Hum Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Suddenly my Windows 10 is not activated -- why ? I bought a genuine W10 dvd. It wouldn't reinstall when I added a SSD. A digital license activated on the SSD. Now after several Updates, my screen says Windows is no longer Activated. DConnell 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T3X4S Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 reboot ? Might just be a temp syncing issue. It wouldnt be the 1st time I heard of a major update flaking out on the key, but it usually goes back to being authenticated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techbeck Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Happened to me once on a SP4. Restored the SP4 back to factory defaults, didnt help. Only thing that worked was I had to DL a factory restore image from MS and that worked just fine. No idea how it because inactivated. You can get your install key via this program and then try to manually activate it agian. http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/produkey.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goretsky Supervisor Posted January 11, 2017 Supervisor Share Posted January 11, 2017 Hello, I am curious: Where did you buy Microsoft Windows 10 on DVD from? The reason that I ask is that I've only ever seen it sold on a Microsoft-branded USB flash drive in retail packaging. Is there another version that's sold on DVD (System Builder, OEM, etc.?)? Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circaflex Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 13 hours ago, goretsky said: Hello, I am curious: Where did you buy Microsoft Windows 10 on DVD from? The reason that I ask is that I've only ever seen it sold on a Microsoft-branded USB flash drive in retail packaging. Is there another version that's sold on DVD (System Builder, OEM, etc.?)? Regards, Aryeh Goretsky I believe System builder is still offered as a disc version. goretsky 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goretsky Supervisor Posted January 11, 2017 Supervisor Share Posted January 11, 2017 Hello, Ah... well, it should be possible to call Microsoft and re-activate the license key using the steps outlined in https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/950929/get-help-activating-microsoft-windows. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Circaflex 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted January 12, 2017 Author Share Posted January 12, 2017 I bought an OEM DVD disc from Amazon, over a year ago. After several months, I attempted to Reinstall W10 on a SSD. It would not accept the product key on the same hardware, save for the SSD. After a few minutes, a digital license took over. Apparently a DL expires after 6 months or something. All I can think of is to wipe the SSD and clone the hard drive Windows 10 over to the SSD. DConnell 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circaflex Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 6 minutes ago, Hum said: Apparently a DL expires after 6 months or something. No they don't. You are either missing a step somewhere or doing something wrong, regarding the key not being accepted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAZMINATOR Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 7 minutes ago, Hum said: I bought an OEM DVD disc from Amazon, over a year ago. After several months, I attempted to Reinstall W10 on a SSD. It would not accept the product key on the same hardware, save for the SSD. After a few minutes, a digital license took over. Apparently a DL expires after 6 months or something. All I can think of is to wipe the SSD and clone the hard drive Windows 10 over to the SSD. DL never expires. If you have MSA, then you are good. Otherwise, contact Microsoft to fix the key which @goretsky mentioned. goretsky and +Raze 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted January 12, 2017 Author Share Posted January 12, 2017 some Cumulative Update is installing -- will wait to see if that makes any difference. DConnell 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circaflex Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 3 minutes ago, TAZMINATOR said: DL never expires. If you have MSA, then you are good. Except it has nothing to do with your MSA account. The digital license is tied to your hardware ID. If the MSA was a requirement, care to explain why 4 out of 5 of my machines, using local accounts, auto activate when connected to the internet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted January 12, 2017 Author Share Posted January 12, 2017 The Update did not help. Re-entering DL key did not work. No error codes match on the MS Help page: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/10738 DConnell 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAZMINATOR Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 3 minutes ago, Hum said: The Update did not help. Re-entering DL key did not work. No error codes match on the MS Help page: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/10738 Call MS and have it fixed. It would be better calling instead of searching for a solution. goretsky and +Raze 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted January 12, 2017 Author Share Posted January 12, 2017 3 minutes ago, TAZMINATOR said: Call MS and have it fixed. It would be better calling instead of searching for a solution. Call how ... ? Just tried signing in to MS account -- this did not Reactivate W10. DConnell 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circaflex Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 8 minutes ago, Hum said: The Update did not help. Re-entering DL key did not work. No error codes match on the MS Help page: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/10738 You shouldn't be entering the digital license key. You either enter the product key from the disc you purchased or connect to the net and if you had a valid digital license it will activate. 1 minute ago, Hum said: Call how ... ? Just tried signing in to MS account -- this did not Reactivate W10. Again your ms account has nothing to do with your license. The license is tied to the hardware id of your system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted January 12, 2017 Author Share Posted January 12, 2017 (edited) 2 minutes ago, Circaflex said: You shouldn't be entering the digital license key. You either enter the product key from the disc you purchased or connect to the net and if you had a valid digital license it will activate. Neither the DL or the DVD key was accepted. DConnell 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circaflex Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Just now, Hum said: Neither the DL ort the DVD key was accepted. My memory is a little foggy, but I believe the digital license was generic across many computers that accepted the free upgrade. You dont want to enter that key in. You can activate via phone by opening command prompt and entering slui.exe 4 and this will guide you through it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Raze Subscriber² Posted January 12, 2017 Subscriber² Share Posted January 12, 2017 (edited) Hum, check these links out - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/20530/windows-10-reactivating-after-hardware-change then go to this one - https://partner.support.services.microsoft.com/en-us/contact/menu/software/windows/setup/ goretsky and TAZMINATOR 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiranui Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 I once had trouble with a particular machine at work failing to activate. I communicated with an MS employee via the MS website and they used remote desktop to check what was going on before sending me a brand new key. It was easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAZMINATOR Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 16 minutes ago, Hum said: Call how ... ? Just tried signing in to MS account -- this did not Reactivate W10. Call MS and they will take care of it. MSA should solve this problem which it was mentioned in the first link @Raze posted. +Raze 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted January 12, 2017 Author Share Posted January 12, 2017 (edited) Well by DAMN -- it actually did accept my OEM product key ! mission accomplished. +Raze, DConnell and goretsky 3 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAZMINATOR Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Glad you got it sorted. +Raze and Hum 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted January 12, 2017 Author Share Posted January 12, 2017 I still don't understand why W10 did not accept the product key when I installed to the SSD, where the digital license came from, how the DL was broken, or why now, the original product key worked .... oh well. DConnell 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrynalyne Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 (edited) 1 minute ago, Hum said: I still don't understand why W10 did not accept the product key when I installed to the SSD, where the digital license came from, how the DL was broken, or why now, the original product key worked .... oh well. It takes time to auto activate sometimes. My enterprise copy at work took two days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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