-activate Windows 10 after a hardware change | Windows Central
    Thanks, but I tried that already. Since I didn't link the license to my account before the crash it doesn't show up anywhere.
      My Computer
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  6. NavyLCDR
    Posts : 18,432
    Windows 11 Pro
       New #4

    Activate it with the Windows 8 product key.
      My Computer
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  7. Matthew Wai
    Posts : 7,607
    Windows 10 Home 20H2
       New #5

    Is it an OEM version?
      My Computer
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  8. MrMajestic
    Posts : 4
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       New #6

    Matthew Wai said:
    Is it an OEM version?
    No its a retail version
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  9. MrMajestic
    Posts : 4
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       New #7

    NavyLCDR said:
    Activate it with the Windows 8 product key.
    Oh man, that worked. I love you <3 Thank you so much. Didn't even consider that might work.
      My Computer
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