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Cannot Activate Windows 10 Pro from Windows 10 Home installation

Anonymous
2021-01-06T15:52:21+00:00

I had Windows 10 Home installed in my old computer. I moved the hard drive to my new computer and learned that it was only valid once per motherboard. I bought a Windows 10 Pro key online and tried to activate it. It didn't work, so I went through the activation troubleshooting. Still didn't work, so clicked "Get Help" on the Activation page. I followed all of the steps from the robot, but it didn't work. I clicked to sign in, but when I clicked "Call me back" to speak to a person, I got a spinner then this error:

An error occurred

Please try your request again later

CV: QUHEysL8dEa7OmXudEaPDQ.0.53

Also, for your reference, when I tried to change the product key via the Activation page, I got this error:

The product key you entered didn't work. Check the product key and try again, or enter a different one. (0xc004f050)

Summary / Specifics:

  • The key I'm trying is for Windows 10 Pro.
  • Troubleshooting doesn't work.
  • I get an error (above) when trying to change the key.
  • I get an error (above) when trying to contact a human at Microsoft.
  • System Information:

OS Name Microsoft Windows 10 Home

Version 10.0.19041 Build 19041

Other OS Description Not Available

OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation

System Name [REDACTED]

System Manufacturer Micro-Star International Co., Ltd.

System Model MS-7B17

System Type x64-based PC

System SKU Default string

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-9700K CPU @ 3.60GHz, 3600 Mhz, 8 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)

BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. A.A0, 8/14/2020

SMBIOS Version 2.8

Embedded Controller Version 255.255

BIOS Mode Legacy

BaseBoard Manufacturer Micro-Star International Co., Ltd.

BaseBoard Product MPG Z390 GAMING EDGE AC (MS-7B17)

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Licensing and activation

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-01-10T17:51:17+00:00

    I spoke with a Microsoft individual on the phone, and they helped me out. For future reference, my original theory was correct: I can't activate a Windows 10 Pro key with Windows 10 Home installed. (They helped me edit my registry to change the version of Windows from Home to Pro.)

    You can close this ticket.

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-01-08T03:24:45+00:00

    Everything worked fine until step 3. (Note: You need to restart after "slmgr -rearm" as well.) I've double-triple-checked my key, so I'm not mistyping it.

    I ran the "slmgr.vbs -ipk <key>" with my product key, and I got this error:

    Error: 0xC004F069 On a computer running Microsoft Windows non-core edition, run 'slui.exe 0x2a 0xC004F069' to display the error text.

    Which translates to:

    The Software Licensing Service reported that the product SKU is not found.

    Is this possibly an issue from trying to activate a "Windows 10 Pro OEM" key when "Windows 10 Home" is installed?

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-01-06T17:04:31+00:00

    Hi Vincent-

    I'm Kevin B. Independent advisor and a Windows user like you. I do apologize for the inconvenience that your experiencing right now, let me help you sort things out.

    Have you checked your product key if it is type correctly?

    Kindly check on your email for the copy of your product key then activate again.

    Try to activate your windows using command prompt.

    To activate your windows using the command prompt

    1. Open command prompt with administrator access
    2. Type the below commands:

    slmgr -rearm

    slmgr - upk

    slmgr -cpky

    1. Restart your computer. Once restarted open command prompt again and type the following command.

    slmgr.vbs -ipk XXXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX >> Replace X with your 25 alpha numeric product key

    slmgr.vbs -ato >> This will activate the windows using the product key you've entered on ipk mode.

    1. Restart computer and check if windows is activated.

    Please do let me know what will happen. Hope this will help and have a blessed day!

    Thanks.

    Kevin B.

    Independent advisor

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-01-09T00:23:59+00:00

    Here's the activation status. I'll try your other steps in the meantime.

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  5. Anonymous
    2021-01-08T05:22:09+00:00

    Hi Vincent -

    Thanks for the response.

    When you purchased the Windows 10 Pro license, did you purchased it to Microsoft Store?

    Technically, you can't use an OEM key to activate your windows on a different computer since OEM license is bound to the device it was originally installed on. If it is a retail Windows 10 Pro key, you can use it to upgrade or activate the windows at any machine that you want.

    Can you take a screenshot of the current activation status of your windows?

    Since you're getting an error activating your windows, please try and perform in-place repair. In-place repair/upgrade or repair reinstall is a process of re-installing Windows without touching any of your applications or personal files. In this way if there's any data corruption, damaged system files or missing system files on your computer, this repair will fix or repair them.

    To start we need to download an ISO file of Windows 10 and save it to your computer. Please follow the instruction on the link below to create an ISO file

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/402819...

    After the ISO is created, follow the instructions on the link below created by PaulSey, Microsoft Agent, on how to perform repair install on your computer.

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/for...

    This process will take some time to complete so you need to be very patient in waiting until the process completes. Once done , restart your computer and check if the issue is resolved.

    Regards,

    Kevin B.

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