7 Posts
0
16065
August 12th, 2019 01:00
Windows 10 no longer activated
I bought a XPS 8920 desktop in 2017. Yesterday a watermark appeared on my screen asking me to activate windows 10 through settings. Running the troubleshooter in settings doesn't help. I get an error 0xC004F012. I found the explanation for the error code: "The product key used on this device didn't work with this edition of Windows. You might need to get in touch with the store or company you bought Windows from, enter a different product key, or go to the Store to buy genuine Windows." Anyone know of a solution for this? Can I manually get a product code, I think it's embedded in the motherboard...
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yertletheturtle
7 Posts
0
August 21st, 2019 10:00
speedstep
9 Legend
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47K Posts
0
August 12th, 2019 09:00
Windows 10 requires contact with the microsoft license servers every 180 days or it deactivates.
There are no more permanent activation's. The bios key in the 8920 will activate once you get online and do any updates required and restart.
typical reasons for activation difficulty,
Missing product key or digital license or being offline more than 180 days.
A different product key or version of Windows was used during repair
One copy of Windows was installed on multiple PCs
Counterfeit software
A pre-owned PC
Hardware changes
Get help with Windows 10 activation errors.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/activation-errors-windows-10
Why can't I activate Windows 10?
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/why-activate-windows-10
yertletheturtle
7 Posts
0
August 13th, 2019 11:00
I'm online pretty much every day, so the 180 days shouldn't be an issue. I didn't install my copy of windows on any other devices, or counterfeit it. My PC is also not pre-owned.
I did add some extra RAM, but this is hardly a significant hardware change. Could this be the culprit? The link you provided says to run the troubleshooter, but this doesn't help.
I did have a windows upgrade (Feature update to Windows 10, version 1903), could this cause any issues?
speedstep
9 Legend
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47K Posts
0
August 13th, 2019 16:00
1903 does not cause this.
Copy of windows is not activated so you have to start there.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/10738/windows-10-get-help-with-activation-errors#try-out-the-activation-troubleshooter