New Laptop but Issue with Windows 10 Home

A

antlev

Bronze Level Poster
Yes thanks UBUYSA
Have completed it all and I can confirm that I am now running Windows 10 Home but still getting the error message that the License key was not found
Am going to try to contact Microsoft to establish why this is happening
 
A

antlev

Bronze Level Poster
Yes thanks for that and I have now managed to download Windows 10 home however when I check on windows activation page it still states that
Windows reported that no product key was found on your device Error code 0xC004F213
So am not sure what is going wrong
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
antlev said:
Yes thanks for that and I have now managed to download Windows 10 home however when I check on windows activation page it still states that
Windows reported that no product key was found on your device Error code 0xC004F213
So am not sure what is going wrong
Click to expand...
Is the Windows 10 Home license you're trying to active a digital license? In other words, did you associate it with your Microsoft ID on the old PC and have you logged in with the same Microsoft userid on the new PC?
 
A

antlev

Bronze Level Poster
Yes its a digital license that is currently running on my old laptop until I have transferred everything over to my new machine
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
antlev said:
Yes its a digital license that is currently running on my old laptop until I have transferred everything over to my new machine
Click to expand...
And you've logged onto the new machine with your microsoft account it's tied to?

Bear in mind whilst the other machine is active, the license won't transfer.
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
antlev said:
Yes its a digital license that is currently running on my old laptop until I have transferred everything over to my new machine
Click to expand...
As @SpyderTracks has said, you cannot use the same licensed copy of Windows on two computers! You can't activate Windows on your new PC because Microsoft know that you're still using that licensed copy on your old laptop.

You need to backup the data on your old laptop to an external disk and either scrap that laptop or install something like Linux on it. If you transfer the license to your new PC you cannot run Windows on that laptop ever again without paying for a new license for it.

If you want to continue to use the old laptop with its existing Windows license you should buy a new license for your PC. Two PCs means two licenses.
 
A

antlev

Bronze Level Poster
thanks for that I will do as suggested and once this laptop is copied over to the new one I will delete the hard drive, thanks for all your help its really appreciated
Ps am more than happy with my new laptop that you guys help build
Brilliant place for anybody to come for information
Thanks again
 
barlew

barlew

Godlike
ubuysa said:
As @SpyderTracks
You need to backup the data on your old laptop to an external disk and either scrap that laptop or install something like Linux on it.
Click to expand...

I don't think this will work as Microsoft will still associate the license key to the hardware ID of the laptop.

To remove the association between the laptop and your license key you need to login to your account at account.microsoft.com you will see a heading called "Devices" and under that an option that says "Manage".

Click on manage and you will see all the devices associated with your account. Find your old laptop and click on "Show Details".

The new screen will present you with the computer name and the copy of Windows associated with it. Below the computer name is another option called "Manage". Click on this and click on "Remove PC". Confirm the removal and you are done.

You should now be able to log into the new laptop and your license key will automatically associate with your laptop hardware ID.

It would be a good idea to back up the old PC before you do this.

*EDIT* also i believe you are able to run that license back on the old laptop if you ever had a need to, you would just have to follow these steps again to disassociate the license from the new laptop.

*Edit* This probably wont have the desired effect. See updated post below.
 
Last edited:
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
barlew said:
I don't think this will work as Microsoft will still associate the license key to the hardware ID of the laptop.

To remove the association between the laptop and your license key you need to login to your account at account.microsoft.com you will see a heading called "Devices" and under that an option that says "Manage".

Click on manage and you will see all the devices associated with your account. Find your old laptop and click on "Show Details".

The new screen will present you with the computer name and the copy of Windows associated with it. Below the computer name is another option called "Manage". Click on this and click on "Remove PC". Confirm the removal and you are done.

You should now be able to log into the new laptop and your license key will automatically associate with your laptop hardware ID.

It would be a good idea to back up the old pc before you do this.
Click to expand...
That is a good idea, though a digital license is tied to your Microsoft login ID - though you can't use it on two PCs at once though (as the OP tried).

I think this suggestion is well worth trying. :)
 
barlew

barlew

Godlike
*UPDATE* so after discussing this with the blokes at work we reckon the previous suggestion i gave will only un-link your laptop from trusted devices it wont change the product key from that laptop which means it will revert to using local account on the laptop.

Never fear Microsoft has the answer though found here:


This link details how to prepare for a hardware change then reactivate your product key for the new hardware.
As you are changing the entire laptop you will probably need to contact Microsoft directly which is also explained in that link.
Make sure you're clear with the the Microsoft tech that you only wish to use the license key on the new laptop and not both laptops.
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
barlew said:
*UPDATE* so after discussing this with the blokes at work we reckon the previous suggestion i gave will only un-link your laptop from trusted devices it wont change the product key from that laptop which means it will revert to using local account on the laptop.

Never fear Microsoft has the answer though found here:


This link details how to prepare for a hardware change then reactivate your product key for the new hardware.
As you are changing the entire laptop you will probably need to contact Microsoft directly which is also explained in that link.
Make sure you're clear with the the Microsoft tech that you only wish to use the license key on the new laptop and not both laptops.
Click to expand...
I transferred a win 10 license from one build to another a couple of years ago, just powered off the old and signed in with my microsoft account when setting up the new. The license transferred without any issue.
 
barlew

barlew

Godlike
SpyderTracks said:
I transferred a win 10 license from one build to another a couple of years ago, just powered off the old and signed in with my microsoft account when setting up the new. The license transferred without any issue.
Click to expand...

I am sure I did the same last time I transferred "although I am also sure I disassociated the device first". I remember the whole thing being pretty easy but now I'm not so sure reading that Microsoft guide and its been a number of years since I've had to do it.
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
The issue with doing it 'officially' is that you can't transfer an OEM license to another PC. Only by making it a digital license can you transfer it.
 
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