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Activate Windows 10 suddenly pops up on the corner of my screen

Anonymous
2018-11-23T18:21:42+00:00

Hello!

So I boot up my pc and this program called "kms activator" suddenly launches. Never heard of it and don't know how it got on my pc. It said something about activating windows, but mine was already activated. It looked kinda suspicious so I uninstalled it. So a few minutes later the activate windows 10 watermark pops up and I get confused. I got my pc from a store that sells custom-built computers and i'm assuming they put a pirated copy of windows on it, because when I first got the pc and I booted it up, everything was already configured and installed, like it was already used and windows was activated. I just want to get rid of this annoying watermark that's been haunting me for the past few days. I tried the troubleshooter, but had no luck, so I thought maybe an actual person can help. The error code is 0xC004F074.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Licensing and activation

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  1. DaveM121 871.3K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2018-11-26T15:15:44+00:00

    Hi Memestinct, there are hundreds of users with this problem here on Community each day, this is very common. The main problem you have was that 'kms activator' application, that would have changed your windows 10 licencing

    My feeling is your best option is to clean install Windows 10 Home, which is more than likely the Edition that was originally installed on your PC and that will activate automatically if that is the case . .

    You can reinstall Windows 10 at any time and it will not cost you anything !

    Since you previously had Windows 10 installed and activated on that PC during the installation process skip the steps which ask for a product key and select the option 'I am Reinstalling Windows 10 on this PC', and activation will not be an issue, your PC will have a digital entitlement stored on the Microsoft Activation Servers

    Make sure you install the same Edition of Windows 10 (Home, Pro . . . etc.) you previously had installed to avoid Activation issues

    Click this link:

    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-downlo...

    to download the Media Creation Tool (Click on Download Tool Now), with that you can download the latest Windows 10 ISO (Select Create Installation Media for Another PC), you can create a bootable USB flash drive (min 8GB) using that tool

    Then, Boot your PC from the Installation Media you just created (change Boot Order in your BIOS) to begin installing Windows 10

    If you have problems booting from a boot disc, you may have UEFI BIOS:

    Insert the Bootable Installation Media, then go into your BIOS and make the following changes:

    1. Disable Secure Boot
    2. Enable Legacy Boot
    3. If Available enable CSM
    4. If Required enable USB Boot
    5. Move the device with the bootable disc to the top of the boot order
    6. Save BIOS changes, restart your System and it should boot from the Installation Media

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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  1. DaveM121 871.3K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2018-11-27T18:41:14+00:00

    Hi Memestinct, no bother at all, glad to Help . ..

    Great! I am glad that worked! If you don't have any more questions, feel free to choose a rating and have a great day!

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  1. DaveM121 871.3K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2018-11-27T13:31:43+00:00

    Hi Memestinct

    Disconnect the HDD temporarily when installing Windows 10 onto the SSD

    When the installation complete, you can re-connect the HDD and your data will remain untouched . . .

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2018-11-27T13:29:32+00:00

    Ok, i will try this, but will i lose all my files? I have family pictures and stuff on my HDD, but nothing important on my SSD, that's where Windows is installed. Can i choose what i want to keep or no? Thanks!

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2018-11-23T18:28:53+00:00

    You are probably having this issue because your Windows was activated with a Volume License Key. This means that it was activated by a key usually reserved for a business or a large number of PCs. Or of course pirated.

    You can use the following to go offline which removes the volume license key and then use a general key to restore it back to a Digital License. You of course will need a legitimate key to make the watermark go away. So I would contact whoever you bought it from.

    1. Go to Action Center (looks like a chat box on the lower right hand side of the taskbar) > Click airplane mode > activate it to go offline
    2. In a command prompt, type the command: slmgr -upk
    3. Go to Settings > Update & Security > Activation > Change Product Key. From there insert the Generic Key located in the following link: https://winaero.com/blog/generic-key-to-install...
    4. This should activate the machine, restart it, and re-enter the key you need.
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