The most notable being that Windows 10 is free for existing Windows 7, 8/8.1 users for the first year. Regardless of this, product activation remains a part of Windows 10. In this article, we take a look at product activation and troubleshooting steps. Update: This was written for issues when Windows 10 was initially released in 2015. For more on activation issues, take a look at these articles:
How to Find Your Windows 10 Product KeyHow to Find Your Product Key After Upgrading to Windows 10
Understand and Fix Windows 10 Product Key Activation
Things you should know:
A Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 product key cannot activate Windows 10. Windows 10 uses its own unique product key.By default, Windows 10 builds are pre-keyed, meaning, you do not have to enter a product key and should not be prompted to enter one, as long as you upgraded from an activated Windows 7 or Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 license or Windows 10 Preview build.If you perform a clean install on the first attempt, you will have to start over from an activated Windows 7 or Windows 8.x installation.If you are prompted to enter a product key, click Do this later and give it a few days, Windows 10 will activate automatically.Activation servers might be overwhelmed at times because of the volume of upgrades, so give it some time if you get an error message such as (0XC004E003, 0x8007000D, 0x8007232b, or 0x8007007B.) Windows 10 will eventually activate as long as you upgrade using the appropriate method.There is no need to know your Windows 10 product key; see ‘Understanding Product Activation in Windows 10:
Product Activation in Windows 10
In previous Windows releases, when you installed an upgrade version of Windows: if you wanted to reinstall the upgrade version, you had first to reinstall the qualifying version from which you upgraded, reactivate it, then upgrade again and reactivate again. With Windows 10, this is no longer the case. Once you are upgraded to Windows 10 and activated, you can simply create a bootable copy on DVD or USB and reinstall just Windows 10 without the need to reinstall the qualifying version, and it will reactivate automatically. Windows 10 registers the device with the Product Activation Center and keeps a copy of your device’s activation in a Cloud Store. When you perform reinstall or clean install the installation checks with Activation Server, detects the unique installation ID, and produces the validation for your device.
When Installing Windows 10 Build 10240
To activate Windows 10 build 10240 (RTM), you must upgrade from a previous qualifying operating system that is genuine and activated. This includes Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, and Windows 10 Insider Previews. If you are running the Windows 10 Enterprise Preview, you either need to stay in the Windows 10 Insider Preview Program, or activate using a product key from the Volume License Service Center (VLSC.) If you are not eligible to be running Windows 10 Enterprise, I suggest you make preparations to roll back to the original version of Windows your system was licensed for, and make a reservation to upgrade to Windows 10.
Can I Perform a Clean Install Using the Free Upgrade?
No, it will require that you are running a previous qualifying version and start the upgrade from within the qualifying version. You can initiate a clean install after completing the Upgrade. Please be aware that you cannot use the free upgrade offer to perform a clean install on the first attempt! You must first upgrade from the qualifying version of Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 (whether you do it through Windows Update or using the ISO file.) Ensure the upgrade is completed successfully and then ensure that it is activated. You can then proceed to do a clean install by using recovery media or using the Reset function in Start > Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Reset this PC (Get Started.)
What if Windows Doesn’t Activate?
If Windows 10 does not activate even after detecting an active Internet Connection, restart and try again. Or wait a few days, and Windows 10 should automatically activate itself. I downloaded the ISO file, but Windows 10 setup is prompting me for a product key or indicates the product key does not work with this edition.
Note: The copy of Windows 10 you download must correspond with the edition of Windows you are upgrading from.
Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Windows 8.0 Core, Windows 8.1 Core must use a Windows 10 Home ISO.Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 8.0 Pro, Windows 8.1 Pro must use a Windows 10 Pro ISO.Your currently installed copy of Windows must be activated. If it is not, you will be prompted to enter a product key.If you are using Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 8.0 Enterprise, Windows 8.1 Enterprise editions you won’t be able to use the free upgrade offer.
The ‘Get Windows 10 App’ Indicates My License is not Activated:
Again, you must ensure you are running a genuine activated copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1.
Click Start, right-click Computer (Windows 8 or later – press Windows key + X > click System) then click Properties. Check to make sure Windows is activated.
I upgraded from an activated copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 then I decided to reinstall using either the ISO file, Reset this PC, or Recovery drive, but I am prompted to enter a product key: Select Do this later. Windows 10 will automatically re-activate within a few days.
I just installed or reinstalled a preview build of Windows 10, and I want to upgrade to the final release, but it will not activate.
Microsoft has suspended Preview Builds and also deactivated their product keys at this time. This means you won’t be able to download, install, or activate older builds such as 10162 and 10166 or earlier builds to qualify for the final release. Your best option is to reinstall a valid license you have for either Windows 7, Windows 8.0, or Windows 8.1, make sure it is activated, then upgrade from that to Windows 10 on July 29th or later. If you maintain your current activated Windows 10 Preview, you should be able to upgrade it to the final release.
How do I check my activation status after upgrading?
Go to Settings (press Windows key + I) > Update & security > Activation.
Fix Windows 10 Activation Errors:
Activation Error: 0XC004E003 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938450 Wait a few days and try again or just leave it and let it activate on its own. The activation servers might be overwhelmed.
Contact the Microsoft Activation Center for further assistance:
Try the appropriate phone number listed at the Microsoft Volume License Key assisted support telephone information page. Reset your license status: Press Windows key + X Click Command Prompt (Admin) At the command prompt, type the following commands: slmgr.vbs -rearm Hit Enter on your keyboard Exit the command prompt Restart your computer Enter the product key using the instructions
Force activation: Press Windows key + X Click Command Prompt (Admin) At the command prompt, type the following commands: slmgr.vbs -ato Hit Enter on your keyboard Exit the command prompt Restart your computer
Scan for broken operating system files:
You can also try running the system file checker utility to see if it might resolve any problems that might be preventing product activation. Scan and Repair System files (SFC) The issues below are more likely to affect retail bought and volume license clients. If you are unable to enter the product key: Press Windows key + X Click Command Prompt (Admin) At the command prompt, type the following commands: slmgr.vbs -ipk xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx (allows you to replace the current product key with the specified) xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx – represents your product key Hit Enter on your keyboard Exit the command prompt Restart your computer Try Activating again
You were never running a genuine Windows 7 or Windows 8 license.
065, 066, 067, 068, 069 for Windows 7 Ultimate220, 221, 222 for Windows 7 Professional230, 231, 221, 232 for Windows 7 Home Premium
Click Start, right-click Computer Click Properties Scroll down to Windows Activation and look at the PID It will look something like the following 12345-067-1234567-54321, the portion you are interested in is the three digit section if it matches or is within one or two digits of the examples above you probably have an MSDN or TechNet key.
About MSDN or TechNet Product Keys
They are genuine Microsoft product keys; they are actually retail licenses, but it is intended for a particular product channel – either the Microsoft Software Developer Network (MSDN) or TechNet for IT Professionals who pay a subscription fee. Although these licenses are intended for evaluation purposes, the great thing about them, unlike trial Microsoft software, they do not expire. Because the agreement under which the subscription is provided is a single license, none of the software should be distributed outside of it. Even though it is $50,000 worth of licenses, it is for one person only to use and no one else. Unfortunately, regardless of the licensing terms, individuals still abuse the program, either giveaway product keys or resell them on auction sites. Microsoft licenses it in good faith that customers won’t do so. If you discover that your license is from MSDN or TechNet, what probably happened is, you bought an MSDN licensed key, which carries up to 10 activations, unlike full packaged retail licenses which only carry 1 activation. The person who sold it to you probably sold it to 10 other people. Somewhere along the way, one of those persons might have installed it on a second system, activated it. Because it went past the 10 activation threshold, Microsoft detected that it was being abused and blocked the key from further use. You can confirm that your software is genuine now. It’s quick and easy. http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/validate/ Click the ‘Validate Windows’ button, if the validation check fails, then click on the ‘Get Genuine’ button to get a WGA Kit. Microsoft also recently published a page that is worth a look, too. Activation in Windows 10. Thank you Windows 10 is by far one of the most compatible versions of Windows ever. I’ve managed to get 15 year old printers to install, yes it in those extreme cases you may require an expert, but get a real one, or bring it here and I’ll get it all up and running properly for you – and yeah, that means after a reboot/power off too! I previously had a windows 7 home premium original copy which I did bought spending my money. It worked well. After win 10 launch I could successfully upgrade to windows 10 and the copy got activated automatically. There were talks around saying Microsoft is giving away free windows activation this time. So i made a USB copy of windows 10 PRO in to my flash drive and I DID A CLEAN INSTALL FROM THAT VERY COPY. Now I have Windows 10 PRO not activated. I cannot activate this using my windows 7 home premium product key. PLEASE HELP! All things considered, when you get the 0xc00007b error, it generally means that some file in either the startup or activation process is corrupted. Not knowing exactly what your system configuration is, there is really no way to help you diagnose the problem. By this I mean the hardware configuration AND the software configuration. Some product that was/is installed on your PC is corrupt for some reason. It might be as simple as the file is fine, but the version of that software will not work with Windows 10. That said, I listed a few things below which may or may not be helpful. The most common thing with this error is a corrupted file of some type did not load/could not load or was not installed correctly. Be sure you are upgrading to the correct version of Windows. You cannot upgrade from Windows 7 Home to Windows 10 Pro, unless you know some serious hacks to apply to the system being updated. I ran into this just the other day. I was doing a Windows 8.1 Home update to Windows 10 and grabbed the wrong DVD when I started the upgrade. The upgrade will go through “fine”, but when you try to activate it, you might as well forget it. I looked at the Windows 10 DVD that I was using to upgrade from and it was Win 10 Pro. The upgrade will proceed “normally”, but it won’t activate because of a version discrepancy. I backed that upgrade out and re-did it to Windows 10 Home – no problems. Never even received an activation prompt, as it activated fine. But, none of this is getting you around the issue you are having. Exactly where in the process did you receive this error? During the actual upgrade? During the reboot after the upgrade? When you tried to enter an activation key? After you entered an activation key? Where? Another “gotcha” is common – the PC you were upgrading did not have all the updates on it. The Windows 10 upgrade does check for updates, but I would not count on that to apply the necessary updates prior to upgrading from one OS version to another. I believe when Windows 10 checks for updates during an upgrade, it is checking for Windows 10 updates. Check to make sure that all the versions of the installed software are compatible with Windows 10 or make sure they can be updated to make them Windows 10 compatible. Will the PC boot is Safe Mode? If so, it is something that does not load in Safe Mode but DOES load during Normal boot. In a similar situation with Office 2013, I booted my computer, then disconnected it from any network – wired or wireless. Then, I was able to activate it via the phone option. Worked great. I have also used process to activate wayward copies of Windows 10. At this point, I would try the activate by phone option. It’s a bit tedious with all the characters you have to enter. But, it might help you get your Windows 10 Enterprise activated. Activate Windows Go to Settings to Activate Windows Because it was activated before, for several years I’d like to add, I have gone through and attempted to reactivate windows. When I get to the screen to activate windows it reads the following: Windows can’t activate right now. Try activating again later. If that doesn’t work, contact your system administrator. Error code: 0x8007232B It has an activate button and when I click on it the little blue circle spins one time and then it appears that nothing has happened. It has been like this for nearly 3 days now. I have no idea what has happened but now my computer is no longer activated, will this effect my software validity or what? I’m not sure if this will render my computer ineffective at some point in time. This matter was entirely from some random website forcing my computer to download a strange file which I deleted as soon as I could find it. I even ran an anti-virus scanner and it didn’t find anything. I ran it multiple times and it found nothing. I’m just hoping you might have heard of something like this and know how to fix it? When you run into a problem activating your copy of Windows 10 x (x=Home, Pro, or Business), wait about 30 minutes and try again. If it still won’t activate, disconnect the PC from the internet and follow the “activate by phone” instructions. I thought I had them in a document, but not on this PC. There are multiple documents on the internet that outline the process. I have had to use this method three times. Each time, it has worked. I will continue to see if I can find the process (activate by phone) on one of my systems. It’s a bit tedious, but it works. Hope this helps. Im a tech and im dealing with the same issue here i have a client with a valid product key but i keep getting errors and error codes relating to server issues “0x8007007b” now ive tried multiple command methods but to no avail also its not the network ive managed to conect the clients pc to a hotspot and the company network. the OS im dealing with is Windows 10 Pro. Its not possible to do a clean install on this pc since its constantly in use so thats not a option unless a hhd explodes. Please post your exact issues on our Community Windows 10 Forum – https://windows10.help Thanks! -S groovyPost.com What I did was use Advanced Startup. To use it on Windows 10, you *Press the power icon, hold down shift, and choose Restart *Hold down shift until a blue screen pops up. Choose Troubleshoot, then Reset this PC *Choose to save your files; I did and the reset worked just fine *Follow prompts and your computer should work again! When I tried to reset under normal startup, I was told my computer could not “verify the product key.” With advanced startup, I fixed it. I would love to help others with my issue. These steps could fix many computers. Your solution for volume license keys fixed the problem. Thank you! “*Press the power icon, hold down shift, and choose Restart *Hold down shift until a blue screen pops up. Choose Troubleshoot, then Reset this PC *Choose to save your files; I did and the reset worked just fine *Follow prompts and your computer should work again! When I tried to reset under normal startup, I was told my computer could not “verify the product key.” With advanced startup, I fixed it.” The very cool, and free, Rufus program, for example, will find and download older Windows 10 versions and create installation media on, say, an 8GB USB stick. Very easy to find Rufus online. Comment Name * Email *
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