un/activated

Hippi · Jan 19, 2026

After successfully resolving my greyed out "get latest updates" problem I now have another problem. After my pc has been running for about 4 hours I get a notification saying that I need to activate windows. The odd thing is that when I select the activation troubleshooter it comes back with the message that it has successfully activated windows. But, again, this only lasts for about 4 hours when the activation message reappears. I have had a genuine version of windows since win 10.
I am running 25H2 26200.7623

XxXxX · Jan 19, 2026

you could try
1. get your product key

How to Find Your Windows 11 Product Key With 3 Easy Methods

Trying to find your Windows 11 product key? Learn how to find your Windows 11 product key with just a few simple commands.

www.techrepublic.com

once you have the product key open
settings > system > activation

in this window click
upgrade your version of Windows

then click
change product key

enter your product key that you have already found
and the system should re-activate with that key.

best of luck Steve ..

Hippi · Jan 20, 2026

XxXxX said:
you could try
1. get your product key

How to Find Your Windows 11 Product Key With 3 Easy Methods

Trying to find your Windows 11 product key? Learn how to find your Windows 11 product key with just a few simple commands.

www.techrepublic.com

once you have the product key open
settings > system > activation

in this window click
upgrade your version of Windows

then click
change product key

enter your product key that you have already found
and the system should re-activate with that key.

best of luck Steve ..

Thank you for the reply but on the activation screen I do not have an option to upgrade your version of
Windows

XxXxX said:
you could try
1. get your product key

How to Find Your Windows 11 Product Key With 3 Easy Methods

Trying to find your Windows 11 product key? Learn how to find your Windows 11 product key with just a few simple commands.

www.techrepublic.com

once you have the product key open
settings > system > activation

in this window click
upgrade your version of Windows

then click
change product key

enter your product key that you have already found
and the system should re-activate with that key.

best of luck Steve ..

Thank you for the reply but on the activation screen there is no option to upgrade the version of Windows

idgat · Jan 20, 2026

Source of your Windows product and/or license key?

Is this a new install?

Scott · Jan 20, 2026

Hippi said:
Thank you for the reply but on the activation screen there is no option to upgrade the version of Windows

Hippi · Jan 21, 2026

idgat said:
Source of your Windows product and/or license key?

Is this a new install?

Thanks for the reply. The source is my original win 10 key, the installs were all upgrades via updates

idgat · Jan 21, 2026

Hippi said:
The source is my original win 10 key

But what was the source of your Win 10 key?

It wouldn't be the first time that a user's key from a dubious source has satisfied requirements for some time, only to be swooped on eventually by Windows/Microsoft in some later update process.

Hippi · Jan 21, 2026

idgat said:
But what was the source of your Win 10 key?

It wouldn't be the first time that a user's key from a dubious source has satisfied requirements for some time, only to be swooped on eventually by Windows/Microsoft in some later update process.

The source was my win 10 installation disc

KevTech · Jan 21, 2026

Another way to do this if type in the run box slui 4

Enter your location and you will get a phone number you can call with the installation ID that is on the screen.

Call the number and provide the installation ID then they provide a confirmation ID to activate Windows.

If it was an OEM key it may not work but should for retail keys.

idgat · Jan 21, 2026

Hippi said:
The source was my win 10 installation disc

*SIGH* But what was the (purchase) source of the disc ... WHERE DID YOU BUY IT FROM??? (or maybe this evasiveness an indication of the answer I suspect ...??

)

(Blood ... stone ...)

Hippi · Jan 25, 2026

idgat said:
Source of your Windows product and/or license key?

Is this a new install?

No, not a new install

Hippi · Jan 25, 2026

Hippi said:
The source was my win 10 installation disc

THe key was on the documentation (sleeve) of the installation disc. It ws bought from a large computer store and the disc and sleeve looked totally genuine

Hippi · Jan 25, 2026

idgat said:
*SIGH* But what was the (purchase) source of the disc ... WHERE DID YOU BUY IT FROM??? (or maybe this evasiveness an indication of the answer I suspect ...?? )

(Blood ... stone ...)

The key was on the documentation (sleeve) of the installation disc. It was bought from a large computer store and the disc and sleeve looked totally genuine

Try3 · Jan 26, 2026

Hippi said:
After successfully resolving my greyed out "get latest updates" problem I now have another problem. After my pc has been running for about 4 hours I get a notification saying that I need to activate windows. The odd thing is that when I select the activation troubleshooter it comes back with the message that it has successfully activated windows. But, again, this only lasts for about 4 hours when the activation message reappears. I have had a genuine version of windows since win 10.
I am running 25H2 26200.7623

I have not heard about this form of OS corruption before.
I suggest you reinstall Windows.
Download Windows 11 ISO file - ElevenForumTutorials
Create Windows 11 Bootable USB Installation Media - ElevenForumTutorials
Clean Install Windows 11 - ElevenForumTutorials

But first, backup your own files and applications' installation files [and their activation / registration keys].
And save yourself some time & effort by backing up your hardware drivers.
Backup and Restore Device Drivers - ElevenForumTutorials

In the unlikely event of a re-occurence, use slui as KevTech suggested above in post #9.

@NavyLCDR Do you have any advice?

Denis

Megahertz · Jan 26, 2026

I agree with Denis that a clean install is the best thing to do. I will suggest you to create a Data partition to put your data (on a partition other than C:). This way you can reinstall Windows without loosing your data

I suppose you have a backup drive so why don't you use a drive image software to make partitions images backups?
After you have your computer running well, create an OS partitions (EFI, MSR, C: and Recovery) backup.
If things go wrong again, in less than half a hour you will have computer running fresh and clean again.

I update my Data backup every week and create an OS partitions (EFI, MSR, C: and Recovery) backup every year (I create an image before upgrading and another after upgrading)

Hippi · Feb 1, 2026

Megahertz said:
I agree with Denis that a clean install is the best thing to do. I will suggest you to create a Data partition to put your data (on a partition other than C:). This way you can reinstall Windows without loosing your data

I suppose you have a backup drive so why don't you use a drive image software to make partitions images backups?
After you have your computer running well, create an OS partitions (EFI, MSR, C: and Recovery) backup.
If things go wrong again, in less than half a hour you will have computer running fresh and clean again.

I update my Data backup every week and create an OS partitions (EFI, MSR, C: and Recovery) backup every year (I create an image before upgrading and another after upgrading)

Thanks for the info, but I dont fancy a complete reinstall as I also have 25+ other programs installed. As it happens I have 3 separate drives: C for programs, D for data and E for back-ups. I use Macrium software to copy the C drive weekly as well as copying most of the data files onto the E drive.

When the activation message appears I click on the troubleshooter which returns with the message "we have activated your windows". Alternatively I have logged off my local account and logged on using my MS account which results in the "digital activation with your MS account" message.

Could it be that my problem is the result of my updating the BIOS a while back??

Megahertz · Feb 1, 2026

Hippi said:
Could it be that my problem is the result of my updating the BIOS a while back??

Don't think so.
BIOS update can be related to issues with Bitlocker

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