Solved Reactiving windows on new hardware (retail box)


Sqrly

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Windroid 11 Pro
I just built a new PC and my original license is for a retail copy of win 7 pro. (I still have the box with everything in it)

On my old PC I had upgraded 7 to 10 then I did a clean reinstall of 10 and it automatically activated with a digital licence.


On this new PC, I installed 10 with a local account and when I tried to activate it, I entered the key I pulled from my old PC running 10. No luck.

So I entered the original key from Win 7 and it didn't work either.

I clicked the activation troubleshooter and it just sat there, circle spinning, never doing anything.

Then I closed it all (after putting in that win 7 key) and when I tried to activate again I got the option to link the key to a microsoft account. I guess the new product key had to sink in.

This worked fine but then of course I had to log on to my PC with the Microsoft account. I was able to change back to a local account fairly easy though. After changing back I removed the Microsoft account from my PC as much as it would let me.

Then I did a clean install of 11 with a local account (1@1.com email trick because offline would not work at all) and it activated with a digital license easily, though I had to do it manually.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windroid 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refreshed 6.0 GHZ
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
    Memory
    32GB (2x16) GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 6700MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 12GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor #1 Samsung Odyssey G50A WQHD G-Sync HDR10 Monitor #2 HP LA1911
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (150GB System / 850GB More Games)
    Crucial CT2000MX500SSD1 2TB (Games)
    Western Digital Green WD40EZRX 4TB (Data/Backup)
    Western Digital Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Storage)
    Western Digital Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Media)
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-750S
    Case
    Cooler Master Elite 430 Mid Tower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master ML240L V2 Liquid CPU cooler + 3x120mm in + Isolated PSU Standard upward flow
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Elite White PS/2 (with usb adapter)
    Mouse
    Microsoft D67-00001 Trackball Optical Mouse (rebuilt with ceramic bearings)
    Internet Speed
    450Mb/s hard wired
    Browser
    Edge, FF, Tor
    Antivirus
    Win Def
    Other Info
    Razer Tartarus V2 Gaming Keypad
    Logitech Z-5500 5.1 THX 505w (Orignal 10" Sub with (Fr, Rr, Ctr) Polk Audio satellites
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refreshed 6.0 GHz FCLGA1700 (Gen 14)
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
    Memory
    32GB (2x16) GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 6700MT/s
    Graphics card(s)
    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3060Ti 8GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor #1 Samsung Odyssey G50A WQHD G-Sync HDR10 Monitor #2 Samsung TU7000 55" TV
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (System)
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (Games)
    Crucial CT1000MX500SSD1 1TB (More Games)
    WD Green WD20EZRX 2TB (Data/Backup)
    WD Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Media)
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-750S
    Case
    Cooler Master N400 NSE-400-KKN2 Mid-Tower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master ML240L V2 Liquid CPU cooler + 3x120mm in + 2x120mm + Isolated PSU Reverse flow front exhaust
    Mouse
    MSI G20 Elite and Logitech MK345 Wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK345 Wireless
    Internet Speed
    350Mb/s hard wired
    Browser
    FF
    Antivirus
    Win Def
    Other Info
    Razer Tartarus Gaming Keypad
    MSI GC30 Gaming Controller (Xbox style)
I just built a new PC and my original license is for a retail copy of win 7 pro. (I still have the box with everything in it)

On my old PC I had upgraded 7 to 10 then I did a clean reinstall of 10 and it automatically activated with a digital licence.


On this new PC, I installed 10 with a local account and when I tried to activate it, I entered the key I pulled from my old PC running 10. No luck.

So I entered the original key from Win 7 and it didn't work either.

I clicked the activation troubleshooter and it just sat there, circle spinning, never doing anything.

Then I closed it all (after putting in that win 7 key) and when I tried to activate again I got the option to link the key to a microsoft account. I guess the new product key had to sink in.

This worked fine but then of course I had to log on to my PC with the Microsoft account. I was able to change back to a local account fairly easy though. After changing back I removed the Microsoft account from my PC as much as it would let me.

Then I did a clean install of 11 with a local account (1@1.com email trick because offline would not work at all) and it activated with a digital license easily, though I had to do it manually.
Of course, you will have removed Windows from old pc, or you would be violating the EULA having two devices activated by the same licence key?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook 14
    CPU
    I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB soldered
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop OLED screen
    Screen Resolution
    2880x1800 touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
    PSU
    Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
    Keyboard
    Built in UK keybd
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
    Internet Speed
    900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)

    Macrium Reflect Home V8
    Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
    Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)
Of course, you will have removed Windows from old pc, or you would be violating the EULA having two devices activated by the same licence key?

No but no matter, that Mobo is in a box (It still has the SATA nVME).

Edit: I reused my case, Cooling, PSU, and drives. I've have enough parts to put that mobo/cpu back in service. I'm going to stick a linux distro on it and turn it into a media and file server for the lan.
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windroid 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refreshed 6.0 GHZ
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
    Memory
    32GB (2x16) GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 6700MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 12GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor #1 Samsung Odyssey G50A WQHD G-Sync HDR10 Monitor #2 HP LA1911
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (150GB System / 850GB More Games)
    Crucial CT2000MX500SSD1 2TB (Games)
    Western Digital Green WD40EZRX 4TB (Data/Backup)
    Western Digital Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Storage)
    Western Digital Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Media)
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-750S
    Case
    Cooler Master Elite 430 Mid Tower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master ML240L V2 Liquid CPU cooler + 3x120mm in + Isolated PSU Standard upward flow
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Elite White PS/2 (with usb adapter)
    Mouse
    Microsoft D67-00001 Trackball Optical Mouse (rebuilt with ceramic bearings)
    Internet Speed
    450Mb/s hard wired
    Browser
    Edge, FF, Tor
    Antivirus
    Win Def
    Other Info
    Razer Tartarus V2 Gaming Keypad
    Logitech Z-5500 5.1 THX 505w (Orignal 10" Sub with (Fr, Rr, Ctr) Polk Audio satellites
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refreshed 6.0 GHz FCLGA1700 (Gen 14)
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
    Memory
    32GB (2x16) GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 6700MT/s
    Graphics card(s)
    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3060Ti 8GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor #1 Samsung Odyssey G50A WQHD G-Sync HDR10 Monitor #2 Samsung TU7000 55" TV
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (System)
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (Games)
    Crucial CT1000MX500SSD1 1TB (More Games)
    WD Green WD20EZRX 2TB (Data/Backup)
    WD Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Media)
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-750S
    Case
    Cooler Master N400 NSE-400-KKN2 Mid-Tower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master ML240L V2 Liquid CPU cooler + 3x120mm in + 2x120mm + Isolated PSU Reverse flow front exhaust
    Mouse
    MSI G20 Elite and Logitech MK345 Wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK345 Wireless
    Internet Speed
    350Mb/s hard wired
    Browser
    FF
    Antivirus
    Win Def
    Other Info
    Razer Tartarus Gaming Keypad
    MSI GC30 Gaming Controller (Xbox style)
On my old PC I had upgraded 7 to 10 then I did a clean reinstall of 10 and it automatically activated with a digital licence.

On this new PC, I installed 10 with a local account and when I tried to activate it, I entered the key I pulled from my old PC running 10. No luck.
So I entered the original key from Win 7 and it didn't work either.
When you upgraded the old PC from 7 to 10 it got a free digital license for 10, linked to the hardware ID of the PC. Changing the motherboard is a significant hardware change and will not be able to activate from this original digital license. Microsoft have now (finally) ended the free upgrade from 7/8/8.1 to 10, this is why your Win 7 key doesn't work now.

Did you sign in to the old PC with a Microsoft account? If so, then it will be listed as a device in your Microsoft account. You should be able to use the Activation Troubleshooter to activate the new PC, tell it that you recently changed hardware. It will ask you to sign into your MS account, then should show a list of devices including the old PC. Tell it that this was the PC you changed from and it should activate the new PC. See Option Four in this tutorial.

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    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
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    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, and 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary 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 24H2, Hyper-V host machine.
  • 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. Also running Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a 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 is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary 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 24H2, Hyper-V host machine.
Of course, you will have removed Windows from old pc, or you would be violating the EULA having two devices activated by the same licence key?
I wish that Microsoft would include an explicit license de-activation from their servers, to facilitate license transfers. Others (e. g., Adobe) manage to do that.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 26100.3025
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    homebuilt
    CPU
    Amd Threadripper 7970X
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte TRX50 Aero D
    Memory
    128GB (4 X 32) G.Skill DDR5 6400 (RDIMM)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte RTX 4090 OC
    Sound Card
    none (USB to speakers), Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 27E1N8900 OLED
    Screen Resolution
    3840 X 2160 @ 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Crucial T700 2TB M.2 NVME SSD
    WD 4TB Blue SATA SSD
    Seagate 18TB IronWolf Pro
    PSU
    BeQuiet! Straight Power 12 1500W
    Case
    Lian Li 011 Dynamic Evo XL
    Cooling
    SilverStone Technology XE360-TR5, with 3 Phanteks T30 fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech K120 (wired)
    Mouse
    Logitech M500s (wired)
    Internet Speed
    2000/300 Mbps (down/up)
  • Operating System
    windows 11 26100.3025
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    homebuilt
    CPU
    Intel I9-13900K
    Motherboard
    Asus RoG Strix Z690-E
    Memory
    64GB G.Skill DDR5-6000
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte RTX 3090 ti
    Sound Card
    built in Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Asus PA329C
    Screen Resolution
    3840 X 2160 @60Hz
    Hard Drives
    WDC SN850 1TB
    8TB Seagate Ironwolf
    4TB Seagate Ironwolf
    PSU
    eVGA SuperNOVA 1300 GT
    Case
    Lian Li 011 Dynamic Evo
    Cooling
    Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE CAPELLIX Liquid CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech M500s (wired)
    Keyboard
    Logitech K120 (wired)
When you upgraded the old PC from 7 to 10 it got a free digital license for 10, linked to the hardware ID of the PC. Changing the motherboard is a significant hardware change and will not be able to activate from this original digital license. Microsoft have now (finally) ended the free upgrade from 7/8/8.1 to 10, this is why your Win 7 key doesn't work now.
https://www.elevenforum.com/t/free-...8-key-or-upgrade-to-windows-10-11-ends.18347/
Did you sign in to the old PC with a Microsoft account? If so, then it will be listed as a device in your Microsoft account. You should be able to use the Activation Troubleshooter to activate the new PC, tell it that you recently changed hardware. It will ask you to sign into your MS account, then should show a list of devices including the old PC. Tell it that this was the PC you changed from and it should activate the new PC. See Option Four in this tutorial.

https://www.elevenforum.com/t/activate-windows-11.14214/#Four

No offense, your name is familiar and you've always been very helpful but, you apparently did not read my post as windows is activated and the "activation troubleshooter" was useless.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windroid 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refreshed 6.0 GHZ
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
    Memory
    32GB (2x16) GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 6700MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 12GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor #1 Samsung Odyssey G50A WQHD G-Sync HDR10 Monitor #2 HP LA1911
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (150GB System / 850GB More Games)
    Crucial CT2000MX500SSD1 2TB (Games)
    Western Digital Green WD40EZRX 4TB (Data/Backup)
    Western Digital Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Storage)
    Western Digital Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Media)
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-750S
    Case
    Cooler Master Elite 430 Mid Tower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master ML240L V2 Liquid CPU cooler + 3x120mm in + Isolated PSU Standard upward flow
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Elite White PS/2 (with usb adapter)
    Mouse
    Microsoft D67-00001 Trackball Optical Mouse (rebuilt with ceramic bearings)
    Internet Speed
    450Mb/s hard wired
    Browser
    Edge, FF, Tor
    Antivirus
    Win Def
    Other Info
    Razer Tartarus V2 Gaming Keypad
    Logitech Z-5500 5.1 THX 505w (Orignal 10" Sub with (Fr, Rr, Ctr) Polk Audio satellites
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refreshed 6.0 GHz FCLGA1700 (Gen 14)
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
    Memory
    32GB (2x16) GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 6700MT/s
    Graphics card(s)
    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3060Ti 8GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor #1 Samsung Odyssey G50A WQHD G-Sync HDR10 Monitor #2 Samsung TU7000 55" TV
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (System)
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (Games)
    Crucial CT1000MX500SSD1 1TB (More Games)
    WD Green WD20EZRX 2TB (Data/Backup)
    WD Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Media)
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-750S
    Case
    Cooler Master N400 NSE-400-KKN2 Mid-Tower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master ML240L V2 Liquid CPU cooler + 3x120mm in + 2x120mm + Isolated PSU Reverse flow front exhaust
    Mouse
    MSI G20 Elite and Logitech MK345 Wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK345 Wireless
    Internet Speed
    350Mb/s hard wired
    Browser
    FF
    Antivirus
    Win Def
    Other Info
    Razer Tartarus Gaming Keypad
    MSI GC30 Gaming Controller (Xbox style)

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