# Started Getting the "Activate Windows" Message



## avrona (Jul 13, 2019)

So today I've started getting the "Activate Windows" notification out of nowhere. I tried doing the activation troubleshooting but it said it can't activate the device. I've upgraded my CPU, mobo, and RAM yesterday, but yesterday it was fine, only today I've started getting the message. Any ideas on what's going on?


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## Dinnercore (Jul 13, 2019)

From what I know about windows and its license bs you now have a whole new PC that needs another license. Atleast thats what I got told after just switching out my GPU only and windows claiming I need to activate again. It was the day I became a bad boy with an eye patch.


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## avrona (Jul 13, 2019)

Dinnercore said:


> From what I know about windows and its license bs you now have a whole new PC that needs another license. Atleast thats what I got told after just switching out my GPU only and windows claiming I need to activate again. It was the day I became a bad boy with an eye patch.


Issue is yesterday after I upgraded it was fine though.


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## Dinnercore (Jul 13, 2019)

avrona said:


> Issue is yesterday after I upgraded it was fine though.


Windows does not check the activation status every minute. It takes a day or two after a change for the thing to check you.

You switched mobo too? In that case you should reinstall windows anyway. So if you reinstalled, did you use your old activation key?


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## P4-630 (Jul 13, 2019)

avrona said:


> So today I've started getting the "Activate Windows" notification out of nowhere. I tried doing the activation troubleshooting but it said it can't activate the device. I've upgraded my CPU, mobo, and RAM yesterday, but yesterday it was fine, only today I've started getting the message. Any ideas on what's going on?





			https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/20530/windows-10-reactivating-after-hardware-change
		


Usually once you have changed the motherboard you'll need a new license unless you had a retail key.


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## avrona (Jul 13, 2019)

Dinnercore said:


> Windows does not check the activation status every minute. It takes a day or two after a change for the thing to check you.
> 
> You switched mobo too? In that case you should reinstall windows anyway. So if you reinstalled, did you use your old activation key?


I didn't reinstall it nor do I even have an activation key for it.


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## micropage7 (Jul 13, 2019)

retail windows when activated it will include the ID of your motherboard so if you change your motherboard even you didn't reinstall it, the Microsoft will refuse the activation coz the motherboard ID is different than you activated before, so that's why it shows notification to activate


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## avrona (Jul 13, 2019)

micropage7 said:


> retail windows when activated it will include the ID of your motherboard so if you change your motherboard even you didn't reinstall it, the Microsoft will refuse the activation coz the motherboard ID is different than you activated before, so that's why it shows notification to activate


Ok, but what do I do then to fix it?


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## micropage7 (Jul 13, 2019)

avrona said:


> Ok, but what do I do then to fix it?


you can revert to your old board or buying a new license


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## avrona (Jul 13, 2019)

micropage7 said:


> you can revert to your old board or buying a new license


So there's literally no good solution for it then?


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## P4-630 (Jul 13, 2019)

avrona said:


> So there's literally no good solution for it then?





P4-630 said:


> https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/20530/windows-10-reactivating-after-hardware-change
> Usually once you have changed the motherboard you'll need a new license unless you had a retail key.


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## rtwjunkie (Jul 13, 2019)

avrona said:


> So there's literally no good solution for it then?


TPU is partnered with a sponsor for dirt cheap W10 licenses.  IIRC, like $10.

Or you can pay for a retail license and never have to worry about this issue again, no matter how many hardware changes.


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## P4-630 (Jul 13, 2019)

rtwjunkie said:


> TPU is partnered with a sponsor for dirt cheap W10 licenses. IIRC, like $10.



I was just about saying that.
Might even get a key for free.








						URCDKeys Summer Special Pricing on Windows 10 Pro and Office 2019, Plus a Giveaway!
					

URCDKeys wants you to spend more money on your hardware, by choosing heavily discounted, genuine, globally-valid essential software for your new PC build instead. Windows 10 Pro is the operating system of choice for PC enthusiasts, and URCDKeys has it in store for as low as USD $11.17. Office...




					www.techpowerup.com


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## rtwjunkie (Jul 13, 2019)

P4-630 said:


> I was just about saying that.
> Might even get a key for free.
> 
> 
> ...


Lol, I was hust coming back here to post the link! Thanks!!


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## Dinnercore (Jul 13, 2019)

rtwjunkie said:


> Or you can pay for a retail license and never have to worry about this issue again, no matter how many hardware changes.


I dont want to sidetrack this thread for my own issue, but what makes you state that? I got told by microsoft support directly that any hardware changes render my bought retail license void and I´d have to buy a new one.
My issue was that after 2 GPU changes Windows 10 claimed to not be activated. I have a retail key and everything, called them and this is what they told me. It was about a year ago, did they change anything?


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## newtekie1 (Jul 13, 2019)

Dinnercore said:


> I dont want to sidetrack this thread for my own issue, but what makes you state that? I got told by microsoft support directly that any hardware changes render my bought retail license void and I´d have to buy a new one.
> My issue was that after 2 GPU changes Windows 10 claimed to not be activated. I have a retail key and everything, called them and this is what they told me. It was about a year ago, did they change anything?




Then you didn't have a retail key, you had an OEM key.  The OEM keys are about half the price of a retail, but retail keys can be transferred from one computer to another and OEM keys can't.  Just because you bought the OEM key at a retail store does not mean it is a retail key.  But if you didn't pay ~$300 for it, you probably didn't buy a retail key.

Retail keys have always been transferable, nothing has changed.  Also GPU changes don't trigger re-activation.  My main computer has had about 5 different GPUs in it, and it uses an OEM key, and I've never had to re-activate.


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## Dinnercore (Jul 13, 2019)

newtekie1 said:


> Then you didn't have a retail key, you had an OEM key.  The OEM keys are about half the price of a retail, but retail keys can be transferred from one computer to another and OEM keys can't.  Just because you bought the OEM key at a retail store does not mean it is a retail key.  But if you didn't pay ~$300 for it, you probably didn't buy a retail key.


I did pay 180€ for it, it was from a well known local PC-builder / retailer who sold them as genuine 'retail' license. One for one user. So either the store scammed me or microsoft. Either way the policy from microsoft itself is a scam, I´ll never pay again.


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## newtekie1 (Jul 13, 2019)

Dinnercore said:


> I did pay 180€ for it, it was from a well known local PC-builder / retailer who sold them as genuine 'retail' license. One for one user. So either the store scammed me or microsoft. Either way the policy from microsoft itself is a scam, I´ll never pay again.



Did it come in a big box or a flat envelope/CD sleeve?

How is the policy from Microsoft a scam?  They set these terms when you buy the product.


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## EarthDog (Jul 13, 2019)

avrona said:


> So there's literally no good solution for it then?


Welcome to how Windows works! A new mobo is a 'different pc' according to the TOS

Spend $15 on the license in the provided links and enjoy!


Or make the phone call to try and activate... be honest.


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## Dinnercore (Jul 13, 2019)

newtekie1 said:


> Did it come in a big box or a flat envelope/CD sleeve?
> 
> How is the policy from Microsoft a scam?  They set these terms when you buy the product.



It came in a big box, like games used to be in or other professional software.

It is a scam because of things like my case, they charge you big dollars for something, claim it can be used in a certain way and then tell you nope that is not the case please buy again. And again. And again. For the same thing for the same PC.

BTW this was the screenshot I took to try and proof that I had retail version. I could use this with my old GPU the 1080ti, but after switching from a GTX295 (just threw it in to test something) and then wiped all drivers to install my Vega 64 it said I´m no longer activated. I cut the key part from that screenshot.






EDIT: I mean just look at current retail prices, 140€ each time you switch a component in your PC? Makes upgrading absolutly impossible for PC users who want a legit windows.


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## Splinterdog (Jul 13, 2019)

As far as I know, a new motherboard equals a new activation every time, ie a new license.
If it was previously activated, you could always try the phone activation.


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## newtekie1 (Jul 13, 2019)

Dinnercore said:


> It came in a big box, like games used to be in or other professional software.
> 
> It is a scam because of things like my case, they charge you big dollars for something, claim it can be used in a certain way and then tell you nope that is not the case please buy again. And again. And again. For the same thing for the same PC.
> 
> ...



Sounds like you got scammed then by the retailer.  They were either selling OEM keys as retail(not likely and I'll tell you why) or they were selling pirated retail keys(most likely).

So, here is why I believe the shop was most likely selling pirated retail keys and the key they sold you finally got blacklisted by Microsoft for abuse.

First is your description of the package.  Windows hasn't come in a big box in a long time.  Since at least Windows 7, I've only ever seen the retail version come in those fancy plastic CD boxes that hinge open at one corner, then they did switch to boxes, but the boxes are tiny.  Just barely big enough to fit a DVD and pretty thin(though not flat like an envelope). And for the last few years, Windows 10 has come in an even smaller box with a flash drive instead of a DVD.  If it came in a big box like old school software, then it's likely a counterfeit.

The second clue is the fact that just changing out the GPU caused Windows to loose activation.  Changing a single part will not cause this.  I've done it countless times in the past, it just doesn't happen.  Even with OEM keys, this doesn't happen.  Changing the mother is pretty much the only thing that will cause an OEM key to not activate anymore(and I've actually been successful in getting those to re-activate after a motherboard swap, so yeah.)  Microsoft is actually pretty lenient about activation unless the key has been blacklisted because of abuse.  However, what changing a GPU will cause is Windows to reach out to the activation servers to make sure the key is still valid.  After a hardware change, this is triggered, and at that point it will detect that the key is blacklisted and de-activate itself.

So it is not $150 each time you switch a component.  That is simply not how it works.  In fact, to give you an idea of how lenient Microsoft is with activation, I'm still using the my original Windows 7 Pro OEM key that I bought 8 or 9 years ago.  I've re-activate it on multiple new computers I've built over the years, even now used it to get the free upgrade to Windows 10 Pro and re-activated that on two computers.  But I've never had it activated on more than one computer at once.  You technically aren't allowed to transfer the key like I have to a different computer, but it actually works if you don't do it too often.  For me, I activated it about once a year, and like I said never on more than one computer at a time.  When I built a new computer, I activated Windows using that key.  I've done several hardware changed in-between builds, and Windows has never de-activated permanently.  Microsoft is pretty lenient about activation as long as the key isn't being abused.


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## Zareek (Jul 13, 2019)

They are all right, the only exception I know of is if your motherboard dies, sometimes MS over the phone can reset the license. I had that happen once with a friend, motherboard died. So he got a new motherboard and CPU and they reset his license over the phone. Windows OEM licensing has been like this since Windows Vista I think. XP was worse, if you upgrade your RAM it could trigger an activation reset. Maybe that was Windows 98, I dunno it's not ideal but it is better than it used to be. Give it a couple of years and Windows will be free for home users.

Thanks for the reminder, new motherboard, new Windows key... Argh... I think I still have one or two unused ones.


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## Bill_Bright (Jul 13, 2019)

avrona said:


> I didn't reinstall it nor do I even have an activation key for it.


You replaced the motherboard. In terms of licensing (that you agreed to abide by when you first used it on your old setup), that constitutes a new computer. As noted several times above, a new computer requires a new Windows license unless your original license was a full "Retail" license. Most are OEM/System Builders licenses - licenses that are inextricably tied to the "*O*"riginal "*E*"quipment. 

Note it does not matter if you moved the OS drive from your old computer to this new motherboard upgrade. 

Also note, that is not just a MS thing. IF you purchase a factory made computer that has other "OEM" bloat... err... software foisted... err... pre-installed on your computer by the assembler, that too could have the same terms in their EULAs. We just don't see that type software on factory systems very often - most extra bloat... err... apps are "trial" versions that hound and coerice you to buy it once the free trial period runs out.



EarthDog said:


> Or make the phone call to try and activate... *be honest*.


^^^This^^^  The worst that can happen is they say, "_Sorry, you need to purchase a new license. Please visit the Microsoft Store_". But it is the experience of many, including me, that when being honest, they let you reactivate with the new motherboard too. It depends who's on the other end of the line but generally, Microsoft would rather lose that sale and keep a current customer happy than get one that complains - EVEN THOUGH you agreed to the terms of the EULA when you first started to use that license on your old setup.



Zareek said:


> the only exception I know of is if your motherboard dies,


The actual exception stipulates the new motherboard must be identical to the old one that died, or a current replacement as noted by the original manufacturer if the old model is no longer in production. And that new board is going in as part of a repair action. In other words, if your old board dies, you cannot "legally" take that opportunity to "upgrade" your board. It must be an identical board. But again, often a phone call to MS and an honest conversation will get you going again. 

Yes, you can lie (or omit the truth). But "legally" (since agreeing to the terms of a EULA is essentially a legally binding contract), if the truth is not told, that would be fraud - a criminal offense. And MS, if they wanted to waste the time and money and risk possible bad publicity, could press charges and likely win. They just typically don't do that on individuals. They do, however, go after the big "pirates" when they can - not always easy when the government officials in the country involved are getting their pockets lined by those pirates. But that's for another discussion.


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## 64K (Jul 13, 2019)

Make the phone call. You've got nothing to lose by doing so at this point and it just takes a couple of minutes.


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## psyko12 (Jul 13, 2019)

It happened to me when the x370 and 1st gen ryzen BIOS were at it's early stages, I had jumped from the early bios to a later version which added more features in it.

It triggered it and told me that I need to activate windows again. I did the phone call and they (lucky me) reactivated my key/windows again.


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## Jetster (Jul 13, 2019)

You have a new system. If its a *retail boxed* copy of windows just call them and they will activate it, but you have to talk to a person. If its a OEM then you need to buy a license
*How to tell a retail copy*
Press the *Windows* + R key combination to open the Run command box. Type cmd and press Enter. *When* the Command Prompt opens, type *slmgr -dli *and press Enter.

You *do not* have to reinstall, just a new license

Microsoft does allow replacement of a new board but it has to be the same model board. 


rtwjunkie said:


> TPU is partnered with a sponsor for dirt cheap W10 licenses.  IIRC, like $10.



That's dead ^ I checked a few months ago and it said them they were no longer available


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## Splinterdog (Jul 13, 2019)

I had a similar situation with Office 2013, albeit that it wasn't as a result of a new motherboard. The Office installation was activated months ago and I'd been using it without any problems until last week, when a message popped up saying it needed to be activated. 
Apparently this is a known problem with some Office installations and the phone option isn't available through the actual Office activation dialogue, with a message saying that phone option isn't available.
I then found this page which lists the various activation telephone numbers by country, brought up the activation dialogue box in Office with sequences of numbers and empty boxes, dialled the number and the entire process was automated.
I input the blocks of numbers on the phone itself, then input the blocks of numbers into the empty boxes that the female robot read out to me and the product was activated.
I didn't speak to a human being at all and although a rather long process, it was quite painless and solved the problem.


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## silkstone (Jul 13, 2019)

It happened to me recently with a hardware change, well kind of switching computers. I've had about 9 different computers running different licenses at home (Pro - Home - Insider). and keeping track of everything gets pretty difficult.
My daughter was using a laptop with a Pro key that was obtained from a windows 8 upgrade, I switched her PC to one with a Win 10 Insider license, but I wanted to switch the hard drives too. Needless to say, both copies of windows became deactivated and the key refused to activate. I called up the helpline number and they verified that the key was legit and just issued me a new key to use on that computer. It took about 20-30 minutes to do, but was worth it.

Needless to say, I think I lost my insider key, though I can likely activate it again, If i need to, I just need an Insider ISO to re-install, but I had a spare key anyway so used that on the other PC that needed activation.

If you call them, they'll tell you the status of your key.


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## micropage7 (Jul 13, 2019)

Why you sweat much on it? Just buy new license, except the price is higher than your SSD


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## Grog6 (Jul 13, 2019)

I had to call them; I lost a mobo, and as it was AGP video and really old, they didn't have any problem with activating my license. Both with Win XP and Win7. (different computers.)

I'll load Linux before I load Win 10, when they start making real OSes again, maybe I'll buy one.


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## rtwjunkie (Jul 13, 2019)

Jetster said:


> That's dead ^ I checked a few months ago and it said them they were no longer available


Well this was posted by @btarunr yesterday:









						URCDKeys Summer Special Pricing on Windows 10 Pro and Office 2019, Plus a Giveaway!
					

URCDKeys wants you to spend more money on your hardware, by choosing heavily discounted, genuine, globally-valid essential software for your new PC build instead. Windows 10 Pro is the operating system of choice for PC enthusiasts, and URCDKeys has it in store for as low as USD $11.17. Office...




					www.techpowerup.com
				



Did you check it?  It is the same link @P4-630 posted on page 1 in response to my post.


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## Jetster (Jul 13, 2019)

rtwjunkie said:


> Well this was posted by @btarunr yesterday:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



No, I haven't checked that one


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## lexluthermiester (Jul 13, 2019)

avrona said:


> So today I've started getting the "Activate Windows" notification out of nowhere. I tried doing the activation troubleshooting but it said it can't activate the device. I've upgraded my CPU, mobo, and RAM yesterday, but yesterday it was fine, only today I've started getting the message. Any ideas on what's going on?


You need to call Microsoft to activate. They will ask how many systems you have that key installed on and you need to(truthfully) answer one(If you are using that same key one more than one system you'll have a problem).



Jetster said:


> If its a OEM then you need to buy a license


Ignore this and just make the call.


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## Wavetrex (Jul 13, 2019)

Not directly related... but I've seen this happening with a lot of other software.

For example, yesterday I updated the BIOS of my X370, from from version 4600something to the new 5000, in preparation for a new Ryzen 3000.

Two of my softwarez said that license is no longer valid... one did reacquire online after logging in, the other I needed to contact support to get my app operational again.
That is just nuts... it's a bios update ffsake.

Thankfully Windows 10 is still fine... phew !


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## silentbogo (Jul 13, 2019)

Another important thing is to check whether your time is synced w/ time server. 
I have a spare drive w/ pre-installed win10 (CSM), and I'm getting re-activation messages when it's a recently fixed mobo or laptop with reset system time. After syncing it passes the activation check on next reboot.

BTW, you can pull the windows key from BIOS if you have an SPI flash programmer (if you had UEFI install, not CSM) ))))


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## advanced3 (Jul 13, 2019)

you can buy a key online for $15 bucks, i do it all the time for PCs I flip, never had an issue with it. PM me if you want details and the link. Or call and tell them you upgraded hardware and they will reactivate it for you, usually. You can also download Produkey  and it will display your License key.


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## SomeOne99h (Jul 13, 2019)

Even if it was an OEM. Calling Microsoft and telling them about you changing the motherboard would most likely work. Microsoft customer service is either too nice or they want every person and his\her cat to use Windows 10.

To show Windows' key and Other apps as well:

Belarc Advisor supports Windows 10 and it can show you the key. ProduKey newest OS they support is Windows 7 so I am not sure if it would work with Windows 10 or not.
Belarc Advisor: https://www.belarc.com/en/products_belarc_advisor
ProduKey: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html (scroll down and get ProduKey for x64)


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## lexluthermiester (Jul 13, 2019)

advanced3 said:


> you can buy a key online for $15 bucks, i do it all the time for PCs I flip


Yes, but you are "flipping", IE rebuilding and reselling, the PC's in question. The thread pertains to a personal use system the has received an upgrade.


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## advanced3 (Jul 13, 2019)

lexluthermiester said:


> Yes, but you are "flipping", IE rebuilding and reselling, the PC's in question. The thread pertains to a personal use system the has received an upgrade.



It was given as an option if calling Microsoft for reactivation didn't work. (You snipped just that part)?... I'm curious if linking to a Microsoft account or a fresh install from within Windows would trigger activation after upgrading hardware.


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## lexluthermiester (Jul 13, 2019)

advanced3 said:


> (You snipped just that part)?


Yes, because we don't want to potentially confuse the OP.


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## Deleted member 67555 (Jul 14, 2019)

Last time I bought a retail key it was Vista and it came in a DVD case with a 50 page pamphlet and sealed tamper proof hologram sticker key and it literally said it was a 3 key retail copy.
Pretty sure I still have both retail copies.

I haven't paid more than $15 for an OS since...I got an ACM membership when 7 came out for $10 and it came with a MSDN account... But was limited to 2-win7 keys, 40 XP, 8 vista...
The 2 win 7 keys for recycled until the free 10 upgrade...

Other than that I have used many many places like URCD.....many
Lol


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## GreiverBlade (Jul 14, 2019)

micropage7 said:


> retail windows when activated it will include the ID of your motherboard so if you change your motherboard even you didn't reinstall it, the Microsoft will refuse the activation coz the motherboard ID is different than you activated before, so that's why it shows notification to activate


oh, that's funny because i swapped mobo and never got a reactivation notification, ok slight differences : 1 i have a Win 8.1 license key the install itself was updated to W10 prior to the swap

maybe it's because i changed from a Gigabyte to a Gigabyte in the same gen (so it's not tied to the ID, cause i doubt a GA-Z170-Gaming5 has the same ID as a GA-Z170-Gaming7 )


Jetster said:


> Microsoft does allow replacement of a new board but it has to be the same model board.


or really close model then ...


but nonetheless i changed the CPU some month later, again: no reactivation
then changed the RAM ... and paf reactivation (automated call was enough never had to talk to a person, just like the old Win XP/7 reactivation )

and i am pretty sure my Win 8.1 is a OEM  and not a retail
although when i


Jetster said:


> You have a new system. If its a *retail boxed* copy of windows just call them and they will activate it, but you have to talk to a person. If its a OEM then you need to buy a license
> *How to tell a retail copy*
> Press the *Windows* + R key combination to open the Run command box. Type cmd and press Enter. *When* the Command Prompt opens, type *slmgr -dli *and press Enter.


i got : description: Windows OS : Retail Channel 

i wonder why it says retail...


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## lexluthermiester (Jul 14, 2019)

GreiverBlade said:


> i got : description: Windows OS : Retail Channel
> 
> i wonder why it says retail...


Not sure why, but that command seems to render that result regardless of whether the Key used is Retail or OEM...


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## Jetster (Jul 14, 2019)

lexluthermiester said:


> Not sure why, but that command seems to render that result regardless of whether the Key used is Retail or OEM...



Yea you're right. They changed the results of that command

slmgr -dlv Gives you a little more info but still not the type


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