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Cannot activate Windows 10 Pro Key

Anonymous
2020-10-25T23:55:19+00:00

Hi,

So I am in a bit of a complex situation as it pertains to my Windows 10 situation, and I could really use some help sorting through this.

When I first reinstalled Windows on this computer, I chose Windows 10 Pro instead of regular Windows 10- I am aware that to rectify this would usually warrant a reinstall.

However, instead, I just bought a Windows 10 Pro Key from a third-party. I have the key, however when trying to use the "Change Product Key" option, I am given the error "We can't activate windows on this device right now. You can try activating again later or go to the Store to buy genuine Windows. (0x800705b4).

I have tried troubleshooting, and using command prompt to force the activation. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Install and upgrade

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-10-30T15:36:30+00:00

    I'm having this exact same issue on a brand new install of Windows 10. I created my USB key with the Windows 10 Update Wizard that downloaded the Win10 ISO from Microsoft and created the bootable USB key. I've installed twice with the exact same results. Windows 10 can't be activated and I also noticed the Windows 10 Update services is stuck at 'Starting'. I've left it running overnight and it never starts. It does this from the very first boot after install. I've tried stopping it with taskkill and restarting and it still freezes.

    Edit... Should also add that I've tried a ton of different steps to fix Windows Update with no success. I'm lost and at this point wish I would have just stayed on Windows 7.

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-10-30T15:52:09+00:00

    I cant activate my window 10 pro

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-10-26T00:36:21+00:00

    Hi and thanks for reaching out. My name is William. I'm a Microsoft Windows Certified Professional and Systems Administrator. I'll be happy to help you out today.

    0x800705b4 = ERROR_TIMEOUT or "This operation returned because the timeout period expired". This would imply your issue is due to a network issue. Are you running a 3rd party firewall service, using VPN, or a proxy? If so, disable or remove the proxy setting, or avoid running the activation while connected to VPN.

    If none of the above apply, open a command prompt and enter these commands and restart when done:

    ipconfig /flushdns
netsh winsock reset

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