Activating Win10 on a new PC

[daddy cool]

Right, I had Win10 activated on a PC ive been using for the past ~10 years. It was activated with a legit copy of Win7 - well, it was a Dell MS Developers multi-use copy, which was installed on multiple PCs.
A few years ago did the upgrade procedure to Win10 which I assume gave me a fresh product key, embedded into the MOBO. At least twice a year i'll do a reinstall to keep the system fresh, and it always reactivated fine. I think a couple of reinstalls ago I (accidentally) linked it to my Microsoft account (my email address and password to access email), and it prompted me to enter those details on subsequent reinstalls - which is fine.

Today I fitted a new CPU, Mobo, RAM & SSD. Popped my Win10 disc in, it prompted me to enter me email address and password, and installed.
However, its not activated:

Clicking troubleshooter doesnt help:

Following the "ive changed hardware" link just brings back the device name for my OLD pc (the new one has the system name "DESKTOP-C2RT72E"


Any ideas how to fix?
1) I could put the old Mobo/CPU/RAM in a spare case, and the previous SSD hasn't been wiped so I assume it should fire up ok. Then somehow double check that my Microsoft account is indeed linked to a Win10 key...
2) Contact MS customer services - im just worried in case they interrogate me about the previous version of Win7 I had before this current Win10...
3) Reinstall the Win7 multi-licence version, and then do a fresh upgrade to Win10 (is that still an option)
4) Pony up the dough and buy Win10...
5) Anything else?

[randlemarcus]

1,2 or 3 should all work, especially if you do 1 and use one of the plethora of key finders.

In MSFT eyes, new motherboard,CPU and disk = new PC.

[toohuge]

There’s no real need to activate windows .... if you can live the with annoying message and the fact your desktop background will always revert when you reboot - there’s no change in functionality.

So if it’s causing a load of stress and bother - you’re not going to end up with a computer you can’t use

[oldcynic]

Microsoft will tie your licence to your hardware so I’m not surprised you’ve got problems. Put back the original hardware and it will activate - then change things 1 at a time.Once you’ve activated with all new hardware then rebuild again if you want.

[manracer]

Or you could get a key from eBay for around £10

[daddy cool]

oldcynic said:

Microsoft will tie your licence to your hardware so I’m not surprised you’ve got problems. Put back the original hardware and it will activate - then change things 1 at a time.Once you’ve activated with all new hardware then rebuild again if you want.

I cant change the hardware one at a time - its all next-gen stuff so the mobo/CPU/RAM has to be as a bundle.
However, I have the SSD from the old setup (with activated Win10) untouched - so if I popped that in the new system, would it boot up ok, and would it be an activated copy of Win10 still? And would that activation then get passed to the hardware?

[Pit Pony]

manracer said:

Or you could get a key from eBay for around £10

Link.pleaeeeeaaaaase

[daddy cool]

ash73 said:

This might help
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-re-activate-win...

Thanks, but it doesn't work in my case - the guide ends up at this screen:

and there should be a link "See other devices linked to your Microsoft account"

However, as you can see from my screenshot, I don't have that clickable link:



I'll happily pay £10, £20, £30ish for a legit copy of Win10, but reading the reviews of some sellers it seems to be a scam - you get a "copy" of Win10 (whch I already have) but not a unique activation code.
Im currently using Win10 Pro (as I upgraded from Win7Pro) but I guess nowadays Win10 Home is adequate - so if someone can recommend a 100% legit source of an activation key for cheaps, then im all ears!

[daddy cool]

Oh, its activated now... I clicked that im using the old Device name and its now saying its been activated on the current system. Weird!

[manracer]

Pit Pony said:

manracer said:

Or you could get a key from eBay for around £10

Link.pleaeeeeaaaaase

This is the one I used.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254659715241

[sgrimshaw]

daddy cool said:

I'll happily pay £10, £20, £30ish for a legit copy of Win10, but reading the reviews of some sellers it seems to be a scam - you get a "copy" of Win10 (whch I already have) but not a unique activation code.
Im currently using Win10 Pro (as I upgraded from Win7Pro) but I guess nowadays Win10 Home is adequate - so if someone can recommend a 100% legit source of an activation key for cheaps, then im all ears!

This is Dennis Publishing so I reckon it can be trusted, £39.99 for W10Pro, £29.99 for W10Home:

https://store.pcpro.co.uk/index.php

[nanodex]

I used Lizengo which worked fine for Win10 Home at £22.99. Some more details at techadvisor

[h0b0]

As has been previously suggested, there are many keys on ebay that would help. While they sit in a grey area, I think its what I would do.

In my case, the free version of Windows 8 rolled into a free version of Windows 10 but a downgraded level with less functionality. One thing I needed, and of course paid for in Windows 7, was no longer in the package they provided. I am not complaining about the free upgrades but I would have investigated alternative options if I had known about the reduced functionality. By upgrading and discovering I could not work that day I was forced into finding an immediate solution.