I don't know if the right place, but I'll share my problem. Last days I resized my C: drive in order to put Linux on my free space and dual boot. Since then my windows lost his activation, gave me eroor code 0xC004F012 and don't want to shut down - just log off.
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On both my main machines I was running Windows 8.1 and I then removed that and installed the Windows 10 insider program.I kept installing new builds until RTM came along. Once Windows 10 was released I unenrolled from the program and both machines were still activated.
I performed a clean Windows 10 install on one machine and now it is asking for Windows 10 to be activated and I don't have a key - am I basically screwed?
Background: We have purchased 14 HP EliteBook 820 laptops (which come with Windows 8.1 downgraded to Win 7 preinstalled) to rollout within our company and my usual method for laptop rollouts is to setup one with our corporate apps etc, run SysPrep and then clone the hard drive to the rest of the laptops.
This has worked fine in the past with Windows XP and 7 but with the introduction of the free upgrade to Windows 10 which we want to take advantage of it has produced a problem.
Problem: I have setup one laptop and gone through the free upgrade to Windows 10 then installed our required apps etc, run SysPrep, shutdown and cloned the hard drive to another hard drive to go into the next laptop (same model) to rollout.
Windows is then unable to activate giving error code 0xC004C003 meaning the key is blocked.
Because the laptops have OEM Windows licences pre-installed this means that I don't have a product key sticker; it is embedded in the BIOS.
I am assuming that at the point of upgrade the Microsoft servers check the key and add it to their list of 'OK' keys to allow the upgrade.
When the cloned hard drive is placed into another laptop the key embedded into the BIOS is not OK and Windows does not activate? I've tried the slui program to remove the licence but that just removes the key and asks for a new one. I have also tried doing the clone of a clean install after upgrading. I have tried speaking to HP and Microsoft but each one said speak to the other.
Currently my only option is to setup one laptop with the OEM Win 7 or 8.1, install our Apps, do the SysPrep and cloning and then upgrade each one individually at the end of the OOBE experience. This will be more time consuming when rolling out and rebuilding.
Is there a way to find out which key was used for activation?
I have done testing with insider programs. I also tested this with my windows 7 oem install, I rolled the oem back to windows 7. I also used a windows 7 retail version to also upgrade to windows 10. This way I can keep my multiple boot setup. I just want to be legit that is all.
I have never had problems activating genuine copies of Windows. Changing cpu's, hdd's ram and graphics cards have never bothered Microsoft. Back in the XP days, I also changed motherboards with OEM software successfully. As far as I can tell, only changing the motherboard would cause problems with modern operating systems. I have changed hdd's for ssd's and vice versa and graphics cards with no problems on W10 upgrades. Today, I received a cpu from Ebay and fitted it into the pc which runs 8.1 and W10 upgrade from W7hp. BIOS recognised it at once, but both copies of Windows required a restart, system and device manager failed to recognise the cpu first time. Activation was not affected in either copy of Windows.
View 6 Replieslaptop has Win 10 that was an free upgrade from Windows 7. If I clone to SSD will activation remain? I know if hardware changes will be an issue. I will backup key just in case, not sure it is needed. later hopefully a fresh install.
I have used Easeus and Acronis in the past with Windows 7, always with bootable media to do the clone. first time cloning windows 10, was thinking about Macrium, just never tried it. Put the new SSD in place and boot to the HDD as external?
I used to have a program that checks activation/expiration of windows and/or Microsoft office with just one click. I think the name was "check activation" ...
View 2 RepliesA friend's Asus 8.1 laptop was stuck in an automatic repair loop so I suggested that he upgrade to Windows 10.
Because he was unable to access his system, I opted for a clean install and I created a bootable Win 10 usb on another pc. I used this usb to insall Win 10 on his machine, skipping any requests to activate.
I was under the impression that Win 10 would automatically activate on installation. I'm not sure he ever signed up for the free upgrade offer before Win 8 on his machine decided to implode.
I just upgraded my win 10 10240 to 1511 10565 but where is a listing of activation commands.
View 4 RepliesI'm having a problem with the phone activation. I'm stuck at the security check dialogue, keeps saying "we cant verify you". Is it just me, or did MS kill phone activation?
View 1 RepliesI'm having this issue on a Store purchased Toshiba Satellite Pro which had Windows 7 Home Prem. I followed all the upgrade instructions and it all looks good except it's not activated. Product key blocked. Error code: 0xC004C003
View 9 RepliesI upgraded from 8.1 on Dell XPS 8700 and the download and installation completed flawlessly. I did a winver and it shows Windows 10 Build 10240.
However, it will not validate, showing the error : "The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect. (Error code: 0x8007007B)"
I also ran software that returned the following information.
"Windows Product Key Information
Product Name: Windows 10 Home
Product ID: 00326-30000-00001-AA668
Installed Key: TX9XD-98N7V-6WMQ6-BX7FG-H8Q99
OEM Key: *****-*****-*****-*****-HFQ2D
OEM Edition: Win 8.1 RTM Core OEM:DM
What am I missing? Or is it really a Windows Activation Server Issue? OS is great, everything works fine with it.
I had upgraded from W8.1 and Windows 10 was activated. I was under the impression that I didn't need a product key and that my PC would be recognized after doing a clean install. Now I have W10 installed fresh, but get the error code: Error code: 0xC004C003
View 9 RepliesI was running win 7 with 4 partitions , thought to upgrade to win 10. While installing it didn't allowed me to install. I thought i can run diskpart clean on one partition, selected one volume and ran clean command, but it still cleaned all the partitions. Long story short, I cannot boot my OS until I install OS on freshly created single partition. I was told to use partition recovery apps like partition and mount software, Do I have to install OS on it anyways and once OS is installed, instal the partition and mount software for the recovery?
View 8 RepliesWhile re-installing Windows 10 on my Samsung ativ book 9 (15" core i7), I had two partitions (256 gb ssd) half capacity each one, one holds the os, and the other my data.
when selecting the partition where to install windows 10, it tolds me that I cannot so i googled it, i figured out that i have to clean the partition and then convert it to gpt using diskpart.
so i did but instead of cleaning the system partition it deleted all the disk data in a second.
I have now one unallocated partition (256 gb), i created 3 partition afterwars, 500mb efi, primary for os, and third for my data. windows 10 installated successfully, but my data all gone.
I tried every single data recovery app, but all of them just recover some folders that doesn't have any value like desktop.ini. (by the way, i tried in the days after this data earthquake not to have new data to avoid overwriting the old precious data).
After tonight's updates, this morning I've seen that Store and Edge's icons are white square.When last night I turned off the PC I noticed there was an update and this morning a page of Edge, What's new (get started), opened and the icon on the taskbar was a white square. Then searching for an app in the store I saw that the icon was the same: a white square. (see the screenshots).I did a "sfc / verifyonly"
Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.10240]
(c) 2015 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
C:WINDOWSsystem32>sfc /verifyonly
Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.
Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification 100% complete.
Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.What can I do now to restore that icons?
I'm trying to update from 8.1 64-bit to 10 on my i7 24GB Toshiba laptop. I keep getting the message "Windows 10 couldn't be installed. We couldn't update the system reserved partition."
The very first try "failed" with an error Code C1900200. After that, every installation attempt shows "canceled" w/ an error Code 8024000B.
Note: "DISK 1" is my primary (boot) disk; "DISK 0" is my data disk. Both disks are 256Gb SSD drives. Other info is in my System Specs.
I do not see a "reserved partition" on Disk 1; could this be the problem? I'd rather not do a clean install, in order to keep existing programs/settings etc., but will do so if necessary.
I updated to Windows 10 earlier today. I thought I had lost some important work files and some pics of my kiddo from the last 3 months. Found them by looking in the network folder. Copied them to the desktop to remind myself to send a copy to my external hard drive when I got home. Laptop restarted and when it came back on the files were gone. I could search for them and find them but they wouldn't open. In desperation I restored back to Windows 8 in the hopes that they would be found but they are nowhere to be seen. Don't even show up in a search. System restore shows no prior restoration points.
I have about 70 hours worth of work done that needs done by the end of the calendar year, work that I will have to make up on my own time and not get paid for if I can't find these files. I also have the last 3 months worth of pictures of my daughter on there, her birthday trip to the zoo, visit with my sister, things I want to put in her scrapbook.
First of all I'll make a complaint. I am very disappointed with Windows 10. It's been one of the worst Windows ever made and sooner or later I will switch from Windows to some normal OS sofware. I have been let down too many times by it (not just 10 but all of the former as well) and I decided it's simply not worth my time, money and nerves.
Today Windows decided to do an upgrade on my computer and when I turned it on it said it was preparing something. After the welcome screen, I realized all my documents on the desktop have been missing, including majority of the shortcuts.
All the settings have been reverted, including theme, desktop image, default programs. In short, there's not much left untouched.
What's utterly intolerable it somehow deleted ALL my personal documents, pictures, literally EVERYTHING is lost. I just can't put up with it anymore. There were several files I need for my work, everything is simply gone.
on a no-problem notebook of a Relative, win ran an update last night at 4 and came up with this:Most App-Links are gone, Apps still there.But Firefox, Outlook and others seem completely reset as if freshly installed, no accounts set f.e.Win demands hardware driver installation for Wifi.And a bunch of personal files on the Desktop are gone.
View 1 RepliesInstalled the 10041 iso, ran windows updates and now I have lost my start screen/menu.
View 9 RepliesI have had W10 for three days and it has been sending me mad. The text has been resizing and windows closing randomly. Particularly bad when typing. Finally found the cause. The new feature which allows two finger use on the mouse pad is a nightmare while typing. My wrist or fingers touch the pad briefly and then when another thing touches it then all sorts of things happen. So as I typed the text kept changes size. I found myself changing the text size back every few minutes.
It took me some time to find the problem and disable the two finger ability. It might be nice to have if I am editing pictures but it is very difficult to get too. The control panel is difficult to find. It is not in the menu.
I seem to have spent most of three days disabling everything in W10. I seem to have paid for something which is useless.
In Windows 7, I knew how to turn off the annoying (to me) feature that windows were automatically maximized when moved to the edge of the screen. This option no longer seems to be present in the 'ease of access' settings.
View 3 RepliesI have an install with a low end Celeron-based Acer laptop that serves mostly as a desktop, hooked to a big monitor via VGA cable. Unfortunately the laptop must be opened to get to the power button.
with auto-arrange etc UNCHECKED [so, supposedly icons do what you make them do], the icons will rearrange themselves in a random fashion, resize differently, "ghost-out", etc. it really is maddening because user-installed Apps and just simple file paths are impossibly difficult for non-tech users on windows 10 [and its immediate predecessor].
what is the PERMANENT cure for this? I see a good number of threads on MS boards re: this problem on 8.0 and 8.1, none of which are encouraging. seems microsoft is pretty clueless about it - This does not happen on all systems of course, but in my experience, connectiing Intel HD-family graphics to external monitors is a roll of the dice [pretty solid with AMD or Nvidia]. Sometimes no sync at all occurs, sometimes resolution is difficult to set [impossible for non-tech users], primary display designation is lost/reassigned, etc...
So I managed to resize my recycle bin last night and I can't figure out how to make the icon smaller? it's been a while since I've played with Windows ...
View 1 RepliesI have gone through the synaptic touch pad settings several times and and I still have to use cat paw touches on the keyboard and touch pad to keep the window from randomly zooming. Also the search window keeps popping up randomly and I have to tap the touch pad to remove it.
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