Windows 11 Not Activating After Motherboard Change

kiddagoat · 2024-07-31T04:18:26+0100

The wonderful folks at Microcenter assisted me in swapping out my 13th Gen platform for a Zen 4 platform.

Upon getting everything together and booting for the first time, I am prompted that Windows needs to be activated. No problem, I have been using the same Windows 8 Pro I bought 11 years ago when I was working at Microcenter. I haven't had any issues in the past with calling Microsoft and having them reactivate the key.

Since I last did this a little over a year ago, it appears they might have changed things. I have read articles that Windows 7 and 8 keys are no longer valid for activation of Windows 11 as of September 2023.

I cannot reactivate using their troubleshooter or typing in the key on my little card that came with my Windows 8 Pro. I even tried their global support number and when the automated prompt attempts to transfer me to an agent, it rings a couple of times and then disconnects.

Do I really need to buy a new license at this point??

Eskimonster · 2024-07-31T04:22:24+0100

tryed dis ?

kiddagoat · 2024-07-31T05:37:03+0100

Yes I have. This does not work for me. I appreciate the thought.

Eskimonster · 2024-07-31T05:40:12+0100

kiddagoat said:
Yes I have. This does not work for me. I appreciate the thought.

Okey, i wonder if this support page could help.

Redirecting

thesmokingman · 2024-07-31T05:55:30+0100

kiddagoat said:
Do I really need to buy a new license at this point??

Yes.

lexluthermiester · 2024-07-31T06:02:19+0100

kiddagoat said:
Do I really need to buy a new license at this point??

For your situation, yes. That's the bad news. The good news is that a single OEM key can be had for less than $20.
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Pumper · 2024-07-31T06:03:10+0100

Well, at least when activating Win10 with a Win7 key, you used to get a brand new hidden Win10 key in the registry. If Win11 works in the same principle, you just need to extract the new key (not the same as the original Win8) from your installation, assuming you have not formatted the drive when you got the new mobo. Though I don't know how it would help you, other than that you could provide that Win11 key to MS for them to re-activate.

lexluthermiester · 2024-07-31T06:04:23+0100

Pumper said:
Well, at least when activating Win10 with a Win7 key, you used to get a brand new hidden Win10 key in the registry. If Win11 works in the same principle, you just need to extract the new key (not the same as the original Win8) from your installation, assuming you have not formatted the drive when you got the new mobo. Though I don't know how it would help you, other than that you could provide that Win11 key to MS for them to re-activate.

Or this.

Athlonite · 2024-07-31T06:14:48+0100

The Keys from Godeal are good to go mine worked like a charm so I can recommend them and it still worked going from AM4 to AM5 mobo's

kiddagoat · 2024-07-31T06:46:18+0100

Pumper said:
Well, at least when activating Win10 with a Win7 key, you used to get a brand new hidden Win10 key in the registry. If Win11 works in the same principle, you just need to extract the new key (not the same as the original Win8) from your installation, assuming you have not formatted the drive when you got the new mobo. Though I don't know how it would help you, other than that you could provide that Win11 key to MS for them to re-activate.

Yeah, I tried that earlier too. It is the generic key. I appreciate the feedback and assistance. I really can't complain, my $40 Windows 8 has gotten me by this long.

danc · 2024-07-31T07:26:47+0100

kiddagoat said:
Yeah, I tried that earlier too. It is the generic key. I appreciate the feedback and assistance. I really can't complain, my $40 Windows 8 has gotten me by this long.

you can try register a MS account and bind your win8/10 key to it

If still unable, you can search github for how to activate win11 without paying for the similar OEM grey keys

System Name	Desktop
Processor	Intel i7 13700K
Motherboard	MSI Z790 Tomahawk D4
Cooling	Corsair XC7 Block / Corsair XG7 Block EK 360PE Radiator EK 120XE Radiator 5x EK Vadar Furious Fans
Memory	64GB Corsair Dominator DDR4-3200
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 4090 Gaming X Trio
Storage	1TB WD Black SN850 / 4TB Inland Premium / 8TB WD Black HDD
Display(s)	Alienware AW3821DW / ASUS TUF VG279QM
Case	Lian-Li Dynamic 011 XL ROG
Audio Device(s)	Razer Nommo Pro Speakers / Creative AE-9 w/ Beyerdynamic MMX 300
Power Supply	EVGA P2 1200W Platinum
Mouse	Razer Naga Pro
Keyboard	Deathstalker Pro

System Name	Iglo
Processor	5800X3D
Motherboard	TUF GAMING B550-PLUS WIFI II
Cooling	Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360
Memory	32 gigs - 3600hz
Video Card(s)	EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 SC2 GAMING
Storage	NvmE x2 + SSD + spinning rust
Display(s)	BenQ XL2420Z - lenovo both 27" and 1080p 144/60
Case	Fractal Design Meshify C TG Black
Audio Device(s)	Logitech Z-2300 2.1 200w Speaker /w 8 inch subwoofer
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime Ultra Platinum 550w
Mouse	Logitech G900
Keyboard	Corsair k100 Air Wireless RGB Cherry MX
Software	win 10
Benchmark Scores	Super-PI 1M T: 7,993 s :CinebR20: 5755 point GeekB: 2097 S-11398-M 3D :TS 7674/12260

System Name	Desktop
Processor	Intel i7 13700K
Motherboard	MSI Z790 Tomahawk D4
Cooling	Corsair XC7 Block / Corsair XG7 Block EK 360PE Radiator EK 120XE Radiator 5x EK Vadar Furious Fans
Memory	64GB Corsair Dominator DDR4-3200
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 4090 Gaming X Trio
Storage	1TB WD Black SN850 / 4TB Inland Premium / 8TB WD Black HDD
Display(s)	Alienware AW3821DW / ASUS TUF VG279QM
Case	Lian-Li Dynamic 011 XL ROG
Audio Device(s)	Razer Nommo Pro Speakers / Creative AE-9 w/ Beyerdynamic MMX 300
Power Supply	EVGA P2 1200W Platinum
Mouse	Razer Naga Pro
Keyboard	Deathstalker Pro

System Name	Iglo
Processor	5800X3D
Motherboard	TUF GAMING B550-PLUS WIFI II
Cooling	Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360
Memory	32 gigs - 3600hz
Video Card(s)	EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 SC2 GAMING
Storage	NvmE x2 + SSD + spinning rust
Display(s)	BenQ XL2420Z - lenovo both 27" and 1080p 144/60
Case	Fractal Design Meshify C TG Black
Audio Device(s)	Logitech Z-2300 2.1 200w Speaker /w 8 inch subwoofer
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime Ultra Platinum 550w
Mouse	Logitech G900
Keyboard	Corsair k100 Air Wireless RGB Cherry MX
Software	win 10
Benchmark Scores	Super-PI 1M T: 7,993 s :CinebR20: 5755 point GeekB: 2097 S-11398-M 3D :TS 7674/12260

Processor	AMD 5900x
Motherboard	Asus x570 Strix-E
Cooling	Hardware Labs
Memory	G.Skill 4000c17 2x16gb
Video Card(s)	RTX 3090
Storage	Sabrent
Display(s)	Samsung G9
Case	Phanteks 719
Audio Device(s)	Fiio K5 Pro
Power Supply	EVGA 1000 P2
Mouse	Logitech G600
Keyboard	Corsair K95

Processor	Ryzen 9 3900x
Motherboard	MSI B550 Gaming Plus
Cooling	be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4
Memory	32GB GSkill Ripjaws V 3600CL16
Video Card(s)	3060Ti FE 0.9v
Storage	Samsung 970 EVO 1TB, 2x Samsung 840 EVO 1TB
Display(s)	ASUS ProArt PA278QV
Case	be quiet! Pure Base 500
Audio Device(s)	Edifier R1850DB
Power Supply	Super Flower Leadex III 650W
Mouse	A4Tech X-748K
Keyboard	Logitech K300
Software	Win 10 Pro 64bit

System Name	Cumquat 2021
Processor	AMD RyZen R7 7800X3D
Motherboard	Asus Strix X670E - E Gaming WIFI
Cooling	Deep Cool LT720 + CM MasterGel Pro TP + Lian Li Uni Fan V2
Memory	32GB GSkill Trident Z5 Neo 6000
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Nitro+ OC RX6800 16GB DDR6 2270Cclk / 2010Mclk
Storage	1x Adata SX8200PRO NVMe 1TB gen3 x4 1X Samsung 980 Pro NVMe Gen 4 x4 1TB, 12TB of HDD Storage
Display(s)	AOC 24G2 IPS 144Hz FreeSync Premium 1920x1080p
Case	Lian Li O11D XL ROG edition
Audio Device(s)	RX6800 via HDMI + Pioneer VSX-531 amp Technics 100W 5.1 Speaker set
Power Supply	EVGA 1000W G5 Gold
Mouse	Logitech G502 Proteus Core Wired
Keyboard	Logitech G915 Wireless
Software	Windows 11 X64 PRO (build 23H2)
Benchmark Scores	it sucks even more less now ;)