Lost Activation win11 pro

SIW2 · Jan 1, 2024

Just noticed my win11 has been deactivated supposedly because of a hardware change.

The only hardware change was a psu.

I did a clean install in November and it might have lost activation then but I hadnt noticed till now. The message doesnt indicate that.

I did a reinstall just now using the most up to date iso from ms and the message is different

That is annoying.

Berton · Jan 1, 2024

I'd guess it got caught up in the thing about Microsoft no longer allowing upgrades from Win7/Win8/8.1 with that clean install. I did a clean install of Win10 today on a computer that had Win10 on the HDD that failed, no issue with the activation yet. Only driver I had to after was for the PCIe video card.

trumpy81 · Jan 1, 2024

If you have a fancy PSU that plugs in via USB then Windows may have detected the change in hardware, hence the message etc. Otherwise it should not have made any difference.

The current error code suggests that you are missing the Product Key, which was likely removed after the first error message.

Have you tried inputting the key again?

Berton · Jan 1, 2024

The computer I did today is a Dell Precision from 2013, came with Win7 Pro and upgraded to Win10. I bypassed most choices and made it a Local Account and also told it I did not have a key when asked.

SIW2 · Jan 1, 2024

Berton said:
I'd guess it got caught up in the thing about Microsoft no longer allowing upgrades from Win7/Win8/8.1 with that clean install.

I also thought that might be the issue. If anybody had their activation via free upgrade, could be a problem. Probably applies to win10 users as well.

There was an article about it a few weeks ago. If i remember correctly, MS said they were looking into the issue

You can continue using Windows 10 or 11 without activation for some time while Microsoft is working on resolving the problem.

Microsoft confirms problems with Windows activation after blocking old keys

Microsoft confirmed that the company is aware of activation issues on some systems. The problem appeared shortly after Microsoft blocked old Windows 7 and 8 keys from activating Windows 10 and 11.

www.neowin.net

glasskuter · Jan 1, 2024

To the OP, you are not alone. Other users have reported the same thing when they reinstalled windows. You can try MS support but I would not bet they will help.

Microsoft confirms problems with Windows activation after blocking old keys

Microsoft confirmed that the company is aware of activation issues on some systems. The problem appeared shortly after Microsoft blocked old Windows 7 and 8 keys from activating Windows 10 and 11.

www.neowin.net

Others have purchased new keys. Here' 11 Pro in Stack Social for $40

Microsoft Windows 11 Pro Deal — Lifetime License

<p>Is your computer's OS up to date? Enhance productivity and security with this Microsoft Windows 11 Pro deal, courtesy of a Microsoft-verified partner.</p>

www.stacksocial.com

zbook · Jan 1, 2024

What was the original installation:
Win 11
Win 10
Win 8
Win 7

What is seen using:

a) ACP: (command prompt) wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey

b) APS: (powershell) "(Get-WmiObject -query ‘select * from SoftwareLicensingService’).OA3xOriginalProductKey"

c) ShowKeyPlus:

ShowKeyPlus - Windows 10 Help Forums

I have converted the vbs to .Net for speed and backward compatibility with Win 8.0. Should be fine on WTP, but please report any bugs (This is a quite

www.tenforums.com

d) Belarc Advisor:

Belarc Advisor - Belarc, Inc.

Belarc's products automatically create an accurate and up-to-date central repository (CMDB), consisting of detailed software, hardware, network and security configurations. Customers use our products for software license management, IT asset management, cybersecurity audits, information...

www.belarc.com

e) Jellybean:

KeyFinder | Magical Jelly Bean

The Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder is a freeware utility that retrieves your Product Key (cd key) used to install windows from your registry.

www.magicaljellybean.com

f) Lazesoft Windows Key Finder:

Free Windows Key Finder - Lazesoft Windows Key Finder

Lazesoft Windows Product finder is a free Windows and Microsoft Office Product Key Code Finder, is an open source Windows and Microsoft Office Product Key Code Retriever.

www.lazesoft.com

SIW2 · Jan 1, 2024

a) ACP: (command prompt) wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey

b) APS: (powershell) "(Get-WmiObject -query ‘select * from SoftwareLicensingService’).OA3xOriginalProductKey"

c) ShowKeyPlus:

What are you expecting those to find?

In the first post:

Clean install on 12 November 23.

Clean install on 2 January 24

Berton · Jan 1, 2024

As an experiment on unsupported hardware I also used the single-file change in the Win11 USB drive to Upgrade from within Win10 to Win11 Pro, seems to be okay for now. I first cloned the working Win10 drive before the Win11 install.

Bree · Jan 1, 2024

SIW2 said:
I did a clean install in November and it might have lost activation then but I hadnt noticed till now. The message doesnt indicate that.

Berton said:
I'd guess it got caught up in the thing about Microsoft no longer allowing upgrades from Win7/Win8/8.1 with that clean install.

SIW2 said:
I also thought that might be the issue. If anybody had their activation via free upgrade, don't reinstall. Probably applies to win10 users as well.

There was an article about it a few weeks ago. If i remember correctly, MS said they were looking into the issue

The issues MS are looking into is apparently that the Activation Troubleshooter, or signing in with your MS account, no longer works to reactivate after a hardware change. Turning off the free upgrade from 7/8/8.1 keys seems to have broken it.

Activation from an existing digital licence that was obtained from a W7/8/8.1 key or upgrade is quite different process from that though. That seems to be completely unaffected and working as normal.

Yesterday I wanted to do some tests on Windows 11 21H2 (22000). I no longer have any 21H2 VMs, so I created a new VM and clean installed without providing a key, and set it up with only a local account. Obviously, a new VM has no digital licence, so it was not activated. I then took the vhdx from the VM, put it on another PC, and native booted from the vhdx. This PC has its own digital licence, obtained by upgrading to Win10 from its OEM Win8.1. Windows activated from this existing digital licence.

Activation from W8 upgrade digital licence.png

SIW2 · Jan 1, 2024

The issues MS are looking into is apparently that the Activation Troubleshooter, or signing in with your MS account, no longer works to reactivate after a hardware change.

After the clean install on 2 jan the "hardware change" message was gone.

Bar the psu, the hardware is exactly the same. The problem might the result of the mysterious hardware change.

The article I linked above is from 15th Nov . There must be a lot of systems that have been affected.

zbook · Jan 1, 2024

When the Windows installations were performed was a local or Microsoft account used?

Berton · Jan 1, 2024

zbook said:
When the Windows installations were performed was a local or Microsoft account used?

In my use only Local. I did buy a cheap HP Notebook with Win11 couple weeks ago but mostly wanted the included year of Microsoft 365 which was worth half the cost.

siliconbeaver · Jan 1, 2024

FYI.

I just did re-install/clean-install Windows 11 23H2 1/1/2024 on HP DM G3. It's activated normally.

my procedure
install new SSD --> 22H2 install (dummy appraiserres.dll, plus local account ) -->repair install 23H2.

Now it displays registered.

SIW2 · Jan 1, 2024

zbook said:
When the Windows installations were performed was a local or Microsoft account used?

local

zbook · Jan 1, 2024

SIW2 said:
local

These Microsoft links have the error codes displayed in the opening post:

Reactivating Windows after a hardware change - Microsoft Support

Learn how to prepare your Windows device for a hardware change and find help reactivating Windows after a hardware change is complete.

support.microsoft.com

Get help with Windows activation errors - Microsoft Support

Learn how to troubleshoot Windows activation errors. Browse common activation errors and learn what you can do to fix them.

support.microsoft.com

Code:

0xC004f211 =  SL_E_HWID_CHANGED
The Software Licensing Service reported that the hardware of the device may have changed.

Code:

0xC004f213 = SL_E_NO_PRODUCT_KEY_FOUND
The Software Licensing Service reported that no product key was found on the system.

Local according to Microsoft requires a product key.

Reactivating Windows after a hardware change - Microsoft Support

Learn how to prepare your Windows device for a hardware change and find help reactivating Windows after a hardware change is complete.

support.microsoft.com

How to Transfer a Windows 10 or 11 License to Another PC

Rebuilt your PC? You may not need to buy a new Windows key.

www.tomshardware.com

When installing Windows 11, the digital license associates itself with your device's hardware.
If you make significant hardware changes on your device, such as replacing your motherboard, Windows will no longer find a license that matches your device, and you’ll need to reactivate Windows to get it up and running.

To activate Windows, you'll need either a digital license or a product key.
To find out which you need, see "What activation method do I use, product key or digital license?" in Activate Windows.
Then, use the following info to help you successfully prepare for a hardware change and reactivate Windows.

Additionally, Microsoft provides an exception path for transferring a Windows License after a hardware change.
You’ll need to be signed in to the same Microsoft account before making the hardware change and to use the exception path.

The PSU change somehow triggered the major hardware change prompting:
a) with a Microsoft account (digital license) > run activation troubleshooter
b) without Microsoft account (local account) > enter product key

Reactivating Windows after a hardware change - Microsoft Support

Learn how to prepare your Windows device for a hardware change and find help reactivating Windows after a hardware change is complete.

support.microsoft.com

Get help with Windows activation errors - Microsoft Support

Learn how to troubleshoot Windows activation errors. Browse common activation errors and learn what you can do to fix them.

support.microsoft.com

bobkn · Jan 1, 2024

PSU change?

I don't believe it.

SIW2 · Jan 2, 2024

None of that should be relevant. 2nd Jan clean install onto the same hardware ( except psu) that was previously activated.

The installation that claimed hardware change has gone.

SIW2 · Jan 2, 2024

There are implications for example anybody thinking of restoring an image to a different machine.

siliconbeaver · Jan 2, 2024

my new install/restore does work this way. mainly for saving time.

my Windows OS image is universal. being applied to any PC requests OS Windows 11 Pro, HP ASUS Lenovo Dell MSI, , ,

my recent two PCs, ECS ASUS install did this way last week. they got digital license later when online.