Activate Windows (Go to Settings to activate Windows)


D

Dougout

Member
Local time
3:51 AM
Posts
4
OS
Windows 11
Started out by installing Windows 10. Then used the insider program to install Windows 11(Build 22000.71). I now have the nag screen in the bottom right of my screen
stating : Activate Windows (Go to Settings to activate Windows).

I decided to do this but the "Change product key" in Activation does nothing when clicked.

I know that I could reinstall Windows 10 and activate but I already put a lot of time into setting Windows 11 up just the way I like it.

Anyhow I do like Windows 11 and I still like Windows 10 as well.

Any ideas on activating Windows 11?
 
Windows Build/Version
Build 22000.71

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11Intel i3-10100Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GBon CPU
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Home Made
CPU
Intel i3-10100
Motherboard
Gigabyte B460M DS3H V2
Memory
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB
Graphics Card(s)
on CPU
Sound Card
on CPU
Hard Drives
Crucial P2 500GB 3D NAND NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD
Seagate BarraCuda 2TB Internal Hard Drive
Antivirus
Microsoft
From my understanding you can use your 10 license/key to activate 11.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Home- RP - 26H2 -26300.9818AMD Ryzen 5 5600GG.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 64GB 4x16Nvidia geforce gtx titan x
OS
Windows 11 Home- RP - 26H2 -26300.9818
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Banana Junior 5600-G Series
CPU
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
Motherboard
Asus ROG Strix B550-F
Memory
G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 64GB 4x16
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia geforce gtx titan x
Monitor(s) Displays
28" ASUS VP28U 4k
Screen Resolution
4K
Hard Drives
Primary SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus
PSU
EVGA BQ 700w 80+ Bronze
Case
Zalman i3 NEO
Cooling
ARCTIC Freezer 7 X
Keyboard
Corsair
Mouse
Amazon Generic with Cord
Internet Speed
Download: 295.11 mbps Upload: 65.35 mbps T-Mobile Internet
Browser
Firefox and Edge
Antivirus
MS - Defender
Other Info
Speakers: Klipsch ProMedia 2.1
Thanks Bunnyj for your reply but the problem is that the activation button does nothing so you cannot enter any code.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11Intel i3-10100Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GBon CPU
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Home Made
CPU
Intel i3-10100
Motherboard
Gigabyte B460M DS3H V2
Memory
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB
Graphics Card(s)
on CPU
Sound Card
on CPU
Hard Drives
Crucial P2 500GB 3D NAND NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD
Seagate BarraCuda 2TB Internal Hard Drive
Antivirus
Microsoft
I have done a clean install of Windows 11 on two desktops both with active Windows 10 licenses and both show activated. The activation was automatic I was not required to take any additional steps. you might try a clean install. UUP Dump - Download Windows Insider ISO
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProAMD Ryzen 9 5950X (Zen 3) 16-CoreG.SKILL Trident Z Neo (For AMD Ryzen) 32G DDR...EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 XC3 ULTRA PCI Express 4...
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (Zen 3) 16-Core
    Motherboard
    EVGA X570 FTW WIFI
    Memory
    G.SKILL Trident Z Neo (For AMD Ryzen) 32G DDR4-3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 XC3 ULTRA PCI Express 4.0, Resizable BAR : Yes
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    SB-ROCKET-NVMe4-500 M.2
    970 EVO Plus 1TB - M.2
    2TB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
    4TB WD My Passport
    PSU
    Super Flower Leadex V Gold PRO 1000W 130mm
    Case
    HYTE Y60 Modern Aesthetic Dual Chamber Panoramic Tempered Glass
    Cooling
    EK AIO 360mm Liquid CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    NPET K11 Wireless Gaming Keyboard, Rechargeable Backlit
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    T Mobile Home Internet 5G. $50.00 A month with autopay
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender / Malwarebytes Premium

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProAMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8-coreGeIL EVO X II AMD Edition 32 GBEVGA GeForce RTX 2060 KO ULTRA
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8-core
    Motherboard
    MSI MPG X570 GAMING PLUS
    Memory
    GeIL EVO X II AMD Edition 32 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 KO ULTRA
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    PNY CS1030 250GB M.2 NVMe Windows
    PNY CS1030 250GB M.2 NVMe Xbox
    Sandisk 500GB SSD Steam / Origin
    Sandisk 120GB SSD Storage
    PSU
    Corsair CX 750M
    Case
    EVGA DG-76 Matte Black Mid-Tower
    Cooling
    AMD Wraith Prism
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    T Mobile Home Internet 5G. $50.00 A month with autopay
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender / Malwarebytes
I just did an In-Place Upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11.
Win 10 was activated, so it took that activation to Win 11 during the In-Place Upgrade.



See the first post in this topic... How anyone can get Windows 11
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Win 11 Home 26H2 26300.9818AMD Ryzen 7 3700XG.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    OS
    Win 11 Home 26H2 26300.9818
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 5302)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1

  • At a glance

    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
The change button for changing product key does not do anything on my computer either. You can install a new product key by opening a command prompt with admin privileges ("Run as administrator") and running:

Code: 
slmgr /ipk <product key>

For example: slmgr /ipk VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T

Then if you want to force an attempt to activate Windows online the command is:

Code: 
slmgr /ato
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT32GBEVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
    OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 EducationIntel i7-8550U32GBNvidia Geforce MX150
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
Dougout said:
...I decided to do this but the "Change product key" in Activation does nothing when clicked.

I know that I could reinstall Windows 10 and activate but I already put a lot of time into setting Windows 11 up just the way I like it.

...Any ideas on activating Windows 11?
Click to expand...

Welcome to Eleven Forum Dougout.

Every install of Windows 11 I have done, whether a clean install of an in-place upgrade, has activated. But then they have all been done on machines that had an existing Digital licence for Windows 10 in the edition I installed (Home or Pro). Did the machine you installed on have and existing digital licence for W10 in the edition you installed? Or did you try install 11 Pro on a machine that had a digital licence for 10 Home?

Yes, you're right. 'Change Product key' is broken. I wouldn't have noticed as I would never need to use it.

All your work is not wasted though. You just need to get this PC a W10 digital licence, that will involve quite a bit of time but probably less than starting over with a clean install of W11, then (re)customising it to your needs.

First you need to make a system image of your W11 PC as it is now with something like Macrium Reflect Free Edition

Next you need to clean install the same edition (Home or Pro) of W10, and activate it. This will record a digital licence for this PC on the Microsoft activation servers.

Then restore your W11 system image, it should now activate from the digital licence.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to lid hinges starting to break up this laptop has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

    I've now clean installed 25H2 and used Garlin's scripts to update Secure Boot to CA 2023 and revoke the PCA 2011 certificates. It's new role is to test secure boot issues.

    Info for 2021-2026:
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.
    Upgraded to 26H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR was a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (1st gen) type 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device. This has now been sold. It has been replaced by my System Eight.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025, 26H2 on 29th September 2026.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, 1920x1080 touchscreen, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine. As its new home has an existing digital licence for Pro I've been able to upgrade the migrated OS from Home to Pro.
    29 Sept. 2026 Feature Update to 26H2 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM EIGHT is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (5th gen) type 20LN, Celeron N4120, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, a supported device for Windows 11. Currently running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds as native boot vhdx.
Bree said:
Welcome to Eleven Forum Dougout.

Every install of Windows 11 I have done, whether a clean install of an in-place upgrade, has activated. But then they have all been done on machines that had an existing Digital licence for Windows 10 in the edition I installed (Home or Pro). Did the machine you installed on have and existing digital licence for W10 in the edition you installed? Or did you try install 11 Pro on a machine that had a digital licence for 10 Home?

Yes, you're right. 'Change Product key' is broken. I wouldn't have noticed as I would never need to use it.

All your work is not wasted though. You just need to get this PC a W10 digital licence, that will involve quite a bit of time but probably less than starting over with a clean install of W11, then (re)customising it to your needs.

First you need to make a system image of your W11 PC as it is now with something like Macrium Reflect Free Edition

Next you need to clean install the same edition (Home or Pro) of W10, and activate it. This will record a digital licence for this PC on the Microsoft activation servers.

Then restore your W11 system image, it should now activate from the digital licence.
Click to expand...
Why not just activate Windows 11 with the same product key that would be used to activate Windows 10?
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT32GBEVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
    OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 EducationIntel i7-8550U32GBNvidia Geforce MX150
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
NavyLCDR said:
Why not just activate Windows 11 with the same product key that would be used to activate Windows 10?
Click to expand...
Have you tried clicking on Settings > System >Activation > Change product key? The OP has, and I have now - it's broken, absolutely nothing happens!

I guess that your slmgr suggestion in post #6 should work, but as all my systems are already activated I can't easily test that....
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to lid hinges starting to break up this laptop has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

    I've now clean installed 25H2 and used Garlin's scripts to update Secure Boot to CA 2023 and revoke the PCA 2011 certificates. It's new role is to test secure boot issues.

    Info for 2021-2026:
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.
    Upgraded to 26H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR was a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (1st gen) type 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device. This has now been sold. It has been replaced by my System Eight.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025, 26H2 on 29th September 2026.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, 1920x1080 touchscreen, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine. As its new home has an existing digital licence for Pro I've been able to upgrade the migrated OS from Home to Pro.
    29 Sept. 2026 Feature Update to 26H2 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM EIGHT is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (5th gen) type 20LN, Celeron N4120, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, a supported device for Windows 11. Currently running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds as native boot vhdx.
Bree said:
Have you tried clicking on Settings > System >Activation > Change product key? The OP has, and I have now - it's broken, absolutely nothing happens!
Click to expand...
However, slmgr /ipk is not broken. IPK stands for Install Product Key. Thus my suggestion for activation in post #6.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT32GBEVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
    OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 EducationIntel i7-8550U32GBNvidia Geforce MX150
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
NavyLCDR said:
However, slmgr /ipk is not broken. IPK stands for Install Product Key. Thus my suggestion for activation in post #6.
Click to expand...
Agreed, but with all my system already activated I can't easily test that. We'll have to wait for @Dougout to try and report back.

Strike that, I've just realised that I can test by switching to the generic W10 Pro KMS key. I successfully de-activated my Win11 Pro laptop. Then switched back to the generic W10 Pro key and activated it again.
 
Last edited:

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to lid hinges starting to break up this laptop has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

    I've now clean installed 25H2 and used Garlin's scripts to update Secure Boot to CA 2023 and revoke the PCA 2011 certificates. It's new role is to test secure boot issues.

    Info for 2021-2026:
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.
    Upgraded to 26H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR was a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (1st gen) type 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device. This has now been sold. It has been replaced by my System Eight.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025, 26H2 on 29th September 2026.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, 1920x1080 touchscreen, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine. As its new home has an existing digital licence for Pro I've been able to upgrade the migrated OS from Home to Pro.
    29 Sept. 2026 Feature Update to 26H2 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM EIGHT is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (5th gen) type 20LN, Celeron N4120, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, a supported device for Windows 11. Currently running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds as native boot vhdx.
The PC is a brand new build which I have made up to experience Windows 11.
Right after I installed Windows 10 I signed up for the Insider program and the download link for Windows 11 immediately appeared.
I made no attempt to activate Windows 10 as I had guessed that it would not matter with Insider Builds. The "Activate Windows" watermark with a broken link to activate windows is a bit annoying but this is part of the Insider Experience I suppose.
You folks have given me some good things to work on though. Thanks!
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11Intel i3-10100Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GBon CPU
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Home Made
CPU
Intel i3-10100
Motherboard
Gigabyte B460M DS3H V2
Memory
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB
Graphics Card(s)
on CPU
Sound Card
on CPU
Hard Drives
Crucial P2 500GB 3D NAND NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD
Seagate BarraCuda 2TB Internal Hard Drive
Antivirus
Microsoft
The days of free licensing for beta testing are over at Microsoft. Now the insider builds activate in the exact same manner as the released RTM. You need a valid product key to get a digital license then after that activation will be via the digital license.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT32GBEVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
    OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 EducationIntel i7-8550U32GBNvidia Geforce MX150
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
Dougout said:
... the "Change product key" in Activation does nothing when clicked - Windows Build/Version Build 22000.71
Click to expand...
That has been fixed in build 22000.100
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to lid hinges starting to break up this laptop has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

    I've now clean installed 25H2 and used Garlin's scripts to update Secure Boot to CA 2023 and revoke the PCA 2011 certificates. It's new role is to test secure boot issues.

    Info for 2021-2026:
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.
    Upgraded to 26H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR was a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (1st gen) type 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device. This has now been sold. It has been replaced by my System Eight.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025, 26H2 on 29th September 2026.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, 1920x1080 touchscreen, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine. As its new home has an existing digital licence for Pro I've been able to upgrade the migrated OS from Home to Pro.
    29 Sept. 2026 Feature Update to 26H2 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM EIGHT is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (5th gen) type 20LN, Celeron N4120, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, a supported device for Windows 11. Currently running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds as native boot vhdx.
Thanks Bree but I already took the route of the clean install of Win 10 and then activated and then back to Win 11 where all is well.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11Intel i3-10100Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GBon CPU
OS
Windows 11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Home Made
CPU
Intel i3-10100
Motherboard
Gigabyte B460M DS3H V2
Memory
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB
Graphics Card(s)
on CPU
Sound Card
on CPU
Hard Drives
Crucial P2 500GB 3D NAND NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD
Seagate BarraCuda 2TB Internal Hard Drive
Antivirus
Microsoft
Bree said:
That has been fixed in build 22000.100
Click to expand...
It seems like they are fixing all the inactive settings buttons. The button to verify your identity is working now too.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT32GBEVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
    OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 EducationIntel i7-8550U32GBNvidia Geforce MX150
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
BunnyJ said:
From my understanding you can use your 10 license/key to activate 11.
Click to expand...
I have used any of the 3 legit keys I have Windows 8l Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 to activate Windows 11 physical or VM.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Fedora Silverblue Rawhide Debian 13 Ubuntu 25...AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-Core64GBNvidia
OS
Fedora Silverblue Rawhide Debian 13 Ubuntu 25.10,
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
HomeBrew
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-Core
Motherboard
Gigabyte
Memory
64GB
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell
Hard Drives
3 ssd 2 spinners configured as raid 0
Keyboard
Eluktronics
Mouse
Eluktronics
Browser
Firefox and Chromium
Other Info
Gnome 46
martyfelker said:
I have used any of the 3 legit keys I have Windows 8l Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 to activate Windows 11 physical or VM.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the information.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Home- RP - 26H2 -26300.9818AMD Ryzen 5 5600GG.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 64GB 4x16Nvidia geforce gtx titan x
OS
Windows 11 Home- RP - 26H2 -26300.9818
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Banana Junior 5600-G Series
CPU
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
Motherboard
Asus ROG Strix B550-F
Memory
G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 64GB 4x16
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia geforce gtx titan x
Monitor(s) Displays
28" ASUS VP28U 4k
Screen Resolution
4K
Hard Drives
Primary SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus
PSU
EVGA BQ 700w 80+ Bronze
Case
Zalman i3 NEO
Cooling
ARCTIC Freezer 7 X
Keyboard
Corsair
Mouse
Amazon Generic with Cord
Internet Speed
Download: 295.11 mbps Upload: 65.35 mbps T-Mobile Internet
Browser
Firefox and Edge
Antivirus
MS - Defender
Other Info
Speakers: Klipsch ProMedia 2.1
Windows 11 running on Window 10 seems more and more like Frankenbuild - not cool.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows
OS
Windows
I had W10 on home on one of my machines, did a UUP dump W11 Pro and now I have that with it saying linked to a digital license
 

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My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro Beta, 11 Dev, W11 CanaryAMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HX32GBNVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070 8GB GDDR6
OS
Windows 11 Pro Beta, 11 Dev, W11 Canary
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell Alienware M15 Ryzen Edition R6
CPU
AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HX
Memory
32GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070 8GB GDDR6
Hard Drives
1 x Samsung 980 Pro 1TB
1 x Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB
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